Latest Releases
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. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith Announce Funding from U.S. Department of Agriculture to Help Expand High-Speed Internet Access in Rural Areas
WASHINGTON, June 27th, 2024 – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-Minn.) announced $25 million in funding availability from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase high-speed internet access in rural and Tribal communities. The funding is made available through the USDA’s Broadband Technical Assistance (BTA) Program, part of the Biden Administration’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to connect every community in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed internet. “We should be able to bring high-speed internet to every family in Minnesota— regardless of their zip code,” said Klobuchar. “This funding will ensure that the broadband upgrades going on across our state also reach our rural areas. As co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, I’ll keep working across the aisle to make sure all Minnesotans can reliably access the high-speed internet they need.” “Internet access is not just a luxury in the 21st century, it’s a necessity,” said Senator Smith.“In Minnesota and across the country, people in rural areas, small towns, and Tribal communities need access to reliable, high-speed internet. Investing in broadband infrastructure with the Broadband Technical Assistance Program is a step in the right direction, helping connect communities in every part of the country to high-speed internet and strengthening communities from the ground up.” The program will support local governments, organizations, cooperatives, and Tribes as they work to expand broadband access in rural communities, delivering on President Biden’s promise to invest in infrastructure and strengthen the economy from the inside out. This includes funding infrastructure studies, network designs, hiring efforts, application assistance and more. The announcement marks the second round of funding for the program.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues Call on Biden Administration to Expand Access to Head Start
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined a group of her colleagues calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to expand and streamline eligibility for the Head Start program. Expanded and simplified access would help ensure that more families in Minnesota and across the country are able to access affordable, high-quality childcare, education and health services and reduce administrative burden for programs. Along with Senator Smith, the letter was signed by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). “We write to
Klobuchar, Smith Urge U.S. Department of Agriculture to Help Minnesota Farmers Respond to Avian Flu Outbreak
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN), both members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) helps Minnesota farmers respond to the recent avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak. “We write with concern about the rapid spread of the H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus that has been confirmed in 19 commercial turkey flocks and 2 backyard flocks in 11 counties across Minnesota, already killing over a million birds,” the lawmakers wrote to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “As the number
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on the Vote to Confirm of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/07/22]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement on the bipartisan confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States: “I had a front row seat to history today as the Senate voted to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. “I was proud to vote to confirm Judge Jackson, the first Black woman and first former federal public defender to serve on the Supreme Court. Judge Jackson showed character, intellect, and grace through the entire confirmation process. She is a brilliant legal mind and has stellar credentials as
Sens. Smith, Stabenow, and Rep. Maloney Lead Colleagues in Introducing Bicameral Package of Legislation to Target Abusive Pharmaceutical Business Practices
Washington, D.C. [04.07.22]—Today, Sens. Tins Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY-12), led colleagues—including Rep. Peter Welch and Rep. Jan Schakowsky—in introducing a package of legislation targeting business practices pharmaceutical companies use to suppress competition, maintain market monopolies, and keep drug prices high. The legislative reforms follow the Oversight Committee’s three-year investigation into pharmaceutical pricing and business practices that exposed pharmaceutical company practices to suppress competition from lower-priced generics and biosimilars and make drug prices unaffordable for many Americans. “There is no good reason Americans should be paying more than any country in the world for
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