Latest Releases
Minnesota, North Dakota Delegations Respond to Inspector General’s Audit of Postal Service, Press Postmaster General for Better Service
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) led the entire Minnesota and North Dakota congressional delegations in sending a bipartisan letter pressing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to improve postal services in the Minnesota-North Dakota District. The letter comes after the Postal Service’s Inspector General audited the District and found 130,858 missing or delayed pieces of mail at six post offices over the course of only two days. The lawmakers also requested regular updates from the Postal Service on their progress in implementing these recommendations. “It has long been clear that postal operations in the District are in trouble, and the investigation confirms this,” wrote lawmakers.“We need to ensure that the OIG’s recommendations are fully implemented and actually result in significantly improved mail delivery and services across our states.” Senators Smith and Klobuchar requested the audit of the Minnesota-North Dakota Postal District back in December, as did the entire Minnesota House delegation in January. Senator Hoeven, Senator Cramer, and Congressman Armstrong requested an audit in February. Senators Smith, Hoeven and Klobuchar introduced the bipartisan Postal Delivery Accountability Act, which would address USPS’ failure to accurately track when mail routes do not receive deliveries. The legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Angie Craig. You can find full text of the letter here or below. Mr. Louis DeJoyPostmaster GeneralUnited States Postal Service 475 L’Enfant Plaza Southwest Washington, DC 20260 Dear Postmaster General DeJoy, We write in response to the United States Postal Service (USPS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report titled “Minnesota-North Dakota District: Delivery Operations” (24-032-R24). This report contains important findings about postal operations and recommendations to
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on SCOTUS Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) Decision
Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s Decision on Moyle v. United States: “The Supreme Court ruled on process, not on policy. This is a reprieve, not a vindication. While Idaho can resume providing emergency reproductive care, this ruling does nothing to reassure women that their health and wellbeing is protected. “Let’s be clear: President Biden’s work to ensure access to emergency abortion care under EMTALA is not safe under this decision. There are other challenges to EMTALA pending in the ultra-conservative Fifth Circuit — challenges that could come before the Supreme Court soon. “But this chaos is the point. Patients will suffer while these lawsuits move forward. There should be no legal question when medicine is clear: Abortion is health care. Justice Jackson hit the nail on the head with her dissent: ‘While this Court dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires.’” ###
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Responds to the Supreme Court Overturning Roe
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade: “This is a terrible day for America. Roe v. Wade has been overturned. “For almost 50 years, American women have had the freedom and constitutional right to make their own decisions about abortion. This right respected individual autonomy and the capacity of people to make good, moral decisions about abortion. This activist Supreme Court—and the Republican Senators and President who put them there—have gutted that right, because they think they know better than American women,
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on the Passage of the Bipartisan Gun Safety Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) issued the following statement in response to the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: “This is the most important step Congress has taken in nearly three decades to curb gun violence and I was proud to vote for it. This legislation will reduce gun violence, improve our mental health systems, and while we need to do much more, these reforms will save lives and improve public safety. I am especially grateful to Senator Chris Murphy for his tireless work on this issue since the tragedy at Sandy Hook, and to
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith Announce Extended Postpartum Health Coverage for Minnesotans
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced that Minnesota has received approval to extend postpartum coverage for 12 months to individuals enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The extended coverage is made possible by the American Rescue Plan, which Senators Klobuchar and Smith helped pass last year. “We must address our nation’s unacceptably high maternal mortality rates. Having long fought to improve care for new mothers and babies, this issue is personal to me, and it’s personal to moms across our state,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “I pushed for this funding to
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Legislation to Protect Access to Medication Abortions
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6/23/22]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced a bill to defend access to medication abortion in states where the right to an abortion is still protected. The bill would protect current FDA guidelines so that women can always access medication abortion through telehealth and certified pharmacies, including mail-order pharmacies. Of the one in four American women who will have an abortion, over half will use medication abortion. In the 20 years since its approval, the evidence has shown that medication abortion can be prescribed to patients without an in-person appointment, is safe and effective for people to take
English