Latest Releases
Ahead of Likely Shutdown, Sen. Smith, Rep. Pressley Introduce Bill to Provide Back Pay for Federal Contract Workers
WASHINGTON — Ahead of a possible Republican government shutdown, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)introduced legislation to secure back pay for the thousands of federal contract workers who face layoffs without back pay during a potential shutdown. Unlike federal government employees, the thousands of federal contract employees—many of whom serve in modestly paid jobs like custodians and cafeteria workers—have no assurances that they will receive back pay to make up for the wages they miss during a shutdown. The bill is cosponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). The Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act seeks to ensure federal contract workers, including low-wage food service, janitorial and security service workers, are fairly compensated for the wages and benefits lost due to a lapse in appropriations. “This is about fairness—contractor workers and their families should not be penalized for a government shutdown that they did nothing to cause,” said Sen. Smith. “Contractor employees perform jobs that are critical to the operation of our government, providing food service, security, and doing custodial work. These are often low-wage jobs that mean workers are living paycheck to paycheck. In the past, these workers haven’t received back pay at the end of a government shutdown like the thousands of government employees. And it’s time we right that wrong.” “As a former hotel worker and unpaid Congressional intern who worked three jobs, I know all too well what it means to
Senators Smith, Lummis Seek Key Clarifications to Address Native American and Rural Homelessness, Overcrowding
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) sent a letter to Secretary Marcia Fudge urging the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help address homelessness in Native and rural communities and to provide clarity on the federal definition of homelessness. The Senators are the Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development. The letter follows a bipartisan hearing led by Smith and Lummis on the “State of Native American Housing” where witnesses described the severe homelessness and overcrowding issues facing rural and Native American communities. “The stories we heard at our hearing are not isolated examples. Many Native and rural communities officially report low rates of sheltered and unsheltered homelessness, but have high rates of doubling up and overcrowding,” wrote the Senators. “Doubling up and overcrowding are likely more prevalent in rural communities that have fewer emergency shelter options and limited transportation options, so people struggle to get to the shelters that do exist. Studies confirm that some of the highest rates of overcrowding are experienced by people who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native and on tribal lands. Although these situations differ from the ways homelessness is often found in non-Native and non-rural communities, we believe they warrant close attention.” Witness testimony described how some individuals are living in “fish houses” or “ice shanties,” in the face of not being able to find a safe, secure and affordable place to live. Witnesses shared that Native families
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Say Minnesota Dairy Producers Can Sign up for Improved Dairy Margin Coverage Starting June 17
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/17/2019]—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—both members of the Senate Agriculture Committee—said starting June 17, Minnesota dairy producers are eligible to sign up for the new Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program, which helps dairy producers more affordably manage the volatility of milk and feed prices. The senators encouraged producers to sign up at their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. Sens. Klobuchar and Smith said the new DMC program replaces the old Margin Protection Program (MPP), and offers higher coverage levels at more affordable rates for small and medium-sized dairy farms, along with greater flexibility in
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Bipartisan Group of Indian Affairs Committee Senators Introduce Bill to Address Law Enforcement, Public Safety Needs in Native Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/14/2019]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and a bipartisan group of her colleagues on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee—led by Vice Chairman Tom Udall (N.M)—this week introduced the Bridging Agency Data Gaps & Ensuring Safety (BADGES) for Native Communities Act, which would address critical public safety needs in Indian Country. The bill aims to address federal inefficiencies that hurt Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement recruitment and retention, increase the effectiveness of federal missing persons resources, and give Tribes and States resources to coordinate responses to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis. In addition to Sens. Smith
U.S. Senator Tina Smith: Nation’s Top Trade and Economic Officials Forced to Work with “One Hand Tied Behind Back”
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/13/2019]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) told a Senate Agriculture Committee panel that the Trump Administration’s lack of a clear trade strategy is forcing the nation’s top trade and economic officials to work with one hand tied behind their back, and causing market uncertainty that is driving thousands of already-struggling farmers in Minnesota and across the country into deeper financial distress. At the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on global market certainty Thursday, Sen. Smith shared stories from Minnesota producers to illustrate how trade uncertainty in the markets is hurting their ability to make decisions, and cutting into
U.S. Senators Smith, Cortez Masto, Scott, Cramer, Young Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Promote Manufactured Housing as Part of Solution to Affordable Housing Crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/12/2019]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith, (D-Minn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) introduced bipartisan legislation promoting manufactured housing as part of the solution to America’s affordable housing crisis. The HUD Manufactured Housing Modernization Act of 2019 would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to issue guidelines for including manufactured housing in state and local governments’ Consolidated Plans, which outline their housing and community development priorities, when applying for HUD funding. This legislation will ensure that manufactured housing, a significant source of affordable housing, is considered when jurisdictions
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