Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Unveils Legislation to Repeal the Comstock Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6/20/24] —Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced a bill to repeal an arcane 1873 law, called the Comstock Act, that Republicans and anti-choice extremists want to misuse to ban abortion nationwide. Comstock has been cited recently by Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas in oral arguments during the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA and invoked in Project 2025 – broadly seen as a roadmap for a future Trump administration – as a way for an extremist, anti-choice administration to use unilateral executive action to effectively ban abortion nationwide. “The Comstock Act is a 150-year-old zombie law banning abortion that’s long been relegated to the dustbin of history. But extremist Republicans and Trump judges have seized upon the idea of misusing Comstock to bypass Congress and strip women nationwide of their reproductive freedoms. When MAGA Republicans say they intend to use the Comstock Act to control women’s decisions and enact a backdoor national abortion ban, we should believe them. Now that Trump has overturned Roe, a future Republican administration could try to misapply this 150-year-old Comstock law to deny American women their rights, even in states where abortion rights are protected by state law. “This is why I’m introducing legislation to repeal Comstock. It is too dangerous to leave this law on the books; we cannot allow MAGA judges and politicians to control the lives of American women,” said Senator Smith. The Comstock laws are a set of 1800s laws meant to ban the mailing or shipping of every obscene, lewd, indecent, article, matter, thing or device, with the goal of restricting
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Celebrates 4th Year of Juneteenth Being Recognized as a Federal Holiday
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith celebrated the fourth year that Juneteenth was officially recognized as a federal holiday in the United States. The annual holiday celebrates the date that news of emancipation of slaves in the South reached Galveston, Texas, two years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Senator Smith’s bill establishing the holiday was signed into law by President Biden in June, 2021. Smith helped introduced a bipartisan Senate resolution this week for the legislative body to commemorate the date. She celebrated Juneteenth in Minnesota at the Northside Juneteenth Festival Celebration on June 15th. “The end of slavery in this country is a critical milestone in our history, and Juneteenth should be commemorated nationwide as a day of celebration, reflection, and rededication to the cause of racial justice,” said Senator Smith. “I am forever grateful to the generations of activists who made this possible. Commemorating Juneteenth as a federal holiday is an encouraging and deeply meaningful step – but we have much farther to go on the path towards justice. In the meantime, I hope Minnesotans find a time to celebrate the progress we’ve made and recommit themselves to the work that lies ahead.” Senator Smith gave a floor speech following the Senate’s passage of her bill in 2021. You can read her full remarks here or view/download them here. ###
U.S. Senator Tina Smith: EPA Decision to Limit Abuse of Small Refinery Hardship Waivers Will Boost Rural Economy, Jobs
WASHINGTON, D.C. [2/22/21]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—a longtime champion of a strong Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)—released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it supports the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ RFS small-refinery requirement ruling, which could limit abuse of small refinery hardship waivers. “A strong Renewable Fuel Standard is critically important to Minnesota, where ethanol produced from corn creates billions of dollars in economic output and supports thousands of jobs,” said Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “I applaud the EPA’s decision to crack down on the abuse of hardship waivers. It’s a welcome change after the last four years, when we saw more than a 300% increase in the
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Calls for Investigation, Including Possible Price Gouging, as Massive Natural Gas Price Spikes May Pass Huge Costs on to Utilities & Consumers Nationwide
WASHINGTON, D.C. [2/20/21]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is seeking an investigation, including possible price gouging, as natural gas prices skyrocketed during the recent extreme weather situation in Texas, and many parts of the central United States. The drastic price increases, some as high as 100 times typical rates, have putting a significant strain on utilities that have to buy this power, and costs that will likely be passed along to consumers in the form of higher gas bills. Sen. Smith believes it is unacceptable for gas barons to line their own pockets while many Americans are literally out in
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Calls for Investigation, Including Possible Price Gouging, as Massive Natural Gas Price Spikes May Pass Huge Costs on to Utilities & Consumers Nationwide
WASHINGTON, D.C. [2/20/21]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is seeking an investigation, including possible price gouging, as natural gas prices skyrocketed during the recent extreme weather situation in Texas, and many parts of the central United States. The drastic price increases, some as high as 100 times typical rates, have putting a significant strain on utilities that have to buy this power, and costs that will likely be passed along to consumers in the form of higher gas bills. Sen. Smith believes it is unacceptable for gas barons to line their own pockets while many Americans are literally out in
U.S. Senators Klobuchar, Smith Announce Minnesota Producers and Landowners Now Have Extended Time to Enroll in Conservation Reserve Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/19/21]—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended the deadline to enroll in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which was originally February 12. A new deadline has not yet been announced but producers and landowners are encouraged to use this additional time to enroll sooner rather than later. The CRP is one of the largest private-lands conservation programs in the United States. Participants receive an annual payment in exchange for removing environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and planting species that will improve its condition. Senators Klobuchar and Smith said that for decades CRP has helped improve water quality, reduce soil erosion and
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