WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) today announced that Lauri Badura from Oconomowoc will be his guest at the State of the Union address tomorrow night. Badura and Sen. Johnson have worked together to combat the opioid epidemic. Badura’s organization, Saving Others for Archie (SOFA), works to raise awareness of the relationship between addiction and mental health. SOFA is also the acronym used for a bill Sen. Johnson introduced last fall, the Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues Act, which would help prosecute those producing and distributing illegal fentanyl. 

“I’m pleased to have Lauri Badura attend the State of the Union address as my guest,” Sen. Johnson said. “Lauri has been a tireless advocate for families struggling with addiction since her 19-year old son, Archie, died of an overdose in 2014. Lauri and I are encouraged by the president making the opioid epidemic a national emergency and look forward to hearing more about solutions during the State of the Union address.”

Lauri Badura first met Sen. Johnson while testifying at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Relations Committee field hearing on the opioid epidemic in April 2016. 

Read more about the SOFA Act here. 

Watch a video about the SOFA Act here.

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