Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Reintroduces Legislation to Protect Access to Reproductive Health Care Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6.23.23] – This week, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced legislation to protect access to critical reproductive health care services—like birth control, cancer screenings, and more—by providing a consistent and strong source of funding for the Title X Family Planning Program. The Title X Family Planning Program is the only federal program dedicated to providing comprehensive family planning and preventive health services. Hundreds of thousands of Americans rely on the program for essential health care. In 2020 alone, over 1.5 million patients received family planning services through Title X. Title X is funded through the annual appropriations process, which subjects the program to an unpredictable funding stream that is insufficient to meet the national need. The Expanding Access to Family Planning Act would provide a consistent and strong source of funding for Title X. The bill is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Jack Reed (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D- VT) ,and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Companion legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Representative Sharice Davids (KS-03). “At a time when Americans’ reproductive freedoms are under attack from extremist Republicans, the Title X Family Planning Program is more important than ever,” said Senator Smith. “Title X funding provides American women with access
Senators Tina Smith, Joni Ernst Push USDA to Allow More Milk Options in Schools
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6.16.23] – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack urging the Department to continue allowing non-fat and low-fat flavored milk in schools. The letter is in response to a proposed rule from the USDA that could limit flavored milk options in schools. However, school nutritionists have reported that dairy in the school meals is often the only or one of the only ways that many children consume nutrients like calcium and protein. “Each day during the academic year, over 15.5 million kids receive breakfast and another 29.9 million take lunch at school,” wrote the Senators. “A decision to remove flavored milk from both of these meals for grades K-8 could have devastating effects on student’s consumption of essential nutrients and their ability to learn in the classroom. Studies show that when low-fat or fat-free flavored milk was removed from the cooler, milk consumption went down. Likewise, when these options were again provided, milk consumption rebounded. By offering children additional milk options, schools can encourage more dairy intake and work towards closing nutrition gaps.” “Flavored milks provide children with the same 13 essential nutrients as unflavored milk, including three of the four nutrients identified as dietary components of public health concern in the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA)—calcium, vitamin D and potassium,” said Dr. Michael Dykes, President and CEO, International Dairy Foods Association. “Americans know, and the data show, that when low-fat flavored
U.S. Sens. Smith, Jones, Rounds Successfully Create New USDA Post to Improve Health Care in Rural America
WASHINGTON D.C. [02/20/20]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and U.S. Representative Angie Craig (D-MN 2) lauded the USDA for filling the new role of rural health liaison to help improve rural health care—something the bipartisan group of senators pushed to include in the Farm Bill and Rep. Craig advocated for. Sens. Smith, Jones, Rounds first introduced the Rural Health Liaison Act to create a liaison with the USDA to better coordinate rural health resources across the federal government and improve health care delivery for Minnesotans and people across the country living in rural areas. Last year,
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith: Virtually Every Minnesota Community Has a Housing Shortage That Hurts State’s Families, Businesses, and Economic Growth
U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said today that virtually every Minnesota community has a shortage of quality, affordable housing, which not only hurts the health and well-being of families, communities and businesses across the state, but also restrains job creation and economic growth. She released a report of the findings of her recently-completed “Statewide Housing Listening Tour” at an event in Duluth on Monday. Senator Smith, a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees the nation’s housing policy, said she and her staff met with hundreds of Minnesotans during 21 meetings and listening sessions in communities across the state. They found many barriers
U.S. Senators Tina Smith & Lisa Murkowski Press Secretary DeVos for Answers About Undercounting American Indian and Alaska Native Students
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/14/2020]—U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) pressed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to stop undercounting the number of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) students in America’s schools. Inaccurately identifying students leads to an incomplete picture of whether or not a school is adequately meeting students’ educational needs. Sens. Smith and Murkowski—both members of the Senate Indian Affairs and Education Committees—said that the Department of Education’s guidance and standards for the collection, aggregation and reporting of student race and ethnicity data are causing a significant undercounting of AIAN students at the federal level—especially for AIAN students from multiethnic or multiracial backgrounds. The Senators say that undercounting
U.S. Senators Smith, Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect Children from Human Trafficking
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/14/20]—According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), every two minutes a child is being victimized for sexual exploitation. Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)—along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)—introduced the bipartisan Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act, which would prevent the human trafficking and exploitation of children by providing grants critical for training students, parents, teachers, and school personnel to understand, recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human trafficking. Specifically, the bill would issue grants to non-profit organizations, schools, and educational agencies to develop and implement age-appropriate and culturally competent curriculum, all while prioritizing geographic
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