Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Calls for Expedited Evacuations of Children with Complex Medical Needs from Gaza
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN) joined their colleagues in sending a letter to Michael Herzog, Ambassador of Israel to the United States, and Motaz Zahran, Ambassador of Egypt to the United States, urging them to help Palestinian children who are critically ill and injured leave Gaza to seek medical treatment, and increase access to life-saving medical treatments in Gaza for children in need. “While people disagree about the war in Gaza, everyone should agree that no government should prevent injured children access to potentially life-saving medical care. Rather, governments should be doing everything possible to assist in this situation,” wrote the senators. “We have called on our own government to do its part in facilitating safe passage for these children. Our goal is to cooperate with your governments, consistent with your security concerns, to maximize safe passage and increase access to life-saving medical treatment for children in need. We understand some progress has been made, with a number of children in need of cancer treatment being moved out of Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, in cooperation with the World Health Organization,” continued the senators. “We are encouraged by this development as a very positive first step. We must all treat the welfare of children in Gaza as an urgent humanitarian priority and work together to prevent further suffering.” The Senators also requested meetings with the Ambassadors to further discuss how to facilitate safe passage for more children and their accompanying parent or caregiver to have access to the medical
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Small Business Funding for Tribal Nations
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced Red Lake Nation and Lower Sioux Indian Community were selected to receive federal funding to support small business development in their communities. The Tribes will use the funding to help small businesses access credit, which can be difficult in Indian Country. Tribal communities are systemically under-banked, making it nearly impossible for small businesses to obtain the financing they need to grow. Tribal governments can remove these barriers by working directly with businesses in their communities. The funding was awarded through the Small Business Credit Initiative, which was reauthorized and expanded by the American Rescue Plan, which Senator Smith supported. “Access to capital is essential to the economic health and growth of Tribal communities in Minnesota and across Indian Country,” said Senator Smith. “Native-owned small businesses face disproportionate obstacles when trying to secure capital to develop and grow their businesses, especially in rural areas like Red Lake and Lower Sioux. Tribes know best what works for their communities, and this funding will help Tribal economies to grow and thrive.” “The SSBCI allocation is an important steppingstone for meaningful economic development on the Red Lake Nation. Breaking down barriers surrounding capital access for Tribal and member owned businesses to equitably participate in opportunities that have historically been unavailable in Indian Country is a transformative change. An investment like SSBCI will help the Red Lake Nation achieve a vision of economic independence as well as continue to fuel the growth of our Tribal economy that also benefits rural communities across Minnesota. This change would not be possible without the advocacy
Sen. Smith, Rep. Underwood Introduce New Legislation to Expand FMLA Coverage, Strengthen Worker Protections
WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) introduced new legislation to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 to more workers. Every year, nearly 2.6 million workers who need family or medical leave do not take it because they fear losing their jobs if they do and are currently ineligible for FMLA protections. The Job Protection Act would be the largest expansion of family and medical leave protections in nearly 30 years. The legislation would extend FMLA protections to tens of millions of vulnerable workers – no matter the size of their
Senator Tina Smith Joins Colleagues Calling Out Drug Manufacturers For Squeezing American Families With Rapid, Widespread Price Hikes on Prescription Drugs
Washington, D.C. — United States Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) joined a group of Senate and House colleagues in a letter to the CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) expressing concern over findings from two new analyses that reveal troubling, widespread, and rapid price increases for brand name drugs in January 2022. “The large, across-the-board price increases of popular, brand name prescription drugs appear to be an example of pharmaceutical companies taking advantage of their abusive market power to expand already-large profits. And the coordinated and timely price increases ring of political opportunism,” the lawmakers wrote. The
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Major Federal Funding to Boost Supply Chain and Improve Land Border Port of Entry Infrastructure
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the General Services Administration (GSA) was awarded over $250 million through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to upgrade and increase capacity at the International Falls and Grand Portage land ports of entry on the Canadian border. These improvements will strengthen supply chains, improve safety and security, and create jobs. “Border ports of entry play a critical role in the success of Minnesota’s economy by facilitating trade and tourism” said Klobuchar. “This much-needed investment will help boost our supply chain by expanding processing capacity for goods
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on President Biden’s State of the Union Address
WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/01/22]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement on President Biden’s State of the Union address: “Tonight, President Biden met the moment by bringing the country together, unified in support of Ukraine against an autocratic leader. And President Biden reminded us that here at home, our economy is dramatically stronger than when he entered office one year ago. Thanks to his leadership and the hard work and resilience of American workers and businesses, more than six million Americans have gone back to work, real incomes for families have gone up, and our economy is seeing the
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