Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Cynthia Lummis Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Prospective Homebuyers from Predatory Financing Agreements
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Preserving Pathways to Homeownership Act, bipartisan legislation to establish basic protections for consumers who seek to purchase a home using a land contract, or contract for deed. Land contracts are an alternative form of seller financing for real estate transactions, often marketed as a way for people who can’t get a conventional mortgage to realize the dream of owning a home. However, land contracts can lack many of the consumer protections available in mortgage lending: full disclosure of costs and fees, protections if a homeowner misses payments or falls on hard times, and protections in the case of fraud. Unscrupulous sellers have used these arrangements to take advantage of unsuspecting buyers. They design the land contract to fail and move to evict when the buyer inevitably breaches it. Buyers typically lose their home and everything they’ve invested in it, and the seller can repeat this process with other buyers. It is estimated that across the country, more than 8 million homes have been sold with land contracts, underscoring the widespread nature of this issue. “Without a safe, decent place to call home, nothing in your life works – not your job, your health, your education, or your family. It is appalling that some Minnesota families trying to pursue the dream of home ownership, who are struggling to receive traditional mortgages, whether due to their credit rating, or because the tenets of their faith preclude them from paying and profiting off
The Affordable Housing and Homeownership Protection Act Would Tackle Housing Crisis by Creating Millions More Homes and Helping Main Street Compete with Wall Street
WASHINGTON, DC – As the nation’s housing shortage pushes home prices and rents to historic levels, a new Senate bill would provide tens of billions of dollars to help create millions of new homes for low-income Americans. U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI)and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) are teaming up with several colleagues to introduce the Affordable Housing and Homeownership Protection Act (S. 3673). This bill would generate up to $50 billion over ten years to help build and preserve approximately 3 million affordable housing units nationwide. The bill would be fully paid for through a transfer tax on large investors who profit by purchasing sixteen single-family homes or more. Driven by a shortage of as many as 6.8 million homes nationwide, homes prices have surged 39% and rents 31% over the last four years, according to the National Association of Realtors and Zillow. Higher rents and fewer opportunities for homeownership are devastating for millions of families. As housing costs skyrocket, more households are priced out of homeownership, while renters have less to spend on food, clothing, and other everyday necessities. Low-income Americans are particularly strained – the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates 73% of extremely low-income households spend more than half their income on housing. Unsurprisingly, homelessness has risen in line with housing prices and is up 15% since 2019. Unfortunately, federal investments in low-income housing are insufficient to solve this affordability crisis. Indeed, researchers at Harvard University found that the three largest federal housing programs serve nearly
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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