Senator Baldwin Discusses Public Safety and Combatting the Fentanyl and Opioid Epidemic in Columbia and Marquette Counties

WISCONSIN – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin visited Montello and Portage to discuss public safety with Marquette County Sheriff Joseph Konrath and meet with members of the Prevention and Response Columbia County (PARCC) for a tour of Harbor Recovery Center to highlight her work to respond to the fentanyl and opioid epidemic.

“I am committed to giving local law enforcement the tools they need to keep our neighbors safe and well, especially as we battle a deadly epidemic that is devastating communities across the state. I have heard from countless Wisconsinites who have lost friends, family, neighbors, and loved ones to this epidemic and sadly, we’re now seeing a sharp rise in poisonings and overdoses caused by synthetic drugs like fentanyl and tranq,” said Senator Baldwin. “We need to fight this deadly epidemic on all fronts –making sure that these drugs cannot come into our country, our law enforcement have the resources they need, and our communities have access to life-saving overdose reversal drugs.”

With the Marquette County Sherriff, Senator Baldwin discussed her efforts to support local law enforcement, including advocating for the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) Program to combat organized and violent crime, gang activity, drug activity, terrorism and violent extremism, human trafficking, identity theft, and cybercrime. Senator Baldwin also helped deliver more than $100 million to Wisconsin for violence prevention and public safety through flexible Coronavirus Relief Fund allocations for evidence-based crime prevention strategies, bolstering summer youth programming and job training, supporting law enforcement agencies, and alleviating court backlogs. Additionally, Senator Baldwin helped pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that is expanding background checks for guns, funding anti-violence programs, protecting survivors of domestic violence, increasing access to mental health services, among other things to keep our schools and communities safe.

In Portage, Senator Baldwin met with members of PARCC, a group of concerned citizens, including recovery professionals, parents, service providers, law enforcement, schools, and others working to address the opioid crisis. From 2021 to 2022, synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, were identified in 91 percent of opioid overdose deaths and 73 percent of all drug overdose deaths in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health.

Senator Baldwin highlighted that her bipartisan legislation to cut off the supply chains for synthetic opioids like fentanyl advanced in the Senate as part of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. Senator Baldwin has also worked to increase access to the opioid reversal drug naloxone and increase resources for local and Tribal communities to better combat the opioid and substance use disorder epidemic, successfully including funding for both programs in last year’s budget. 

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