Press Releases
Baldwin, Colleagues Call on Federal Labor Agency to Invoke Emergency Protocols to Provide and Enforce Safety Standards for All Essential Businesses and Workers Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
"The current lack of consistency surrounding the monitoring of symptoms, sanitation practices, personal protective equipment standards, and reporting and communication requirements must be addressed." WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, Ranking Member of the Senate Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee, today joined her colleagues in calling on the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to utilize its emergency enforcement mechanism… Continue Reading
04.09.20
Senator Baldwin to Trump Administration: Take Action to Fix Paycheck Protection Program and Help Rescue Wisconsin Small Businesses
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin is demanding the Trump administration take immediate action to fix the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), created in the bipartisan CARES Act, to ensure banks can swiftly provide loans that will help rescue Wisconsin small businesses and non-profits. In her letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza, Baldwin urged the administration to swiftly work with lenders to provide clear guidance on PPP, chang… Continue Reading
04.09.20
Baldwin, Colleagues Urge Trump Administration to Ensure Transit Workers Receive Essential Protective Equipment, Updated Safety Guidelines
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined 20 of her Senate colleagues, led by Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), in urging the Trump administration to ensure that transit agencies can acquire personal protective equipment for their frontline workers. "In the brief time since Congress passed this historic funding, we have already seen the tragic death of frontline transit workers as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)," wrote the Senators. "We believe FTA should explicitly update it… Continue Reading
04.08.20
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Calls on SBA to Ensure Farms are Eligible for $10,000 Grants, Larger Forgivable Loans
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today called on Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza to clarify that farms are eligible for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and also guarantee they can get sufficient loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, created by the CARES Act. "The collapse in demand from the coronavirus pandemic catches Wisconsin's farms at a particularly challenging time, many have suffered for years from depressed prices and the uncertainty from t… Continue Reading
04.08.20
Baldwin, Murphy, Senate Dems to HHS: Reopen the ACA Marketplace, Allow More Americans to Get Health Insurance during COVID-19 Pandemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), along with 26 Senate Democrats, urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reopen the Affordable Care Act's online marketplace to allow more un- and under-insured Americans to get health insurance as they face potential health issues related to COVID-19. In a letter to Secretary Alex Azar, the Senators urged HHS to allow Americans to enroll through a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that should las… Continue Reading
04.07.20
Senator Baldwin, Colleagues Request COVID-19 Demographic Data from CDC to Ensure Effective Response to the Pandemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, along with 16 of her colleagues led by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), today asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to publicly report all available information about who is able to access COVID-19 tests, which continue to be scarce, as well as hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions, and fatalities. The members of Congress requested data broken down by sex, race, ethnicity, whether a patient is a health care provider and any… Continue Reading
04.07.20
Baldwin, Democratic Colleagues Press Trump Administration On Unemployment Insurance Benefits
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today joined her Democratic colleagues, led by Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), to press the Trump administration to take additional action in ensuring workers receive unemployment insurance as quickly as possible. The Senators outline a number of actions the administration should take to help states disburse supercharged unemployment insurance: provide technological support,… Continue Reading
04.06.20
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Introduces Legislation to Protect Frontline Workers against COVID-19
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, Ranking Member of the Senate Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee, introduced legislation to protect American workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Senator Baldwin's COVID-19 Workers First Protection Act (S.3584) directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) that requires certain employers to develop and implement a comprehensive infectious disease exposure control plan to p… Continue Reading
04.06.20
Baldwin, Bipartisan Colleagues Urge Administration to Ensure Continuity of Food Supply by Supporting Farmers during Coronavirus Pandemic
Letter to Secretary Sonny Perdue calls on administration to make temporary flexibilities on Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans permanent for the duration of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Letter urges adequate and equitable access to credit during period of market uncertainty and asks administration to consider additional emergency actions to avoid disruption in the country's food supply chain WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and a bipartisan group of her Senate collea… Continue Reading
04.03.20
Baldwin, Colleagues Call on Administration to Ensure Veterans, SSI Beneficiaries Get Stimulus Checks Automatically
Letter Follows Senators' Successful Efforts to Urge Administration to Reverse Course, Ensure Social Security Beneficiaries Receive Stimulus Checks Automatically WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined her colleagues led by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), in calling on the Trump Administration to issue stimulus checks automatically to recipients of benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Su… Continue Reading
04.03.20
Baldwin Leads Wisconsin Congressional Delegation in Calling on USDA to Take Action to Support Wisconsin Dairy Farmers Amid COVID-19 Crisis
"Wisconsin's dairy and agriculture economy is in crisis, and we write to ask for your immediate attention and aid." Dairy Farmers Forced to Dispose of Thousands of Gallons of Milk a Day WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the coronavirus pandemic threatening Wisconsin's agriculture economy, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today led seven bipartisan members of the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation in calling on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to take immediate action on behalf of W… Continue Reading
04.03.20
Senator Baldwin Calls on State Legislature to Eliminate Waiting Period for Laid-Off Workers Needing Unemployment Assistance in Wisconsin
WASHINGTON, D.C. - After Congress worked to expand unemployment insurance for laid-off American workers in response to the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and members of the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation are calling on Wisconsin State legislative leaders to eliminate the one-week waiting period, currently required under state law for recipients of unemployment assistance, to provide much-needed financial support to Wisconsin workers as quickly as possible and allow the Stat… Continue Reading
04.03.20
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Supports Legislative Fix that Would Provide Direct Relief Payments to Families with Older Children and Adult Dependents
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin helped introduce a legislative fix that would make dependents 17 and older count toward what a family gets in direct payments from the bipartisan coronavirus relief package signed into law last week. Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, an economic stimulus payment of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child (under 17) will go to most taxpayers with incomes below $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married taxpa… Continue Reading
04.02.20
Senator Baldwin, Colleagues Demand Expanded Internet Access for Low-Income Americans throughout COVID-19 Crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today joined a group of colleagues to demand better mobile internet service for low-income Americans impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Improved internet access would help American families better work and learn from home and access vital telehealth resources. The federal Lifeline service program, administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), provides free and discounted voice, text and cellular internet service to… Continue Reading
04.02.20
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Statement on FDA Announcing Updated Blood Donation Policy
"Now more than ever, we must work to increase our nation's supply based on science and facts." WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the midst of a nationwide shortage of donated blood spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced an updated blood donation deferral policy to allow more healthy gay and bisexual men to donate blood. The new policy lowers the 12-month deferral to a three-month deferral for men who have sex with men (MSM), and includes a commitment to gat… Continue Reading
04.01.20
Baldwin, Senate Colleagues Call for Social Security Recipients to Get CARES Act Direct Cash Assistance Without Having to File Tax Return
WASHINGTON, D.C. - While the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that the president signed into law last week ensured that the Treasury Department had the authority to send automatic direct cash assistance to Social Security beneficiaries regardless of whether they file taxes or not, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released contradictory guidance earlier this week stating that Social Security beneficiaries would need to file tax returns in order to receive direct paymen… Continue Reading
04.01.20
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Blasts Trump for Blocking Millions of Americans from Accessing Affordable Health Insurance Amid Pandemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic spreads and more Americans are struggling to make ends meet, the Trump administration is declining to throw them a lifeline by reopening enrollment in the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) federal exchanges. The decision not to reopen HealthCare.gov, which was first reported by Politico, will be a severe blow to Americans in about two-thirds of states that don't run their own exchanges, including Wisconsin, and instead use the federal exc… Continue Reading
04.01.20
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin: Wisconsin Small Businesses Can Start Applying For New SBA Loans To Help During Coronavirus Pandemic On April 3
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today announced that applications for the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Paycheck Protection Loan Program are available now, and that starting on April 3, 2020, small businesses and sole proprietorships can apply for and receive loans to cover their payroll and other certain expenses through existing SBA lenders. Independent contractors and those who are self-employed can begin applying on April 10, 2020. "Wisconsin small businesses need help… Continue Reading
03.31.20
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Announces Over $37 Million in New Community Development Block Grants for Wisconsin
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today announced $37,286,321 in new federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for Wisconsin communities to rapidly respond to COVID-19 and the economic and housing impacts caused by it. This funding was included in the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was signed into law last week. The CARES Act included $5 billion total in CDBG funding. This initial round of funding is being allocated to states and l… Continue Reading
03.31.20
Baldwin Helps Deliver Support for Wisconsin Farmers and Rural Communities in Bipartisan CARES Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin worked to provide relief for Wisconsin farmers and rural communities in the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was signed into law last week. "We face a public health crisis that threatens our economy and I worked to deliver support for Wisconsin farmers and our rural communities. This bipartisan response from Congress will help provide economic aid to our agriculture economy in Wisconsin during extremely chal… Continue Reading
