Senator Smith is committed to fighting for more jobs and building a stronger economy, one that works for everyone so businesses grow and workers get better jobs with better pay, and so we can invest in infrastructure and manufacturing. Sen. Smith wants to address college affordability and expand career and workforce training for young people who don’t go to a four-year college.
Despite the fact that the economy is rebounding, too many Minnesota families struggle to make ends meet, face a job loss, or grapple with a shrinking pay check. Sen. Smith believes that in order to build an economy that works for everyone, we need a fairer tax code that supports working families, not just the wealthiest of Americans. We need paid family and medical leave for workers so that parents can stay home to take care of a newborn or a sick a family member without losing a paycheck. We need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to close the pay gap between men and women. We need fair trade policies that help Minnesota workers, businesses, and farmers get ahead, and we need to crack down on foreign countries that break international trade rules and put American workers out of jobs. We need to hold Wall Street accountable and make sure they don’t cause another economic collapse. We need to invest in small businesses and support entrepreneurs. And we need to help foster the next generation of Minnesota innovators by investing in research and development.
As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Sen. Smith will build on Minnesota’s proud history of invention and creativity by supporting our classrooms, students, and our workforce. And, as a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Sen. Smith will be standing up for consumers, working to ensure fair access to financial services for all Americans, and working to improve the availability of safe, decent, and affordable housing.
Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Celebrates Rural Broadband Announcements in Minnesota
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced three grants from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide high-speed, reliable internet to residents in rural Minnesota. Over 5,000 people will benefit from these awards. Recipients include 139 different businesses and 368 farms across the state. “Internet access is not just a luxury in the 21st century, it’s a necessity,” said Senator Smith. “In Minnesota and across the country, people in rural areas, small towns, and Tribal communities need access to reliable, high-speed internet. Investing in broadband infrastructure with the ReConnect Grant Program will help connect communities in every part of the country to high-speed internet and I am proud to have helped bring this funding back to Minnesota.” Three organizations across Minnesota were awarded money: The investment comes from USDA Rural Development’s ReConnect Loan and Grant Program and totals $44,433,314 for all three awards. ReConnect provides loans and grants to bring high-speed internet to rural areas that lack access to broadband. ###
Major Senate Report Recommends Passage of U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Legislation Addressing Amazon’s Mistreatment of Workers, Unjust Quota System
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Senate Labor Committee released a report endorsing Senator Tina Smith’s (D-MN) legislation to end dangerous quota systems at Amazon warehouses. The report detailed Amazon’s mistreatment of warehouse workers under the corporation’s productivity quota system. The report analyzed Amazon’s data and found that Amazon warehouses recorded over 30 percent more injuries than the warehousing industry average in 2023. More than two-thirds of Amazon’s warehouses have injury rates that exceed the industry average. Minnesota is home to five Amazon warehouses, which have previously been reported for mistreatment of its workers. The first listed solution in the report is bipartisan legislation spearheaded by Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, which would prohibit dangerous quota systems like Amazon’s, cited in Senate report. “This report highlights what we’ve already been hearing: Amazon’s quota system is pushing workers past their limits and is causing a high number of injuries among warehouse workers,” said Senator Smith. “The momentum to protect workers is growing. These big companies hold a lot of power. They are literally controlling the lives of workers minute by minute with their productivity metrics and quotas. We need to heed the calls of the report and pass the bipartisan Warehouse Worker Protection Act.” The bipartisan Warehouse Worker Protection Act would protect warehouse workers by prohibiting dangerous work speed quotas that lead to high rates of worker injuries. The legislation as re-introduced includes new enforcement authority for the Federal Trade Commission, as well as an exemption for small businesses. The legislation is cosponsored
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Announce Funding to Help Beginning, Emerging Farmers Access Farmland
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, announced funding for Renewing the Countryside’s Upper Midwest Farmland Access Hub Navigator Program to improve farmland access outcomes for all stages of beginning farmers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The Farmland Access Hub, in its seventh year, pairs land-seeking farmers with an advocate who can provide guidance and resources to help farmers on their land access journey and connect them with farmland owners hoping to transfer their land to new owners. They will use the nearly $750,000 in federal funding to expand
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Announce Clean Energy Projects for Minnesota Farms, Small Businesses in Rural Areas
[MINNEAPOLIS, MN] – U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, announced funding awards for 10 farms and small businesses across rural and Greater Minnesota to install clean energy technology. This round of funding for Minnesota totals $1.3 million. This year alone, Minnesota has seen over 170 clean energy projects in small towns and rural places thanks to the Rural Energy for America Program. “The clean energy transition is happening; the question is whether we lead or follow. I want us to lead,” said Senator Smith. “But as we make the switch to cleaner, cheaper energy,
Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Expansion of Meat Processing Facility in Perham, MN
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, announced funding to double the capacity of a meat processing facility in Perham, MN. The $530,000 grant will go to Lakes Community Cooperative, a processing facility that provides its member owners with multi-species livestock processing services. Helping smaller, locally owned processing facilities like Lakes Community Cooperative to be competitive in today’s market will help lower costs for consumers by spurring competition in an already consolidated meat industry. “Minnesota’s meat and poultry products help feed the nation and the world,” said Klobuchar. “This new
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Announce Historic Expansions of Clean Energy Across Rural Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-Minn.), announced historic funding for clean, reliable and low-cost energy across rural Minnesota. Three rural electric cooperatives with operations in the state will receive funding to deploy clean energy or make energy efficiency improvements. More cooperatives are expected to receive funding in the coming months. Minnesota’s electric cooperatives provide electricity to nearly one-third of the state. Senator Smith was instrumental in securing this funding for rural electric co-ops through her work on the clean energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. The three cooperatives selected that operate in Minnesota are:
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