Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Funding for Meat Processing Facility in Waseca
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN), members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, announced federal funding to increase the meat processing capacity of Morgan’s Meat Market LLC in Waseca. The grant funding will go towards adding a smokehouse and vacuum stuffer, which will increase worker safety, reduce cleaning time from 3 days to only 4 hours, and increase processing capacity while saving time. “Agriculture is key to our state’s economy and to stay ahead, we must continue investing in our farms and food businesses,” said Klobuchar. “This federal grant will go toward bolstering capacity, improving worker safety, and upgrading efficiency at Morgan’s Meat Market in Waseca.” “A strong meat processing industry is critical to maintaining a stable economy in Minnesota, especially for Minnesota’s poultry and livestock farmers,” said Senator Smith. “By increasing capacity at Morgan’s Meat Market, producers will have another processing option. This helps farmers get a fair value for animals and also helps keep prices down for consumers at the grocery story.” The funding comes from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Local Meat Capacity grant program and will give Morgan’s Meat Market LLC in Waseca $250,000 for these upgrades. ###
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins Colleagues in Urging Biden Administration to Address Humanitarian Crisis in Ethiopia
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator and Tina Smith (D-MN) joined her colleagues in sending a letter to the Biden administration regarding the mounting humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia. The letter was led by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and was also signed by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Tim Kaine (D-VA). The Senators urged U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power to work with partners to ensure continued international humanitarian support for the people of Ethiopia as the country confronts an ongoing humanitarian crisis exacerbated by armed conflict and climate chaos. “While we are heartened by United States’ and international efforts to provide food assistance and other humanitarian aid to the Ethiopian people, their needs remain great, especially when factoring in the more than 100,000 Sudanese refugees who have recently fled the violence in their country and taken refuge in Ethiopia,” the Senators wrote. “We support the Administration’s continued global leadership in the provision of humanitarian aid to those most in need,” the Senators continued. “We also acknowledge that it is critical to maintain effective oversight of assistance and ensure that it is not being abused or diverted. However, commitments from other donor countries and the international community have failed to keep up with the increasing needs globally.” Read the full text of the letter below: Dear Secretary Blinken and Administrator Power, We write to express deep concern about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, which is set to worsen this year
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Becomes First Cosponsor of Bill to Expand the U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON D.C. [09/28/21]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced that she joined Senator Ed Markey’s (D-Mass.) legislation to expand the U.S. Supreme Court from 9 justices to 13, becoming the first Senate cosponsor. After Republicans in the Senate and in the previous Administration stole two Supreme Court seats, Sen. Smith believes that balance must be restored to the Court. The Judiciary Act would add four seats to the Court and not without precedence: the number of justices who sit on the U.S. Supreme Court has changed several times. “Republicans have been working to politicize the U.S. Supreme Court for forty years, with the help of dark money and the Federalist Society. With Donald Trump’s help, they stole two
Klobuchar, Smith, Stauber Urge Secretary Buttigieg to Partner with USDA, Forest Service on Ely Airport Infrastructure Improvements to Help Combat Wildfires
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Representative Pete Stauber (MN-08) are pushing U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg to work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to ensure the Ely Airport has the necessary infrastructure to continue to combat the wildfires spreading across Minnesota’s Arrowhead region. “In the last month, roughly ten separate wildfires have spread throughout the Arrowhead region of the state…As two of the region’s critical highways were closed as a result of the fires, the Ely Municipal Airport in Northeast Minnesota has been critical
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Urges President Biden to Ramp Up Global Vaccine Production for Low- and Middle- Income Countries
WASHINGTON, D.C. [9/17/21]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) led a group of her colleagues in calling on President Joe Biden to expand the United States’ global vaccine production and delivery for low- and middle- income countries. Ahead of the upcoming international summit on global COVID-19 vaccine access, Sen. Smith urged the Biden Administration to make firm commitments to expand global COVID-19 vaccine access. Sen. Smith said that without U.S. leadership in this area, we will not be able to vaccinate the global population and end the COVID-19 pandemic. “According to experts, 11 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses are needed to vaccinate 70% of the global population and
U.S. Sen. Smith Says New Report Confirms Her Clean Electricity Plan Would Create Millions of Jobs, Provide for Affordable Energy, & Add Billions in Economic Value
WASHINGTON, D.C. [9/9/21]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) says a new report from a credible research company confirms why she’s been fighting for the Clean Electricity Payment Plan (CEPP) in the Senate. The report—released today by Analysis Group and summarized by Evergreen Action and the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)—shows how Congress can create nearly 8 million jobs and $1 trillion in economic growth over the next decade by passing the CEPP. “This report confirms why I’ve been pushing my clean electricity plan: we can create millions of good paying jobs across the country, provide for affordable energy, clean up air and water pollution, and
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