Dear Friends,

Congratulations to the Whitefish Bay and Grafton Girls Soccer Teams! Both teams advanced to the Sectional Finals for the WIAA 2019 Girls Soccer Tournament in their respective divisions. Good luck to both teams as they continue to compete for the championship this weekend!

In case you missed it, yesterday, we recognized the 75 th anniversary of D-Day. On June 6, 1944 more than 160,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy to fight for freedom and liberation from Nazi rule. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded during this operation. The sacrifice and bravery of these heroes will never be forgotten.

The Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison is hosting a special D-Day display case showcasing artifacts from Milwaukee native Martin Gutekunst. The museum is free and will be showing the artifacts through June 30 th .

This week, the Joint Committee on Finance continued our work on the biennial state budget. The committee made investments into our state’s healthcare, children and families, and roads. We made sure that we spend within our means, protect taxpayers, and still make real investments into our state. 

Finally, we also met on the floor of the State Senate this week. I am proud to announce that my bill to regulate step therapy protocols was passed on a voice vote. This bill is a win for patients and doctors, and I am very proud to have passed the bill in the Senate. You can read more about my work in Madison this week below.

As always, if you have any concerns or ideas on how to improve our great state, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 608-266-5830 or by email at Sen.Darling@legis.wi.gov .

On, Wisconsin!
Republicans Invest in Healthcare
On Tuesday, Republicans on the Joint Committee on Finance passed motions for the Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF). In these motions, we made real investments into healthcare, children, and our workforce without expanding welfare. We invested in our people, not government controlled-healthcare. While staying within our means, Republicans invested in our providers, our long term care system, mental health services, and our children. 

Medicaid (MA) reimburses at lower rates than private insurance. While the Governor’s DHS budget switched tens of thousands of Wisconsinites from private insurance to MA, the Republican motion helps providers recoup some of the losses they already incur from serving MA patients. Our DHS motion invests $64 million into our hospitals to fill part of the $1.4 billion in losses they sustain from serving MA patients each year. 

Our DHS motion also makes record investments into our aging and long term care systems. We gave $27 million to Family Care workers and $30 million to our skilled nursing homes. These investments more than double those in Evers’ budget. At the same time, we spent over $36 million to give personal care workers a raise, more than five times Evers’ investment.

I am also proud of our investments into mental health and our kids. We voted to expand the Child Psychiatry Consultation Program, a successful program that helps kids access mental health services. We also invested in a new program to help train more therapists for our workforce. Under DCF, we made real investments into our child welfare system, community programs, and child care services. These investments will help kids access the services they need to be safe and successful. 
JFC Approves Transportation Package
This week, we made a great investment into our roads. When we toured the state for public listening sessions on the budget, we heard our constituents speak about investing more revenues into our roads. 

The DOT motion passed by JFC invests $156 million more into our local roads. We’re also investing $320 million more in the state highway rehabilitation program. We also provided at 2% increase into our public transit system. 

In our own district, I am excited to say that we enumerated I-43 extending between Silver Spring Dr. and STH 60 in Milwaukee and Ozaukee Counties. This step will ensure that this project for our district gets done!

These investments are critical to fixing our roads and benefiting all Wisconsinites!
State Senate Approves Step Therapy Legislation
On Wednesday, the State Senate approved my bill to reform step therapy protocols. Step therapy is a process used by insurance companies that determines the order in which prescription drugs should be given to a patient.

My bill lays out a clear exception process to override step therapy protocols. Doctors and patients will be able to work together to request exceptions to step therapy protocols if any of the following are true:
  • The patient already tried the drug and failed.
  •  The drug is contraindicated for the patient.
  • The patient is already stable on a successful prescription.

The exceptions laid out in the bill provide clarity for patients and doctors as they try to find a treatment plan that best suits the patient. This bill creates transparency in healthcare and expedites the process for patients to receive the drug that is right for them.

I’m proud to author this patient-centered healthcare legislation with Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette). The bill needs a vote in the State Assembly before it heads to Governor Evers desk to be signed into law.
Wisconsin Led in Giving Women the Right to Vote
On Monday, June 10, Wisconsin will celebrate the centennial of our state’s ratification of the 19 th amendment!

The Wisconsin Historical Society is hosting an event in Madison to celebrate this momentous occasion. On Monday, the original 19 th Amendment will be on display in the Capitol Rotunda. The event is free and open to the public. Details about Monday’s event can be found here .  
Around the 8th...
The Menomonee Falls Farmer’s Market is up and running! You can visit the market every Wednesday from 9 AM – 2 PM.

Support your Homestead Highlanders Cheer Team by attending their car wash fundraiser! 

$5 per car and all donation will go to help offset the season and purchase new uniforms for the girls.

Saturday, June 8
8:30 AM- 12:00 PM
Piggly Wiggly on Mequon Rd
The Milwaukee Brewers are hosting a Stranger Things night at the ballpark on Saturday, June 8!