Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins Bipartisan Letter Pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to Urgently Address Tribal Food Delivery Delays Nationwide
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined a bipartisan group of senators pushing the USDA to fix problems with Tribal federal food aid programs, which have caused widespread disruptions in food distribution to more than 100 Tribal organizations and some 50,000 people who rely on the program nationwide. The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) provides food to income-eligible households living on reservations, and to American Indian households residing in approved areas near reservations or in Oklahoma. Trust relationships between the federal government and Tribal Nations require the federal government to provide food security to Tribal members. Since April, Tribal FDPIR programs have experienced delayed or missing food deliveries, partial deliveries, and deliveries of expired products. Many families who receive FDPIR are now receiving less food or no food at all. The letter — signed by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Tina Smith (D-MN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) — pushed USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to swiftly and fully address the unfolding crisis. “In March 2024, USDA consolidated the food delivery contractors to one sole-source contractor, Paris Brothers, Inc. in Kansas City, MO. Since that change went into effect on April 1, 2024, participating Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) began to experience ‘[s]poradic deliveries, or incorrect orders and compromised best if used by dates.’ Participating households have not had consistent food deliveries for over four months. This is unacceptable,” the senators wrote. “We appreciate that USDA is hosting weekly calls with impacted
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Celebrates U.S. Trade Mission to Colombia
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) celebrated Lamex Food, Inc.’s participation in a trade mission to Bogota, Colombia, led by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand foreign market access for American agricultural products. The Bloomington, MN based food group is one of 23 businesses and organizations who joined the trip from August 13-15 with USDA Under Secretary Alexis M. Taylor to discuss policy and business partnerships that will boost American agricultural exports to Colombia. “Agricultural exports support farming in Minnesota and provide economic benefits to the state,” said Sen. Smith.“This trade mission is a great opportunity to expand market access for American goods in Colombia, and for Lamex Food to create new business partnerships overseas.” Senator Smith, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has been a strong advocate for expanding agricultural market access globally. Earlier this year, she supported a USDA trade mission to India focused on Indigenous food products. ###
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
U.S. Senator Tina Smith: Senate-Passed COVID-19 Relief Plan to Give Nation Tools to Respond to Health, Economic Crises
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 will arm the nation with the tools to fight the deadly pandemic and the resources needed to help restore the health and economic well-being of struggling families, businesses, schools and communities in Minnesota and across the country. Sen. Smith, who strongly backed passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), said it is a bold and necessary response to a pandemic that for more than a year has upended the lives of people in Minnesota and across the country by taking more
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Continues Fight to Make COVID-19 Vaccine Free
WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/4/21]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) continued her fight to protect all Americans, regardless of their insurance status, from out-of-pocket charges for their coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine by urging Senate and House leaders to prioritize this effort while negotiating the next COVID-19 relief package. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Sen. Smith said that eliminating cost barriers is necessary to deliver vaccines as equitably as possible and prevent further exacerbating health disparities. “Ever since the launch of Operation Warp Speed (OWS), a public-private partnership
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