Latest Releases
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, 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.” “Investing in long-term energy is a win-win for rural customers and businesses,” said Senator Klobuchar. “With this federal funding, we’re taking a big step toward deploying new energy technologies to power rural communities across Minnesota for decades to come.” Projects included can be found in the table below. The funding is specifically set aside for agricultural producers and rural small businesses to install renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. The projects are possible thanks to the Renewable Energy for America (REAP) program, which Senator Smith championed and strengthened in the Inflation Reduction Act, which both Senators supported. Senator Smith continues to prioritize
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Tribal Leaders Announce Tribal Public Safety Projects
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, announced funding for seven public safety initiatives for four Minnesota Tribes. The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Red Lake Band of Chippewa, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and White Earth Nation received federal funding ranging between $450,000 and $900,000 for various Tribal programs aimed at increasing Tribal capacity to respond to violent crime, opioid abuse, and assist victims. Projects will be tailored to each Tribe’s unique needs, from expanding Tribal Courts’ capacities for home visits and supervision, to hiring staff to investigate child abuse and neglect cases, to onboarding personnel who coordinate resources to help those dealing with opioid addiction. Tribal leadership in Minnesota have long advocated for greater federal assistance for Tribal public safety efforts to respond to the opioid epidemic and violent crime. “Tribal leaders have been consistently clear that they need more support from the federal government to combat the opioid epidemic and prosecute crimes on their lands, and we have a trust responsibility to assist Tribal governments to keep their people safe,” said Senator Tina Smith. “Tribes know best how to reduce crime and substance abuse on their lands. These grants are directly supporting Tribally-driven solutions to these challenges.” “This grant is crucial in enhancing our ability to respond to the opioid epidemic. By bringing on additional staff, we will improve our efforts to connect those affected by addiction with the resources they need for recovery. Our goal is to reduce
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Leads Push To Ensure Historic Investment In Childcare, Universal Pre-K as Part of Build Back Better Budget
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/25/21]— U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn) said today that after 18 months of a devastating pandemic, historic investments in childcare and universal pre-kindergarten education will be necessary to help working families – especially women – return to the workforce, a key element in getting businesses and the economy back on track. In a letter Friday, Sen. Smith led a group of 15 key Senators in pressing President Biden and Congressional leaders to include $450 billion in the Build Back Better budget package now being negotiated for both childcare and universal pre-k. “Our economy will not work, nor
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Backs Administration Decision to Complete Two Year Mining Safety Study, Which She’d Pushed For
MINNESOTA [10/20/21]— U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said today that she backs the decision by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Interior (DOI) to complete a two-year study that will determine the safety of copper-nickel mining in the watershed that feeds the world-renowned Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), which is she pushed for earlier this year. The safety study was abruptly halted in 2018, without explanation. In March, Sen. Smith pushed U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to direct key agencies under their jurisdictions to finish the study. Sen. Smith released the following statement on
U.S. Senator Tina Smith to Vote No on Minneapolis Police Ballot Amendment
MINNESOTA [10/18/21]— U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) today released the following statement on her decision to vote No on the Minneapolis police ballot amendment: “I will be voting no on Amendment #2 to the Minneapolis City Charter. Like many of my Minneapolis neighbors, I have wrestled with how to vote. My core value is to find the right path toward the transformational change we need in public safety, so that everyone is safe in their home and communities. We know this promise has not been realized for many black and brown communities, which have been traumatized by an epidemic of violence
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Seeks Probe of Firms that Pressure Vulnerable Minnesotans to Unfairly Give Up Funds From Injury Settlements
MINNESOTA [10/18/21]— U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) has urged the nation’s top financial regulator to probe firms that have aggressively targeted accident victims in Minnesota and across the country to give up injury settlements designed to provide them income over many years in exchange for a one-time smaller lump-sum payment – typically taking half the value of the settlement or more. In a recent letter to Rohit Chopra, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Sen. Smith pressed for an investigation into the firms operating in the largely-unregulated industry that buys “structured settlements” from people who have been injured or
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