Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Funding to Upgrade, Relocate Duluth International Airport’s Air Traffic Control Tower
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith announced she helped secure funding for Duluth International Airport’s Air Traffic Control Tower relocation project. The $10 million in funding will support relocating the non-standard tower currently at the airport, a tower which was commissioned in 1963. The airport coordinates over 67,000 arrivals/departures per year, contributes over $700 million to northern Minnesota’s economy, and supports over 6,000 jobs in the area. “The Duluth International Airport provides critical service to northern Minnesota, from commercial service to cargo, military and medical flights, yet it’s operating with a 70-year-old tower – the third oldest in the nation,” said Senator Smith. “This investment will make DLH safer and more efficient. It’s exactly the kind of project we aimed to support through the President’s infrastructure law.” In 2023, Smith joined the Minnesota delegation in sending a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requesting that they expedite reviews and approvals required for Duluth International Airport (DLH) to apply for grant funding to build a new air traffic control tower. ###
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Expansion of Terminal 2 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-Minn.) announced federal funding for the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to expand Terminal 2. The project will add two new gates to the terminal’s north side, Gates H15 and H16. The funding comes from President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure legislation, which Senators Klobuchar and Smith helped pass. “Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is among the busiest airports in the country and supports tens of thousands of jobs,” said Senator Klobuchar. “This funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will enable the airport to continue serving the Twin Cities area, improve the travel experience for passengers, and maintain its position as a top-ranking airport.” “MSP is a critical transportation hub and economic driver for communities across Minnesota,” said Senator Smith. “This investment will make sure MSP remains one of the best airports in the world and has the capacity to meet demand.” The $20,000,000 grant was awarded through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Terminals Program, which received a $5 billion boost through the President’s infrastructure legislation. The program funds safe, sustainable and accessible airport terminals, on-airport rail access projects and airport-owned traffic control towers. Several investments have been made in Minnesota’s largest airport since President Biden signed the infrastructure legislation that Klobuchar and Smith helped pass, including five new boarding bridges, new electrical substations for baggage claim, the north security checkpoint, and airport police, as well as new walkways, ramps, and slopes to support passengers with disabilities. The law has also funded a portion of a project to rehabilitate and
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
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Leads Senate Colleagues in Introducing Comprehensive Bill to Address Skyrocketing Prescription Drug Prices
WASHINGTON D.C. [06/12/19]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced comprehensive legislation to hold large pharmaceutical companies accountable for high prices and bring down costs for Americans. Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate Health Committee, said her measure would promote transparency by requiring pharmaceutical companies to disclose just how much money is going toward research and development, as well as marketing and pay for executives. Her bill would also end the restriction that prevents the federal Medicare program from using its buying power to negotiate lower drug prices for its beneficiaries, and curb drug company monopoly practices that keep
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