Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Debbie Stabenow, Reps. Paul Tonko, Brian Fitzpatrick, David Trone Reintroduce Legislation Expanding Mental Health Care Access, Increase Medicaid Reimbursement Rate
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate Health Committee, joined by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, to announce reintroduced legislation to expand access to mental health services for low-income families and children, the elderly, and people living with disabilities. The Medicaid Bump Act would increase the federal reimbursement rate for mental and behavioral health care services under Medicaid, which covers one fifth of all Americans with mental health disorders. A House companion bill was introduced by U.S. Representatives Paul D. Tonko (D-NY-20), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01) and David Trone (D-MD-06). “Too many people don’t have access to the mental or behavioral health care they need, and providers struggle to provide that care because they don’t get reimbursed enough for their services.” said Senator Smith. “This bill will improve equity in mental and behavioral health care by helping patients access the care that they need and ensuring providers get paid fairly. I want anyone suffering from a mental health issue to know they are not alone. We can all help break the stigma by talking about it, and then we have to go to work to get people the services they need.” “We should treat health care above the neck the same way we treat health care below the neck. Currently, too many folks don’t have access to affordable behavioral health care in our country. Senator Smith and I introduced this bill to help close the gap in services and help people get the care they need,” said Senator Stabenow. “Mental and behavioral health services should be readily
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Funding for Meat Processing Facility in Waseca
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN), members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, announced federal funding to increase the meat processing capacity of Morgan’s Meat Market LLC in Waseca. The grant funding will go towards adding a smokehouse and vacuum stuffer, which will increase worker safety, reduce cleaning time from 3 days to only 4 hours, and increase processing capacity while saving time. “Agriculture is key to our state’s economy and to stay ahead, we must continue investing in our farms and food businesses,” said Klobuchar. “This federal grant will go toward bolstering capacity, improving worker safety, and upgrading efficiency at Morgan’s Meat Market in Waseca.” “A strong meat processing industry is critical to maintaining a stable economy in Minnesota, especially for Minnesota’s poultry and livestock farmers,” said Senator Smith. “By increasing capacity at Morgan’s Meat Market, producers will have another processing option. This helps farmers get a fair value for animals and also helps keep prices down for consumers at the grocery story.” The funding comes from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Local Meat Capacity grant program and will give Morgan’s Meat Market LLC in Waseca $250,000 for these upgrades. ###
Klobuchar, Smith Join Colleagues in Calling for Study of Dual Enrollment and Concurrent Enrollment Programs
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) joined Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) and 15 Senate colleagues in encouraging the U.S. Department of Education to expand its planned study of federal K-12 education spending to include dual and concurrent enrollment programs and early college high schools. In their letter, the senators urged the Department to examine utilization, outcomes, and best practices of college in high school programs that receive funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The most recent reauthorization of ESEA – the Every Student Succeeds Act – passed on a bipartisan basis in 2015.
U.S. Senators Klobuchar, Smith & Democratic Colleagues Call on Environmental Protection Agency to Protect Region Five Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/10/20]—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—along with a number of their Democratic colleagues led by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)—urged new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 Administrator Kurt Thiede to keep the need to protect public health and safety, and to support the hard-working career professionals within Region 5, top of mind. The senators also raised concerns over the troubling pattern of decreases in staffing and enforcement meant to protect communities in Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. “We write to you to request that in your new role as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Funding to Assist Monitor Water Quality Monitoring in Grand Portage
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith announced $40,000 in grant funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to monitor water quality in Grand Portage. The funds will be used to purchase a vehicle in order to better track human health and water quality on the reservation to ensure that Grand Portage’s officials will have consistent, up-to-date, local water quality data available. Reliably gathering and updating this information will help Grand Portage maintain, restore, and improve water quality within the reservation boundaries. “Investments in clean water serve as a down payment on the long-term well-being of tribal communities
Following Request for Funding, Klobuchar, Smith Announce Federal Agricultural Disaster Declaration for Seven Minnesota Counties
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted their request to provide federal assistance to Minnesota farmers overwhelmed by significant wet weather during last fall’s harvest. Beltrami, Clearwater, Kittson, Marshall, Nobles, Polk, and Yellow Medicine counties are all now eligible to apply for assistance from the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), including FSA emergency loans. “Heavy rain and flooding made last fall a particularly challenging harvest for our state’s farmers and producers, killing crops and causing uncertainty for Minnesotan families,” Klobuchar said. “This disaster declaration will expedite much-needed assistance to struggling communities who
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