U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Applauds More Than $7.5 Million Federal Investment for Wisconsin to Combat Opioid Epidemic

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today applauded more than $7.5 million in federal grant funding provided by the 21^st Century Cures Act to help Wisconsin fight the opioid epidemic. This is the second year of funding provided to Wisconsin under this new law. Senator Baldwin led the effort to include major investments to fight the opioid epidemic in this bipartisan legislation when it passed in 2016.

Once the funding became available for application, Senator Baldwin sent a letter to Governor Scott Walker encouraging him to apply for the federal funding and to put these investments to work.

“I’ve heard from law enforcement, citizens, elected officials on both sides of the aisle and people working on the front lines to combat this crisis across our state and it’s clear this opioid crisis is not going away,” said Senator Baldwin. “Washington needs to step up with a stronger federal investment and this funding is a significant step in advancing local prevention, treatment and recovery efforts in Wisconsin.”

There is an additional $1 billion under this program to be allocated to states and tribal communities in September 2018, which Senator Baldwin worked to include in the bipartisan government spending measure that Congress passed and President Trump signed. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Baldwin led her colleagues in calling for additional funding in 2018 to help states respond to the opioid crisis.

The funds are provided through State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grants administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Earlier this year, Senator Baldwin introduced legislation – the Opioid Response Enhancement Act - to expand and extend this grant program through FY2023 and to ensure that both states and tribal communities have access to the funding.