Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Applauds Biden-Harris Administration’s New Rule to Strengthen Mental Health Parity
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Tuesday released the following statement on the Biden-Harris administration’s recent actions to boost private insurance coverage for mental health care for 175 million Americans. Even though it’s already law that insurance companies must cover mental health as they do physical health, many don’t comply, and insured Americans are nearly four times as likely go out-of-network and pay higher fees for mental health care than for physical health care. “We need to treat mental health with the same urgency we treat physical health, and that means making sure everyone has access to the care they need,” said Sen. Smith. “I’m glad to see the Biden-Harris Administration taking significant steps to hold health insurers accountable when they violate mental health parity requirements. Whether it’s treatment for a substance-use disorder or depression, mental health care is health care, and Americans should be able to access quality, affordable treatment. This rule brings us closer to the goal of ensuring Americans are getting coverage from their insurer when they need it.” This rule strengthens the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act by reinforcing the law’s purpose to remove barriers for anyone seeking coverage from their insurer for mental health treatment services. The landmark law is named after former Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, who was instrumental in its passage in 2008. Senator Smith remains committed to carrying on Senator Wellstone’s legacy and has been
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Announce Historic Expansions of Clean Energy Across Rural Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-Minn.), announced historic funding for clean, reliable and low-cost energy across rural Minnesota. Three rural electric cooperatives with operations in the state will receive funding to deploy clean energy or make energy efficiency improvements. More cooperatives are expected to receive funding in the coming months. Minnesota’s electric cooperatives provide electricity to nearly one-third of the state. Senator Smith was instrumental in securing this funding for rural electric co-ops through her work on the clean energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. The three cooperatives selected that operate in Minnesota are: “The clean energy transition is here, and we can either lead or follow. I want Minnesota to lead, and with this announcement, we will,” said Senator Smith. “With this investment, cooperatives can unleash clean energy in a way that works best for their communities. This will fight climate change. This will lower energy costs. And this will strengthen our energy security and resilience by ensuring our rural communities continue to have safe, reliable and clean, American-made energy for years to come.” “Domestically produced renewable power strengthens our energy independence and boosts rural economies,” said Senator Klobuchar. “These Empowering Rural America Program grants will lower rural energy costs, create good paying jobs, and support renewable energy projects in Minnesota and across the country.” “Dairyland Power Cooperative is honored to receive this New ERA award, which provides Dairyland and our member cooperatives with a tremendous opportunity to continue making vital investments in essential clean energy resources,” said
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Applauds Biden Administration Action On Investment Rules that Will Promote Racial, Environmental Justice
WASHINGTON, D.C. [3/10/21]— U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) today backed a Biden Administration decision to stop enforcing a Department of Labor rule from 2020 that discouraged retirement plan managers from considering factors like climate change and racial justice in their investment decisions. She said the move will remove unnecessary regulatory burdens and give investment managers flexibility to offer investment options that take into account environmental, social and governmental (ESG) criteria when deciding where to invest. “As workers and retirees increasingly ask that their retirement plans take issues of racial equity and climate change into account in their investment decisions, I believe
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Says Senate-Passed COVID-19 Relief Package Will Help Tribal Communities Recover From Pandemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. [3/6/21]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed by the Senate today includes more than $31 billion she pushed to help Tribal governments and urban Indigenous communities in Minnesota and across the country address the health and economic fallout from the pandemic. She said the funding represents the largest single infusion of resources for Tribal Nations in U.S. history. Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said that during the pandemic, Indigenous Americans who contract COVID-19 have been hospitalized at nearly four times the rate of non-Hispanic white Americans, and they die
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Says Senate-Passed Pension Relief Package Stops Drastic Cuts Looming for 22,000 Minnesota Retirees
WASHINGTON, D.C. [3/6/21]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed by the Senate today includes a key measure to bolster the solvency of the multiemployer pension system and prevent drastic cuts to pensions earned by more than 22,000 Minnesotans. The measure passed today stems from Sen. Smith’s years-long push to help the more than 1 million workers and retirees nationwide—including more than 22,000 Minnesotans—who had been facing deep cuts to their hard-earned pensions. Sen. Smith said without the action from Congress, the more than 22,000 Minnesotans who paid into Central States Pension Fund, as well
U.S. Senators Smith, Warren Successfully Secure More Than $40B for Childcare & Early Learning in Senate COVID-19 Relief Package
WASHINGTON, D.C. [3/6/21]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) successfully secured more than $40 billion for childcare and early learning resources in the Senate-passed COVID-19 relief package. With the funding from the package passed today, $10 billion from the December-passed relief bill, and the $3.5 billion provided in the CARES Act, Sens. Smith and Warren have made good on their push to secure $50 billion for childcare. “We’ve known that our country’s childcare system is on the brink of collapse, and that women are bearing the brunt of the cost,” said Sen. Smith. “My colleague Senator Warren
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