Educational choice • medical freedom • ELECTION INTEGRITY

Barbara has a strong record as an advocate for families and passionate Conservative who never relents in working for Wisconsin.

barbara's EMPHASIS HAS BEEN:

• Victim’s Rights & Community Safety

• Maintaining Women’s Sports for Biological Women

• Workforce Strength

• Mental Health Issues

• Substance Abuse

• Controlling Spending & Taxes

• Educational Choice for All

• Medical Privacy & Freedom

• Preserving & Protecting Life

• Protecting Constitutional Rights & Voter Integrity

VICTIM’S RIGHTS & COMMUNITY SAFETY

Representative Dittrich was the author of “Kayleigh’s Law,” legislation offering victims the chance to be granted a lifetime restraining order against their assailants. On April 15, 2022, Kayleigh’s Law was signed by Governor Evers after overwhelming bipartisan support and became 2021 Act 256.

Barbara continues to work with school resource officers, local and county law enforcement, and county social services to address the concerns threatening the safety of our communities.

Maintaining Women’s Sports for Biological Women

In March of 2021, Representative Dittrich introduced the “Protecting Women in Sports Act,” which would preserve women’s sports on both the high school and collegiate level for biological women. Hearing the concerns of parents who had daughters competing in sports and Wisconsin women who were independently involved in state sports, Barbara penned this legislation months before controversies involved with UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas became front-page news. The legislation was passed in the Assembly but derailed in the Senate. The Representative intends to continue fighting for the safety and achievements of Wisconsin’s female athletes.

WORKFORCE STRENGTH

Representative Dittrich has proudly served as the Vice-Chair of the Assembly Committee on Workforce Development for two consecutive legislative sessions. She was the Assembly author of 2019 Act 171, expanding Wisconsin’s youth apprenticeships. Barbara was a fierce champion for workers during the COVID-19 crisis and the backlog of unemployment claims. The Representative continues to seek innovative ways to address the serious ongoing workforce shortage she is hearing about in every sector of the economy. Pathways to employment and removal of licensing obstacles continue to be a battle she is fighting.

Mental Health

Representative Dittrich has been a strong supporter of mental health legislation in the State Assembly. Whether it has been preventing suicide or providing our schools with additional support for students, Barbara has been a co-sponsor or voted affirmatively for improving psychological well-being. She has seen first-hand the negative psychological toll COVID-19 lockdowns have had on students and adults alike. Barbara continues to work on legislation specifically targeted towards children subjected to trauma and vulnerable teenagers.

SUBStance Abuse

Throughout every hearing of the Speaker’s Task Force on Adoption that Representative Dittrich chaired, substance abuse was mentioned as a contributing factor to broken families. All of us know someone who has been devastated by this national and state epidemic. Not only do these drugs threaten our community by their direct use, they also threaten public safety by the criminal subculture they fuel. With substance abuse up due to the COVID-19 crisis, the importance of this issue is magnified. Barbara has introduced legislation attempting to mitigate the trauma inflicted upon children subjected to substance abuse as well as continuing to work on measures to expedite treatment to those suffering from addiction.

Controlling Spending & Taxes

Despite the Governor’s efforts to spend more and increase taxes, Representative Dittrich has stood against out-of-control spending. You do better with more of your hard-earned money in your own pocket. Had the Governor’s budget been allowed to pass, the current inflation we are facing would have been much worse. Barbara has been honored to stand in defense of the hardworking residents of this state by being fiscally responsible.

Representative Dittrich also believes in exploring the possibility of eliminating Wisconsin’s state income tax. This has proven to be an incredible boon to states that have done so, and this could additionally help with workforce recruitment and retention.

Educational choice for all

The COVID-19 virus exposed flaws in education like never before. Parents found themselves at a loss when their children were forced to mask during the school day despite evidence that school-aged children in good health are at low risk of spreading or dying from this illness. Additionally, parents suddenly became aware of the indoctrinating materials integrated into their children’s education during online learning. The Representative has heard the outcry of dissatisfied taxpayers and parents who feel indignant that their children are being deprived of an adequate education. She believes that parents know their kids best and that it’s past time that students start being put first when it comes to education. That is why Barbara is a strong advocate of educational choice and has been given the inaugural 2021 Common Sense Award for being Wisconsin’s first legislator to sign the Education Freedom Pledge.

Medical Privacy & Freedom

When the COVID-19 injection first became available, Representative Dittrich fought hard on the Assembly Committee on Health to get those shots to the most vulnerable citizens. As the vaccines became more widely available, Barbara saw Wisconsinites being forced to take these shots when they either didn’t want them or were put at risk by receiving them. That is why she was a proud sponsor of the natural immunity legislation and voted for all of the medical freedom bills put forth this session.

Preserving Life

Representative Dittrich was once the author of three strong pro-life bills that passed through the Assembly and Senate in past sessions but sadly, vetoed by the Governor. One bill decertified Planned Parenthood as a health care provider under the state’s medical assistance program. Another prohibited abortion based upon gender or prenatal diagnosis. The final piece of legislation would establish a network of informational resources to parents receiving a prenatal diagnosis for their child. Barbara also continued to stand against proposed assisted suicide legislation. While she holds life dearly, she knows that Wisconsin stands on a cliff of having abortion legalized up through birth for any reason, which is not where most voters are. That is why she was a co-sponsor of 2023 AB 975, which would limit abortion to that first trimester. She believes her family's story of serious chronic diagnosis is a testament to the hopeful promise that every life matters.

protecting constitutional rights

Had it not been for the Legislature fighting the Governor’s overstepping the law on COVID-19, Wisconsin might still be illegally locked down today. The Legislature most recently won its lawsuit appealing to the US Supreme Court regarding the redrawing of legislative maps during reapportionment. In our suit, the majority opinion of the highest court in the land found that the Governor’s maps were unfair to minorities, violating the Voting Rights Act, which bars racial discrimination in election rules and protects the ability of minority voters to elect their chosen candidates. Representative Dittrich was proud to fulfill her oath of office by following the US Constitution as well as the Wisconsin State Constitution and will continue to push back when she sees violations.