Latest Releases
Minnesota, North Dakota Delegations Respond to Inspector General’s Audit of Postal Service, Press Postmaster General for Better Service
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) led the entire Minnesota and North Dakota congressional delegations in sending a bipartisan letter pressing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to improve postal services in the Minnesota-North Dakota District. The letter comes after the Postal Service’s Inspector General audited the District and found 130,858 missing or delayed pieces of mail at six post offices over the course of only two days. The lawmakers also requested regular updates from the Postal Service on their progress in implementing these recommendations. “It has long been clear that postal operations in the District are in trouble, and the investigation confirms this,” wrote lawmakers.“We need to ensure that the OIG’s recommendations are fully implemented and actually result in significantly improved mail delivery and services across our states.” Senators Smith and Klobuchar requested the audit of the Minnesota-North Dakota Postal District back in December, as did the entire Minnesota House delegation in January. Senator Hoeven, Senator Cramer, and Congressman Armstrong requested an audit in February. Senators Smith, Hoeven and Klobuchar introduced the bipartisan Postal Delivery Accountability Act, which would address USPS’ failure to accurately track when mail routes do not receive deliveries. The legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Angie Craig. You can find full text of the letter here or below. Mr. Louis DeJoyPostmaster GeneralUnited States Postal Service 475 L’Enfant Plaza Southwest Washington, DC 20260 Dear Postmaster General DeJoy, We write in response to the United States Postal Service (USPS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report titled “Minnesota-North Dakota District: Delivery Operations” (24-032-R24). This report contains important findings about postal operations and recommendations to
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on SCOTUS Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) Decision
Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s Decision on Moyle v. United States: “The Supreme Court ruled on process, not on policy. This is a reprieve, not a vindication. While Idaho can resume providing emergency reproductive care, this ruling does nothing to reassure women that their health and wellbeing is protected. “Let’s be clear: President Biden’s work to ensure access to emergency abortion care under EMTALA is not safe under this decision. There are other challenges to EMTALA pending in the ultra-conservative Fifth Circuit — challenges that could come before the Supreme Court soon. “But this chaos is the point. Patients will suffer while these lawsuits move forward. There should be no legal question when medicine is clear: Abortion is health care. Justice Jackson hit the nail on the head with her dissent: ‘While this Court dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires.’” ###
U.S. Senators Tina Smith & Lisa Murkowski Introduce Two Bipartisan Bills to Expand Mental Health Services
WASHINGTON, D.C. [2/2/21]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced two bipartisan bills to address behavioral health needs and substance use disorders during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Stopping the Mental Health Pandemic Act would authorize federal grant funding for States, Tribes, Tribal organizations, and community-based entities to address behavioral health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) would administer these grants for training, technology upgrades, surge capacity needs, emergency crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and outreach to underserved communities. U.S. Representative Katie Porter (D-CA 45) introduced the House companion earlier this year.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Supports Tom Vilsack for Agriculture Secretary as Agriculture Committee Votes to Send Nomination to Full Senate for Final Approval
WASHINGTON, D.C. [2/2/21]— Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, supported the committee’s approval of Tom Vilsack to be U.S. Secretary of Agriculture when the committee voted to send his nomination to the full Senate. Sen. Smith said Vilsack, a former Iowa Governor who previously served eight years as Agriculture Secretary under President Obama, understands how important agriculture is to the economic well-being of farmers and communities in the upper Midwest and across the country.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Helps Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Allow Local Meat and Poultry Products to be Sold Across State Lines
WASHINGTON, D.C. [2/1/21]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, recently helped introduce the bipartisan New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act, which would allow meat and poultry products inspected by state Meat and Poultry Inspection (MPI) programs to be sold across state lines. This legislation is supported by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Farmers Union, and the Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association. “I fought for a spot on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and it’s my job to make sure Washington is helping expand markets for ag communities in Minnesota and across the country. This
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Chris Murphy Introduce Bill to Study, Address Conditions that Exacerbate Health Inequities in Black, Brown, Indigenous & People of Color
WASHINGTON, D.C. [01/29/21]—U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced legislation to study and address how social, environmental, and economic conditions exacerbate health inequities in Black, Brown, Indigenous, and people of color. These conditions, known as social determinants of health (SDOH), are the result of institutional racism embedded in our society including in housing, employment, education, health care and more. Sens. Smith and Murphy said that Black, Brown, Indigenous and people of color have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic due to the social determinants of health. While it’s often believed that good health is only due to medical care, clinical treatment accounts for only 10 to 20 percent of an individual’s overall health. Meanwhile, around 80
English