Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith and Congresswoman Betty McCollum Announce Federal Funding for Energy Efficiency Upgrades in Minnesota
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (Both D-MN) and Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN04) announced federal support to help cities and commercial buildings develop plans to implement energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades across Minnesota. It will also be used to help eligible homeowners install energy efficiency upgrades in their homes, like installing energy efficient furnaces and water heaters or improving insulation and sealing windows, providing them long term cost-savings. The money comes from President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure legislation, which both Senators and the Congresswoman voted for in 2021. “Investing in energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy sources can help lower utility bills and our carbon footprint,” said Klobuchar. “With these federal funds, Minnesota businesses and families can install the equipment they need to retrofit their homes to save money, and communities can get assistance to implement their energy goals.” “The transition to clean energy is happening, the question is whether our country leads or follows. I want us to lead,” said Senator Smith. “The cheapest and cleanest energy is the energy that you don’t ever need to buy. These investments will help Minnesota businesses, communities, and families save money on their utility bills and reduce harmful emissions contributing to climate change.” “I am so pleased that Minnesotans will benefit from the $2,566,630 total investment in our state through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program,” said Congresswoman McCollum. “The City of Saint Paul’s visionary Climate Action and Resilience Plan will be directly supported by these funds to conduct municipal energy audits and further their strategy to decarbonize municipal buildings by 2030. I commend President Biden for this important investment that will help us meet our climate goals
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce USDA Partnership to Expand, Bolster Minnesota’s Food Supply Chain
WASHINGTON [2/7/2024] – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, announced federal funding to strengthen the middle portions of Minnesota’s food supply chain. These funds will help small farms and small food businesses access more customers and help consumers find more locally-grown goods – oftentimes at lower cost. The funding is made possible through the American Rescue Plan, legislation both Klobuchar and Smith supported. “To keep prices low at the grocery store, we need to invest in our food supply chain to make it resilient from disruptions and bottlenecks,” said Klobuchar. “These grants will strengthen the infrastructure needed to bring food from farm to table, support farmers as they expand into new markets, and deliver technical skills training for local food businesses.” “Farmers in Minnesota know firsthand the vulnerabilities of our food supply chain and the importance of making it more resilient in the long term,” said Smith. “This funding will help strengthen our food supply system and also expand opportunity for farmers in Minnesota and around the country by creating new and better markets for their products.” This funding is one of many actions taken under the Biden Administration to expand processing capacity and increase competition in agriculture, making markets more accessible, fair, competitive and resilient for producers. The four-year partnership between the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and United States Department of Agriculture will bolster the middle of Minnesota’s food supply chain, meaning more opportunities for producers to sell their goods, better infrastructure for food businesses to operate with, and
Klobuchar and Smith Hail Senate Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Crack Down on Robocalls
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/23/19] – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) lauded Senate passage of a bill they championed that will increase penalties against telemarketers who spam Americans with robocalls and promote call authentication and blocking technologies. Robocalls are on the rise, with one source reporting an increase of 50% in robocall volume from February to July of last year. The bipartisan Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act passed in the Senate today would increase penalties for fraudulent telemarketers, while also implementing measures to proactively protect consumers from receiving unwanted robocalls. The bipartisan bill was
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Key Health Care Priorities Included in Larger, Bipartisan Health Care Costs Package
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/23/2019]—A number of measures championed by U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) were included in the bipartisan package to address the rising cost of health care released today by the Senate Health Committee, including Sen. Smith’s efforts to help bring lower-cost insulin and generic drugs to market. Sen. Smith said both her bipartisan Protecting Access to Biosimilars Act and the Ensuring Innovation Act were added to the package, and her work with colleagues to increase price transparency by strengthening health care databases is also included. “The high costs of health care are jeopardizing the financial security of Americans and
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Susan Collins Address Rise in Tick-Borne Diseases and Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Target, Prevent, and Treat Lyme Disease
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/23/19]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), in a bipartisan effort, pushed for improving research and treatment efforts that address the sharp rise in tick-borne diseases. The Ticks: Identify, Control, and Knockout (TICK) Act, improves coordination between government response at the federal and local levels to tick borne diseases. “Minnesotans are eager to get outside after a long winter,” said Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate Health Committee. “Unfortunately, the number of Lyme disease cases in the state—and states across the country—is on the rise. Our bipartisan bill aims to reduce the number of
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Rep. Sean Casten, Senate and House Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Nation’s Energy Storage Capabilities
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/22/2019]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Representative Sean Casten (D-Ill.)—along with a bipartisan group of Senate and House colleagues—introduced their Promoting Grid Storage Act of 2019, which would boost research and development of cutting-edge technologies to increase energy storage capabilities for America’s electric grid and enable the expanded use of clean energy. In addition to Sen. Smith and Rep. Casten, the bill is also supported by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Reps. Ben Ray
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