Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith Announce Two USDA Farm to School Grants to Support Agricultural Education and Local Food Access in Minnesota Schools
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced funding from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm to School Grant program for two projects in Minnesota. The projects will expand agricultural education, support local producers, and incorporate local foods into child nutrition programs in Minnesota. Two projects in Minnesota will each receive $100,000 in funding for agricultural education and child nutrition programs: 1. The Boys and Girls Club of Detroit Lakes: Funding will be used to purchase a “flex connect” farm system, 12 hydroponic towers used for crop growth, from Fork Farms. By purchasing the system, the Boys and Girls Club will expand educational opportunities for students, create an Entrepreneurial Program, and increase local food accessibility for students in Detroit Lakes. 2. Saint Paul Public Schools Nutrition Services: The grant will help expand its Grow Their Own program, a school gardening initiative which encourages food education through hands-on projects. The program currently supports student gardens at 28 different schools. Funding will go towards supporting more permanent staffing for student gardens, as well as expanding and diversifying educational opportunities through the initiative. “Providing nutritious school meals is critical for ensuring our students can succeed,” said Klobuchar. “This federal funding will expand students’ access to locally grown, nutritious food at school and bolster food education programs.” “Science has shown that proper nutrition is directly linked to academic performance, but too many of our students are not receiving the kinds of healthy meals they need to thrive in the classroom,” said Senator Smith. “This funding will
Klobuchar, Smith, Finstad, Craig Urge Treasury Department to Issue Clean Fuel Production Credit Guidance to Increase U.S. Production of Biofuels
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) and Representatives Brad Finstad (R-MN) and Angie Craig (D-MN) joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers in urging the U.S. Department of the Treasury to issue timely guidance on the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit to give farmers, blenders, retailers, and fuel users certainty and the time needed to make additional clean fuel projects a reality. The 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit consolidates and replaces several fuel-related credits currently scheduled to expire at the end of the year. While 45Z was written to increase the domestic production of clean, homegrown biofuels, guidance is still needed from the Treasury on how farmers and renewable fuel producers can participate in this new market. “The 45Z credit should be leveraged to provide a forward-looking, technology-neutral market signal to increase our country’s production capacity for low-carbon, domestic renewable fuels and for existing biofuel production to invest in decarbonization,” the lawmakers wrote. “Lack of regulatory certainty is already putting thriving businesses at risk as fuel producers are unable to make important business decisions regarding their fuel.” “If properly implemented, this credit can fully mobilize the biofuel industry, growing our domestic manufacturing base, creating jobs, diversifying the U.S. energy portfolio, adding value to crops grown by American farmers, and offering consumers better, more affordable, and lower carbon options at the fuel pump and in the skies,” the lawmakers concluded. Full text of the letter is available HERE and below: Dear Secretary Yellen: We write today to request that the Treasury
Following Letter from Klobuchar, Smith, and Craig, USDA Announces Additional Coronavirus Relief Funding for Farmers and Agricultural Businesses
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN), members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, and Representative Angie Craig (D-MN) announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will offer additional aid to agricultural producers and businesses as part of its Pandemic Assistance for Producers Initiative. This announcement follows a letter from the legislators calling on the agency to expedite relief payments to farmers, livestock producers, biofuel processors, and timber harvesters and haulers. “The coronavirus pandemic brought unprecedented challenges for the entire agriculture industry and many rural communities across Minnesota,” said Klobuchar. “Agricultural producers and businesses are the
U.S. Senators Smith, Cassidy Lead Bipartisan Push for Senate Health Committee to Hold Hearing on Global Vaccine Distribution
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6/29/21]—U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) are leading a bipartisan group of their colleagues in calling on leaders of the Senate Health Committee—on which they serve—to continue the series of important and productive conversations on COVID-19 by holding a hearing to examine global vaccine production and distribution. “We are at a moment now when expanding worldwide access to vaccines is central to controlling this virus and dangerous variants. The pandemic is not over anywhere, until it is over everywhere, and global herd immunity is achieved,” wrote the senators to Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Ranking
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce $60 Million Federal Infrastructure Grant to Improve Highways Surrounding Airport
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $60 million federal grant to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to improve a stretch of the I-494 freeway that goes through Bloomington, Richfield, Edina, and Eden Prairie. This funding is from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The I-494: Airport to Highway 169 Project will alleviate traffic congestion and improve highway safety. It will also preserve bridges, restore pavement, and reduce run-off into the Minnesota River. Key improvements include the creation of MnPASS Express Lanes and a new interchange with a ramp at the I-35W and I-494 intersection.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Leads Subcommittee Hearing on Renewable Energy Growth and Opportunities in Rural America
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6/22/21]—Today U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) led her first hearing as Chair of the Senate Rural Development and Energy Subcommittee, where energy leaders discussed opportunities for jobs and economic development in rural America that expanding the nation’s use of renewable energy will bring. Sen. Smith was joined by energy leaders from across the country, including three Minnesotans: Mr. Shannon Schlecht, Executive Director of Agricultural Utilization Research Institute in Crookston; the Honorable Katie Sieben, Chairwoman of Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in St. Paul; and St. Paul native Ms. Emily Skor, Chief Executive Officer of Growth Energy. Sen. Smith said that today’s testimony will help inform her as infrastructure talks continue. It is important to her that rural voices are
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