Latest Releases
Klobuchar, Baldwin, Smith, Stauber Urge Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to Support Federal Funding to Rebuild the Blatnik Bridge
WASHINGTON – Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Tina Smith (D-MN) and Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN) sent a bipartisan letter urging Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to support Minnesota and Wisconsin’s application for federal funding to rebuild the Blatnik Bridge. “We write to reiterate our strong support of the Minnesota and Wisconsin Department of Transportations’ application for federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” wrote the lawmakers. “By replacing the Blatnik Bridge, the project would exemplify the type of critical infrastructure project that was envisioned by Congress.”“As noted in our previous letter to President Biden in September 2023, the Blatnik Bridge, located over St. Louis Bay on Lake Superior, is one of two bridges that connects the cities of Duluth, Minnesota with Superior, Wisconsin,” the lawmakers continued. “It is an essential economic engine in the region and a key link in the global supply chain.”In September, Klobuchar, Smith, Baldwin, and Representative Stauber sent a letter to President Biden urging him to fund this project. In August, Klobuchar and Smith sent letters to Secretary Buttigieg in support of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)’s applications for funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including the U.S. Department of Transportation National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program and its Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) Program. In 2022, Klobuchar, Smith, and Baldwin sent a letter to President Biden urging him to fund this project. President Biden visited the Blatnik Bridge in 2022 with Klobuchar, Baldwin, and Smith, to discuss how the bridge could benefit from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In 2021, Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Commerce
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar and Representative Angie Craig Press Postal Service Again for Answers on Mail Carriers’ Missing Paychecks
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D – MN), and U.S. Representative Angie Craig (D-MN02) sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy seeking answers about an apparent payroll system error that led to an estimated 2,200 rural letter carriers missing paychecks. The incident is the second major payroll problem for the Postal Service since September. The lawmakers sent a similar letter to Postmaster General DeJoy in September seeking answers when approximately 53,000 postal workers missed or received only partial paychecks, and the Postal Service responded that they had solved the issue that caused the error. “In your response, you assured us that the payroll programming error was ‘corrected’ and ‘rigorously tested,’ but just three months later we must address this again with you. Rural letter carriers provide an essential service to small towns and rural places in Minnesota and around the country. They deliver medicine, bills, Social Security checks and other crucial documents and items. They provide for their own families and deserve timely compensation,” the lawmakers said. In their letter, Senators Smith, Klobuchar, and Representative Craig called for DeJoy to take immediate steps to pay affected workers and ensure this problem is not repeated. Smith, Klobuchar and Craig have long worked to improve the reliability of postal service in Minnesota. All 3 lawmakers have introduced bicameral, bipartisan legislation addressing transparency at the Postal Service. Smith and Klobuchar both sent letters to Postmaster DeJoy regarding the disruptions caused by increased Amazon package delivery and decried Postmaster General DeJoy’s response. In September, they pressed USPS for answers about a payroll error that led to 53,000 rural letter carriers missing or receiving only a partial
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith: USDA Shortchanged MN Farmers When Distributing Billions to Compensate for President’s Damaging Trade War
Washington, DC [09/15/2020]– U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said findings from a newly released investigation by the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Trump Administration shortchanged farmers in Minnesota and several other states outside of the South when it distributed billions of dollars in aid to partially compensate producers for the significant losses they suffered under the President’s damaging trade wars. Senator Smith said the report, released Monday, found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) not only funneled more money to farmers in southern states, but also favored large operations over
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce $929 Million Grant for Southwest Light Rail
Washington, DC [09/14/2020]–Today Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced a $928.8 million Federal Transit Administration grant for the Southwest Light Rail. Once completed, the 14.5-mile, 16-station extension of the METRO Green Line will connect downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, serving residents in Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, nearby Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie. The $2.003 billion project will be the largest public infrastructure project in the state’s history. The Senators said the project will provide a significant economic boost to the region, both during construction when it creates jobs, as well as afterward when it will carry thousands of passengers to work, shopping and other venues
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Working to Provide Relief to Northwest Angle Businesses
Washington, DC [09/11/2020]– Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced legislation to provide relief to Minnesota businesses in the Northwest Angle that are hurting due to coronavirus (COVID-19) travel restrictions between the United States and Canada. The Remote Recreational Small Business Interruption Program Act would provide forgivable loans to small businesses in exclaves of the contiguous United States near the Canadian border. In order to safely reach the Northwest Angle, Americans must travel through Canadian territory by automobile at a border crossing. The alternative is a 40 mile boat trip across Lake of the Woods. Sens. Smith and Senator Klobuchar have urged cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments to find solutions to
U.S. Senators Tina Smith & Lisa Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Tribes Combat COVID-19, Other Public Health Crises
WASHINGTON, D.C. [09/10/2020]—Today U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced bipartisan legislation to help Tribes access public health data and address health disparities that hit American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities especially hard. The Tribal Health Data Improvement Act would strengthen data sharing between Tribes, Tribal Epidemiology Centers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) so Tribes can more effectively address public health challenges. Tribes and Tribal Epidemiology Centers are routinely denied access to important health data systems, despite having clearance to do so. Accessing federal and state public health data is critical for engaging in preventative public health work and combatting current health crises. Structural barriers to accessing data have been especially problematic during COVID-19, which has disproportionately
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