Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Pens Op-Ed Announcing She Will Not Seek Reelection in 2026
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), penned an op-ed in the Minnesota Star Tribune announcing her decision not to seek re-election to the United States Senate once her six-year term ends in 2027. During her tenure, Senator Smith has lowered costs for prescription drugs, fought for true mental health parity, helped to pass the most significant climate legislation in history, and served as a champion for rural communities. She plans to carry forward her work standing up for all Minnesotans in the Senate – whether it is protecting access to reproductive care, lowering housing costs, defending the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, or getting a new Farm Bill across the finish line. A full list of Senator Smith’s accomplishments is available here. You can read Senator Smith’s op-ed explaining her decision here and below. Additionally, Senator Smith spoke about her decision in a video address to Minnesota, that you can watch here: Dear Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith I wanted you to hear directly from me that I have decided not to run for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2026. I know my decision may come as a surprise. After all, we live in a time when elected officials tend to continue their service well past what the rest of us consider to be “retirement age.” And I understand, I really do, why it’s so hard for people to walk away from this job. I’ll never have a greater honor than working for the people of Minnesota. That said, politicians are human
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues Seek Answers on Elon Musk and DOGE’s Access to Federal Student Loan Data
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith, alongside 15 of her colleagues, sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Department of Education Denise Carter, seeking answers after reports that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has infiltrated the Department of Education (ED) and students’ personal, private data. There are over 40 million federal student loan borrowers in the United States, and the student loan database infiltrated by Musk contains millions of borrowers’ highly sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, marital status, and income data. “This deeply troubling report raises questions about potential exposures of Americans’ private data, the abuse of this data by the Trump Administration, and whether officials who have access to the data may have violated the law or the federal government’s procedures for handling sensitive information,” wrote the senators. According to public reporting, “a handful of 19-to-24-year-old engineers linked to Musk’s companies, with unclear titles, could be bypassing regular security protocols” during DOGE’s infiltration of federal agencies. The senators also raised concerns that the access provided to DOGE-affiliated staff by the Department may violate the Privacy Act, which generally prohibits the disclosure of such information. “We are especially troubled by this reporting given President Trump’s stated pledge to abolish the Department,” concluded the lawmakers. “The millions of families who rely on ED to help them achieve the American Dream deserve answers about reports that an unelected billionaire and his team now have access to some of their most sensitive personal information.” Additional reporting suggests that DOGE has “fed sensitive data from across the Education Department into artificial intelligence software
Senators Smith, Shaheen Introduce Legislation to Protect Thousands of Low-Income Families in Rural Areas from Losing their Homes
[WASHINGTON, DC]— U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced legislation in the Senate this week to ensure that thousands of low-income tenants in rural areas are able to maintain access to safe and affordable housing. The Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2022 would protect access to affordable housing for families that are largely elderly, disabled and live in rural areas, who are at risk of losing rental assistance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service (RHS). “Without access to housing, nothing else in your life works. Not your job, your
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Hearing Aimed at Improving Rural Housing Programs
WASHINGTON, D.C. [9/16/22] — Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) – Chair of the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development (HTCD) – announced she will be leading a hearing on rural housing programs. Members of the committee will hear from several stakeholders including Elizabeth Glidden, the Deputy Executive Director of the Minnesota Housing Partnership, about ways to improve the availability of rural housing, help keep rural seniors afford their homes, and reduce red tape for home owners and renters. The hearing will take place on September 20, 2022 at 2:30 pm ET. “Without access to housing nothing else in your life
Senators Klobuchar, Smith Announce Funding to Strengthen Meat and Poultry Supply Chains
Washington, D.C. [09/14/22] – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN), announced that $400,000 in federal grants have been awarded to Minnesota meat producers as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant Program (MPIRG). The funding will help strengthen food supply chains, develop new market opportunities for meat and poultry processors, and generate economic opportunity for farmers in Minnesota. “I’m thrilled to see this grant program, created through my bipartisan RAMP-UP Act, is delivering for local meat processors across Minnesota,” said Klobuchar. “These critical investments will help strengthen our food
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Statement on Today’s Inflation Reduction Act Celebration
WASHINGTON, D.C. [09/13/22] — Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement marking today’s celebration of the historic Inflation Reduction Act: “Today we are celebrating a historic bill that is already meeting the moment. In the month since Senate Democrats – without the help of a single Republican – passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark legislation has created new investments, new jobs, and new opportunities for Americans. “It will reduce costs for American families by lowering prescription drug prices and making health care more affordable. It will unleash a new generation of American manufacturing that will help us
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