Latest Releases
Klobuchar, Baldwin, Smith, Stauber Urge Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to Support Federal Funding to Rebuild the Blatnik Bridge
WASHINGTON – Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Tina Smith (D-MN) and Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN) sent a bipartisan letter urging Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to support Minnesota and Wisconsin’s application for federal funding to rebuild the Blatnik Bridge. “We write to reiterate our strong support of the Minnesota and Wisconsin Department of Transportations’ application for federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” wrote the lawmakers. “By replacing the Blatnik Bridge, the project would exemplify the type of critical infrastructure project that was envisioned by Congress.”“As noted in our previous letter to President Biden in September 2023, the Blatnik Bridge, located over St. Louis Bay on Lake Superior, is one of two bridges that connects the cities of Duluth, Minnesota with Superior, Wisconsin,” the lawmakers continued. “It is an essential economic engine in the region and a key link in the global supply chain.”In September, Klobuchar, Smith, Baldwin, and Representative Stauber sent a letter to President Biden urging him to fund this project. In August, Klobuchar and Smith sent letters to Secretary Buttigieg in support of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)’s applications for funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including the U.S. Department of Transportation National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program and its Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) Program. In 2022, Klobuchar, Smith, and Baldwin sent a letter to President Biden urging him to fund this project. President Biden visited the Blatnik Bridge in 2022 with Klobuchar, Baldwin, and Smith, to discuss how the bridge could benefit from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In 2021, Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Commerce
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar and Representative Angie Craig Press Postal Service Again for Answers on Mail Carriers’ Missing Paychecks
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D – MN), and U.S. Representative Angie Craig (D-MN02) sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy seeking answers about an apparent payroll system error that led to an estimated 2,200 rural letter carriers missing paychecks. The incident is the second major payroll problem for the Postal Service since September. The lawmakers sent a similar letter to Postmaster General DeJoy in September seeking answers when approximately 53,000 postal workers missed or received only partial paychecks, and the Postal Service responded that they had solved the issue that caused the error. “In your response, you assured us that the payroll programming error was ‘corrected’ and ‘rigorously tested,’ but just three months later we must address this again with you. Rural letter carriers provide an essential service to small towns and rural places in Minnesota and around the country. They deliver medicine, bills, Social Security checks and other crucial documents and items. They provide for their own families and deserve timely compensation,” the lawmakers said. In their letter, Senators Smith, Klobuchar, and Representative Craig called for DeJoy to take immediate steps to pay affected workers and ensure this problem is not repeated. Smith, Klobuchar and Craig have long worked to improve the reliability of postal service in Minnesota. All 3 lawmakers have introduced bicameral, bipartisan legislation addressing transparency at the Postal Service. Smith and Klobuchar both sent letters to Postmaster DeJoy regarding the disruptions caused by increased Amazon package delivery and decried Postmaster General DeJoy’s response. In September, they pressed USPS for answers about a payroll error that led to 53,000 rural letter carriers missing or receiving only a partial
Murkowski, Smith Introduce Bill to Extend Important Flexibility and Funding to After School Programs
For Immediate Release: October 28, 2020 Contact: Karina Borger (Murkowski) 202-224-9301 Katie McElrath (Smith) 202-365-5865 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program provides competitive grants to school districts, community based organizations, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations that provide supplemental academic and enrichment activities for students during non-school hours or periods when schools are not in session. The value of 21st CCLC-funded afterschool programs is well-established, ensuring children have an opportunity to access engaging learning activities while giving working parents peace of mind that their kids are safe when school is out. Unfortunately, 21st CCLC programs have been limited
Following Letter from Klobuchar and Smith, HHS Expands Relief For Rural Health Care Providers
For Immediate Release: October 28, 2020 Contact: Jane Meyer (Klobuchar), 202-430-7973 Katie McElrath (Smith), 202-365-5865 WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that following their letter earlier this month to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, the Administration has expanded relief eligibility for rural health care providers and updated requirements to preserve providers’ access to funding from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) created as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. “As we continue to face challenges from the pandemic, rural areas are in need of critical support,” Klobuchar said. “This announcement is
U.S. Senators Klobuchar and Smith Encourage Minnesota Farmers Facing Losses from Severe Weather to Apply for Disaster Assistance by October 30 Deadline
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/27/2020]— U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) are urging Minnesota farmers hit by severe weather to submit applications for disaster recovery assistance through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) by the Friday, Oct. 30 deadline. The WHIP+ program compensates producers for losses due to severe weather in 2018 and 2019, including floods, snowstorms, tornadoes and drought. In 2019, Sens. Klobuchar and Smith led the Minnesota delegation in urging U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to provide federal assistance to Minnesota farmers overwhelmed by significant wet weather during harvest. Flooded fields created unworkable field conditions for many producers. Harvest for sugarbeets, corn, soybeans, wheat, potatoes and other
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on Opposing the Nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/26/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement after voting to oppose Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. “Today I voted to oppose Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge Barrett was nominated to fulfill President Trump’s repeated promise to appoint Justices who would dismantle the Affordable Care Act and overturn Roe v. Wade, two things that the American people overwhelmingly oppose. I am dismayed that rather than work to pass legislation to help the American
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