Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Increase Oversight of the For-Profit College Industry
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined her colleagues Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to reintroduce legislation to establish an interagency committee tasked with improving coordination of federal oversight of for-profit colleges, so that students are not scammed out of an education and into a mountain of debt. The bill, called the Proprietary Education Oversight Task Force Act, would improve enforcement of existing laws and make it easier for students to voice concerns about their experiences with for-profit colleges. “Students should be protected from predatory institutions that will leave them with thousands of dollars of debt and limited job prospects,” said Smith, a member of the Senate Education Committee. “This bill will protect students and taxpayers alike by improving the oversight of for-profit colleges.” “Predatory for-profit colleges rake in billions in federal student aid rather than to provide a quality education to students, who are often drowning in debt with a near-meaningless degree. We must step in to provide the proper federal oversight to stop this industry from continuing to take advantage of students,” said Durbin. “The Proprietary Education Oversight Task Force Act will give the power back to students. With readily available information about which colleges are known to take financial advantage of students, students will have the tools to make the best decision for the future of their education.” “For-profit colleges all too often put profit and enrollment over education by luring students into insufficient academic opportunities and leaving them with insurmountable debt,” said Blumenthal. “With the Proprietary Education Oversight Task Force Act, we
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins Senators Murphy, Coons, Merkley, 20 Colleagues Urging Biden Administration to Work with Israel to Take 5 Steps to Get More Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza
WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and 20 colleagues in a letter to President Biden urging the administration to encourage Israeli officials to take five specific steps to significantly increase urgently needed humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. “The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is dire and the civilian suffering is at an unacceptable and staggering level. Ninety-three percent of Palestinians in Gaza are facing crisis levels of hunger. Eighty-five percent of the population is displaced. Seventy percent of those killed are women and children,” the senators wrote. “While the scale of the crisis is massive, the humanitarian assistance that is entering Gaza is just a fraction of what is needed to save lives. Since aid operations resumed on October 21, delivery of lifesaving assistance to Gaza continues to be hampered, despite no evidence of Hamas theft or diversion of humanitarian assistance provided via the United Nations or international non-governmental organizations (INGOs).” In order to significantly increase the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, the senators recommended the administration work with Israeli officials to take five specific steps: “The largest daily amount of humanitarian aid entered Gaza on November 28th, during the seven-day humanitarian pause. Additional and longer humanitarian pauses are needed to enable a surge of assistance to enter Gaza and the safe movement of goods and people within Gaza. A humanitarian pause will
Senators Warren, Murray, and Smith Raise Further Questions About the FDA’s Oversight of Digital Health Devices
Washington, DC – United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, U.S. Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), member of the U.S. Senate HELP Committee, sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting additional information from the agency regarding its Software Precertification (Pre-Cert) Pilot Program. The FDA established the Pre-Cert Pilot Program in 2017 to test the feasibility of a “precertification” system for developers of software as a medical device (SaMD), such as mobile health apps, medical software, and health information technology.
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith Urges Regulators to Protect Key Data Used For Community Planning, Fighting Discrimination
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/25/2019]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—who has been holding meetings to discuss the need for affordable housing across Minnesota—and her Democratic Senate Banking Committee colleagues are demanding that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) continues to collect vital information designed to determine whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities, identifying possible discriminatory lending and enforcing antidiscrimination laws. The CFPB has proposed to end the collection of some Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data that is currently collected on home mortgages. This data is one of the primary tools to measure trends and disparities in mortgage
In Wake of Difficult Weather, U.S. Senator Tina Smith Encourages Minnesota Farmers Experiencing Harvest Delays to Contact Crop Insurance Agents
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/25/19]— U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is encouraging Minnesota farmers participating in federal crop insurance to request more time to harvest after extremely wet and snowy conditions this fall forced many to experience delays. “It’s absolutely critical that we do everything we can to support farmers who’ve been facing bad weather, trade uncertainty and low commodity prices,” said Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “If you are a farmer with crop insurance, I urge you to contact your insurance agent to request more time to harvest. And I’ll keep working to bring stability and predictability to Minnesota Ag.”
U.S. Sens. Tina Smith & Susan Collins: Bipartisan Resolution Recognizes October as National Principals Month
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/25/2019]—U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine)—both members of the Senate Education Committee—are pleased that their bipartisan resolution declaring October 2019 as National Principals Month passed the Senate. This resolution recognizes the important role principals play in ensuring that every child has access to a high-quality education. “School principals are community builders, academic leaders, facility managers and so much more,” said Sen. Smith. “They’re responsible for creating school environments where every child can succeed, and where teachers and faculty can get the support they need to educate students and help shape them into future leaders. We need to do all we can to
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