Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce New Childcare Facility in Luverne
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN), a member of the Senate Education Committee, announced federal funding they secured last year to renovate a vacant facility in Luverne, Minnesota into a childcare center has been disbursed. The project will help the city purchase and renovate a facility into a new center that will accommodate 186 infants, toddlers, preschool, and school-age children. The renovated space will also accommodate staff and administrative spaces, a gymnasium, and food preparation kitchen. “Too often I have heard that parents around the state, including in Rock County, have difficulty finding safe, reliable, and affordable child care in their communities,” said Senator Klobuchar. “We worked to secure a federal grant for Luverne to open a new child care center to serve hundreds of kids and expand options for parents.” “With few options for childcare in this area, working families are put in a serious bind. How can parents work without a safe, affordable place for their kids to go while they are at work?” said Senator Smith. “Luverne is leading the way in creating a community young families will want to live in, and this new facility is a testament to their hard work.” Rock County has over 350 kids below the age of five who need childcare, but capacity for just 240 of them, according to First Children’s Finance. Over the last ten years, almost half of the nearly 60 home child care providers in Rock County have left the field or retired. For some families, it makes more financial sense stay home rather
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues, Demand VA Improves Care for Victims of Sexual Assault
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), led by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT), joined her colleagues to send a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) urging the Department to take immediate steps to improve the readiness of VA facilities and staff to address the needs of veterans after experiencing a sexual assault. The letter comes as a result of a concerning VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report finding significant shortfalls in care provided by VA to veterans who seek care after sexual assault. The letter was also signed by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Patty Murray (D-WA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) Angus King (I-ME), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ). “We urge the Department to work expeditiously to implement the recommendations in the [OIG] report and take a more proactive stance towards preparing facilities, both emergent and non-emergent, and staff for how to respond to encounters related to sexual assault,” wrote the Senators to VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “Despite the low volume of emergent acute sexual assault victims presenting in VA emergency departments and urgent care centers, we expect the Department to ensure our veterans receive the best possible health care and services, either onsite or via a warm handoff to a community provider.” The Senators highlighted VA’s “unacceptable” shortfalls in providing
Murkowski, Smith Introduce Bill to Extend Important Flexibility and Funding to After School Programs
For Immediate Release: October 28, 2020 Contact: Karina Borger (Murkowski) 202-224-9301 Katie McElrath (Smith) 202-365-5865 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program provides competitive grants to school districts, community based organizations, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations that provide supplemental academic and enrichment activities for students during non-school hours or periods when schools are not in session. The value of 21st CCLC-funded afterschool programs is well-established, ensuring children have an opportunity to access engaging learning activities while giving working parents peace of mind that their kids are safe when school is out. Unfortunately, 21st CCLC programs have been limited
Following Letter from Klobuchar and Smith, HHS Expands Relief For Rural Health Care Providers
For Immediate Release: October 28, 2020 Contact: Jane Meyer (Klobuchar), 202-430-7973 Katie McElrath (Smith), 202-365-5865 WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that following their letter earlier this month to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, the Administration has expanded relief eligibility for rural health care providers and updated requirements to preserve providers’ access to funding from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) created as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. “As we continue to face challenges from the pandemic, rural areas are in need of critical support,” Klobuchar said. “This announcement is
U.S. Senators Klobuchar and Smith Encourage Minnesota Farmers Facing Losses from Severe Weather to Apply for Disaster Assistance by October 30 Deadline
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/27/2020]— U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) are urging Minnesota farmers hit by severe weather to submit applications for disaster recovery assistance through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) by the Friday, Oct. 30 deadline. The WHIP+ program compensates producers for losses due to severe weather in 2018 and 2019, including floods, snowstorms, tornadoes and drought. In 2019, Sens. Klobuchar and Smith led the Minnesota delegation in urging U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to provide federal assistance to Minnesota farmers overwhelmed by significant wet weather during harvest. Flooded fields created unworkable field conditions for many producers. Harvest for sugarbeets, corn, soybeans, wheat, potatoes and other
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on Opposing the Nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/26/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement after voting to oppose Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. “Today I voted to oppose Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge Barrett was nominated to fulfill President Trump’s repeated promise to appoint Justices who would dismantle the Affordable Care Act and overturn Roe v. Wade, two things that the American people overwhelmingly oppose. I am dismayed that rather than work to pass legislation to help the American
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