WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) was sworn into the United States Senate by Vice President Kamala Harris. Ahead of today’s swearing in ceremony, Senator Baldwin delivered remarks and penned an op-ed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, outlining her goals for the upcoming term. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: I’ll keep standing up to Wall Street and Big Pharma for Wisconsin in the Senate “Nobody’s Senator but yours,” was the motto that we all knew the late Senator Herb Kohl by. We knew that not just because he said it, but because it was true. Kohl wasn’t a showman, but he always showed up for Wisconsin. In fact, his tenure in the Senate was defined by his quiet demeanor, second-to-none work ethic, and his unwavering love of our state. That’s why he was my role model. And that’s why it was an honor to follow in his footsteps – figuratively and literally. Not only do I now sit in the seat he held, but Kohl also led me into the chamber when I was first sworn into the Senate. Today, I’ll be sworn in to serve the people of Wisconsin for another six years. It is and will continue to be the honor of my lifetime to serve as your U.S. Senator and fight for you every day. Since my first day in the Senate, I’ve tried my best to carry on Senator Kohl’s legacy – working tirelessly and oftentimes behind the scenes on behalf of Wisconsinites. I’ve striven to show up everywhere, listen to everyone, and take the fight back to Washington on your behalf. Working for Wisconsin is the job you elected me to do – standing up to anyone, like big corporations, the wealthy, and special interests, and working with anyone to make life better for Wisconsin families. This work is about standing up to big drug companies who have price-gouged families, finally capping insulin costs for seniors and allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices. It’s about fighting to make sure that young people can stay on their parents’ health insurance until they are 26 years old thanks to my provision in the Affordable Care Act. It’s about delivering for dairy farmers who now have resources to grow their businesses because of my Dairy Business Innovation Initiative. It’s delivering for workers with my Buy America rules that bring manufacturing and jobs back to communities across the state, or going to bat for 22,000 Wisconsin Teamsters by saving their pensions when they were in jeopardy. While it is a new year and a new term as Senator, my job is the same: Show up, listen, and work with anyone to deliver for you and our state. That’s the road map I’ve followed, even when the road ahead looks uncertain. And, while I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together, there’s more work left to do. I will continue to stand up to Wall Street, Big Pharma, or any special interest to bring down the cost of health care, childcare, and housing to give working families a little more breathing room. We have work to do to stand up to China’s cheating and the big multi-national corporations that are shipping our jobs overseas. We must strengthen our Made in Wisconsin economy to create good paying jobs and keep our supply chains here in America. You can bet that I will keep working to expand healthcare coverage, lower costs, restore reproductive rights, and stand up to any efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would take away health care from thousands of Wisconsinites. With fentanyl still claiming the lives of too many of our neighbors and loved ones, we have serious work to do to secure our border and get our communities the tools they need to combat this crisis. I’ll also carry on Wisconsin’s proud tradition of stewardship of our natural resources. From the Great Lakes to the Mighty Mississippi, Wisconsin’s waters support our local economies and are central to our Wisconsin identity and way of life, and I’ll stand up to any efforts to roll back protections that keep them clean and safe. Wisconsin, you’ve once again put your faith in me to fight for our state, and that’s a responsibility I do not take lightly. I’ll continue showing up, listening, and working for you every day to live up to our state motto: ‘Forward.’ Now, it’s time to get to work.
