Latest Releases
Klobuchar, Smith Secure Significant Federal Funding for Infrastructure Improvements to Highway 11 Along the Rainy River
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded $2,560,000 in federal funding for the City of Loman’s Highway 11 Rainy River Slide Realignment and Resiliency Project. The project addresses two critical slope failures that threaten to close portions of Highway 11 along the Rainy River. The project will realign 1.2 miles of the highway about 150 feet to the west, removing the roadway from the slide areas and completing work to stabilize the slopes. “Highway 11 is a vital part of Northern Minnesota’s transportation system,” said Klobuchar. “With this grant, the City of Loman will make critical infrastructure improvements to make Highway 11 resilient and improve driving conditions.” “Minnesotans deserve to drive on safe, reliable roads,” said Smith. “Highway 11 along the Rainy River in Northern Minnesota is a danger to drivers, and this project will realign the highway on safer, more stable ground to protect and improve drivers’ safety.” The funding was secured through the USDOT Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) Grant program. PROTECT provides funding to ensure surface transportation resilience to natural hazards including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters through support of planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk coastal infrastructure. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides funding for PROTECT. ###
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. Sen. Tina Smith: Easing of Canadian Border Restrictions Should Bring Much-Needed Relief for Minnesota’s Northwest Angle
WASHINGTON, D.C. [7/19/21]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said today’s announcement that Canada will ease COVID-19 restrictions at the U.S.-Canada border beginning August 9 will provide long-overdue relief for hard-hit businesses and residents in Minnesota’s Northwest Angle. Sen. Smith said residents and businesses in the Northwest Angle, a Minnesota enclave reachable only by boat—across Lake of the Woods—or by traveling briefly through Canada, have been devastated by the pandemic and the border restrictions that closed the Angle off from the rest of Minnesota and the country. “I’ve repeatedly pushed hard—both diplomatically and through introducing legislation—to get Canada to reconsider its restrictions
Chair Tina Smith Leads Senate Hearing on Fire Safety, Home Health Risks Including Lead and Radon
WASHINGTON, D.C. [7/20/21]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) led her third hearing as chair of a key housing subcommittee, where Sen. Smith heard from leaders of housing authorities—including Jennifer Keogh, Deputy Executive Director of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority—and a nationally recognized expert on led and radon dangers. In 2019, an early morning fire at the Cedar High Apartments, a 25-story public housing building in Minneapolis, led to the deaths of five residents on the upper levels. The building did not have fire sprinklers. Shortly after the fire, Chair Smith introduced legislation to fund the installation of fire sprinklers in older public
U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Lindsey Graham Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Help Students Develop Workforce Readiness Skills
WASHINGTON, D.C. [5/19/21]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced a bipartisan bill to help prepare young people for jobs and boost their economic potential. The Youth Workforce Readiness Act, also supported by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), would create partnerships between afterschool providers and businesses to help students develop essential workforce readiness skills—like critical thinking and decision making—and learn about different career paths. Right now, many young people in Minnesota, South Carolina and across America are concerned about whether they have the skills necessary to secure a job in the future. This lack of adequate workforce readiness also leads to negative economic effects for employers, who often
Smith, Klobuchar Announce $9M in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now accepting applications for a total of $9 million in grants to fund up to 24 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) projects. These funds will address stormwater runoff pollution from land into the Great Lakes. “Lake Superior is the world’s largest fresh water lake, playing a critically-important role in our state’s character and economy by connecting Minnesota’s people and goods to the world,” said Smith. “These grants are important because they will help ensure the lake’s water quality remains healthy and vibrant by restoring vegetation near
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