Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Celebrates Red Lake, Inc. Trade Mission to India
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, celebrated that Red Lake Nation’s Red Lake, Inc. will be participating in a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) agribusiness trade mission to New Delhi, India at the end of the month. 47 diverse businesses and organizations will join Under Secretary Alexis M. Taylor on the mission, and Red Lake will be the only representative from a Native or Tribal community. “We need to support all farmers—and that includes making sure we’re advocating for Native farmers who may face unique and challenging barriers to successfully owning and operating farms,” said Sen. Smith. “This trade mission to India will be a great opportunity for Red Lake to cultivate new markets for their agriculture products.” While on the trade mission, participants will engage in targeted meetings and site visits to build new trade linkages, strengthen existing partnerships, observe U.S. products in the marketplace, and discover the latest Indian consumer food trends. Participants will also receive in-depth market briefings from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service and industry trade experts. Dating back to 2018, Senator Smith has pushed for Tribal inclusion on USDA trade missions. She joined colleagues from New Mexico, Montana, and North Dakota to send a letter to then Secretary Sonny Perdue to more fully incorporate tribes into these trade missions. ###
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Clean Energy Projects for Minnesota Farms and Small Businesses
[MINNEAPOLIS, MN] – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, announced funding awards for 27 farms and small businesses across rural and Greater Minnesota to install clean energy technology on their farms. This round of funding for Minnesota totals nearly $2 million. This initiative is possible through the more than $144 million in grant funding for underutilized renewable technologies through the Renewable Energy for America (REAP) program, which Senator Smith championed and strengthened in the Inflation Reduction Act. “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, we need to make sure everyone benefits. That’s one reason programs like REAP, which helps rural communities install renewable energy systems, are so important. These investments will save farms and small businesses across Minnesota thousands of dollars a year in energy costs while helping reduce harmful emissions.” “I applied and received a grant for my new mixed flow grain dryer,” said John Kapphahn, a farmer from Elbow Lake. “We had an older continuous flow dryer that was about 20 years old that was destroyed by a tornado. The new dryer has cut our operating expense for drying corn by at least 50% with better quality grain.” “The REAP grant funding helped us to add a rooftop solar array to our dairy farm,” said Alan Abrahamson from Lindstrom. “As a small dairy farm anything we can do to reduce our
Klobuchar, Smith, McCollum Announce Major Federal Funding for Saint Paul Port
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) and Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded more than $4.1M through its Port Infrastructure Development Program to the Saint Paul Port. “The Saint Paul Port enables Minnesota’s industries to compete in the global market and provides a cost-effective and environmentally-sustainable solution to transporting commodities in the Upper Midwest,” said Klobuchar. “This investment is key to ensuring safe access to port facilities, maintaining current barge volumes, and supporting the growth of the region.” “With nearly 6 million tons of cargo passing through
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown Press Largest Managers of Online Degree Programs to Answer for Concerning Business Practices
WASHINGTON, [1.18.22] – United States Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) wrote to the eight largest Online Program Management (OPM) companies — 2U, Academic Partnerships, Pearson, Wiley, Bisk, Kaplan, Grand Canyon, and Zovio — that administer online degree programs for many colleges and universities, raising concerns about their business practices and tuition-sharing arrangements that incentivize aggressive recruitment tactics and may be contributing to rising student debt loads. “We continue to have concerns about the impact of OPM partnerships on rising student debt loads. The responses to our previous letters confirmed that OPMs often have tuition-sharing
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith Announce Funding to Address Health and Safety Hazards in Housing
WASHINGTON, [1.18.22] – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-Minnesota) announced new funding for programs that will allow Minneapolis and Hennepin County to eliminate housing-related hazards. Programs in Minneapolis and Hennepin County will receive $2 million each. “In Minnesota, we know how important it is to have a safe, warm place to sleep every night,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “This funding will help address health and safety hazards that are too frequently ignored, putting Minnesota families at risk. I’ll keep working to support these vital programs and ensure hazards are examined and repaired in a timely manner.” “Housing-related
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Susan Collins, Cory Booker, and Lisa Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Rebuild Public Health Workforce Amidst Shortages
WASHINGTON, [1.14.22] – Last night, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minnesota), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced bipartisan legislation to reinforce and expand our public health workforce amidst significant shortages. Their legislation, the Strengthening the Public Health Workforce Act, would help restore the public health workforce at the state, local, and Tribal level to support the COVID-19 response effort. These measures are particularly urgent given the current state of our public health sector; according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, there is a nationwide shortage of 80,000 public health professionals. This bill is endorsed by
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