Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Denounce Trump Administration’s Withholding of $20 Million in Head Start Funding for Minnesota Preschools, Early Childhood Education Centers
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) denounced the Trump Administration for withholding nearly $20 million dollars in Head Start funding from Minnesota and vowed to push back against any attempt to shutter the program. Over 10,000 children in Minnesota access early childhood education and preschool with support from Head Start. Head Start programs serve all geographic regions of the state, but predominantly serve children in Greater Minnesota. The funding is being withheld as the Administration moves to close five Head Start regional offices, including the office that serves Minnesota. Reports indicate the Trump Administration hopes to shutter the Head Start program in their upcoming budget. “The Administration is doubling down on threats to eliminate Head Start, which provides more than 10,000 kids in Minnesota with pre-school and child care. After the Administration withheld nearly $20 million in federal funds and closed Head Start regional offices, pre-schools across the country have already been forced to shutter – hurting our children, working parents, and local economies,” said Senator Klobuchar. “We need to invest in our kids, and we will continue to fight back against this effort to take away child care.” “In the hierarchy of terrible ideas, this one is pretty high up there. Whenever I’m travelling the state, whether it be the Northland, Greater Minnesota or the Metro, nowhere do I hear that we have too much funding for early childhood education. In fact, I hear the exact opposite. And withholding Head Start funding only makes the situation worse,” said Senator Smith. “These are 10,000 children and their families that rely on Head Start to care
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Press Trump Administration Not to Close Baudette Agricultural Field Office
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Tina Smith (D-MN) pressed the Trump Administration not to close the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Field Office in Baudette, MN. The Baudette field office serves Lake of the Woods and Koochiching Counties, totaling nearly 5,000 square miles. Should the Baudette office close, the nearest field office would be located one hundred miles away in Bemidji. Bemidji field office staff would be forced to take on service for two additional counties on top of the five they already serve without additional resources or staff. Baudette’s closure comes during one of the worst farm economies in nearly 25 years – exacerbated by recent tariffs. “The local USDA field office also is a place where producers can speak directly and face-to-face with a person that understands what it takes to run a farming operation. For instance, one farmer in Koochiching told us that he drives 70 miles to the Baudette office in order to have an in-person discussion about his on-farm conservation projects. The institutional knowledge of the staff in the Baudetteoffice are vital to farmers as they discuss their conservation projects and apply for USDA programs,” wrote the Senators. “The closest USDA field office to Baudette is 100 miles away in Beltrami County. Closing the Baudette Office will put even more strain on the staff in a region serving five very large counties in North Central Minnesota,” the Senators continued. “Again, we urge you not to close the USDA field office in Baudette.” According to USDA’s website, field offices are “where
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Kevin Cramer, John Fetterman and Katie Britt Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Domestic Bus Manufacturing Market
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) led her colleagues Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Fetterman (D-PA) and Katie Britt (R-AL) in introducing bipartisan legislation to cut red tape and reform the domestic bus manufacturing industry by providing more flexibility for local transit systems when purchasing buses. Current U.S. standards impose outdated, 40-year-old payment practices on our bus manufacturers and purchasers, which result in unnecessarily high costs. Many domestic bus manufacturers have gone bankrupt or left the market, despite high demand for new vehicles. The Bus Rolling Stock Modernization Act would help fix this problem.The legislation allows bus manufacturers to apply for advanced payments up to 20%, enabling
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Federal Funding to Improve Osakis’s Water Treatment Plant and Water Tower
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $497,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant and a $651,000 loan to make improvements to the water treatment plant and water tower in Osakis. Specifically, the funding supports a project that will convert the iron filter to a biological ammonia-removal filter to allow chlorine to better clean the lines during water treatment which will help protect the distribution system. The project will also renovate Osakis’s water tower, which hasn’t been repaired since its construction in 1997. “The water treatment plant and water tower in Osakis
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Federal Funding to Improve Red Lake Falls’s Water and Waste Disposal Infrastructure
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $906,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant and an $8,310,000 loan to make improvements to the Red Lake Falls’s water, wastewater, and sewer infrastructure. Specifically, this project will construct a new water tower and pump station and install new water meters. “Red Lake Falls’s current water, wastewater, and sewer infrastructure no longer meets the needs of the city,” said Klobuchar. “Using this federal funding, Red Lake Falls can make the necessary improvements to enhance these critical public services.” “Minnesotans deserve to have safe, clean water,” said Smith. “The city
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Federal Funding to Improve Taconite’s Water System
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $851,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant and a $1,494,000 loan to make improvements to the City of Taconite’s water system. The funding will advance the construction of a new water storage tank, a water pump house, and a replacement water tower. The project will also install individual water meters for customers and develop a meter-reader system. “To ensure families are getting quality water out of their taps, it’s important to upgrade water infrastructure once the equipment reaches the end of its useful life,” said Klobuchar. “With
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