Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Funding to Increase Minnesota’s STEM Talent Pipeline, Foster Diversity in STEM Fields
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced two grants for Minnesota middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities to strengthen Minnesota’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent pipeline. One award sponsors the North Star STEM Alliance, a program that supports public, private, and Tribal colleges and universities in their efforts to significantly increase the numbers of students enrolling into and successfully completing high quality degree programs in STEM disciplines in order to diversify the STEM workforce. The other award supports the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus to partner with Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) and Hamline University, among others, to expand professional development opportunities for 18 science teachers working in diverse schools. “To continue our global leadership in science and technology research and development, American students must receive the best training and education,” said Klobuchar. “With these federal grants, our schools can better prepare students for the careers of tomorrow.” “Every student deserves every opportunity to succeed and build a bright future for themselves, and that all starts with a good education,” said Senator Smith. “This funding will help all students, from middle school through undergrad, no matter their background, to develop the skills they need to enter into a STEM field.” The North Star STEM Alliance aims to increase the number of students who graduate with B.S. degrees in STEM who participate in the STEM workforce. Over a five-year period, North Star Alliance will use $2,500,000 to increase STEM Bachelor of Science degrees from 700 in 2022, to 1,000 annually by 2028. To
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Clean Energy Manufacturing Investment in Fridley
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-Minn.) announced Cummins, Inc. received a tax credit allocation of $10,500,000 for investment in electrolyzer manufacturing and testing in Fridley, Minn., for its Accelera by Cummins zero-emissions business. This investment is expected to support more than 260 direct jobs and nearly 2,000 indirect jobs. Electrolyzers separate water into oxygen and hydrogen, and when done using renewable energy, create carbon-free hydrogen that can be stored and used as a clean energy source. The funding comes from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which both Klobuchar and Smith supported. “Minnesota has long been a hub for innovation and advanced manufacturing,” said Senator Klobuchar. “This investment in Cummins’s Fridley plant will create good paying jobs and ensure this critical technology continues to be made in America.” “I always say that when it comes to transitioning to a clean energy economy, we can lead or follow—and I think we should lead,” said Senator Smith. “Through this investment in Fridley, the Biden Administration is creating thousands of good-paying jobs for Minnesotans and ensuring American manufacturing is a leader in the clean energy future. We’re investing in American workers while fighting climate change.” “We are grateful to the Biden Administration and Senators Klobuchar and Smith for their investment in and support for accelerating the U.S. hydrogen economy,” said Alex Savelli, Managing Director of Electrolyzers for Accelera by Cummins. “Government partnership is critical to spur the growing hydrogen industry. This credit allows us to continue building manufacturing capability in Fridley, create desirable green tech and manufacturing jobs, and
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith Push to Extend Pandemic Unemployment Programs Set to Expire December 26
WASHINGTON, D.C. [12/4/2020]— U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) are urging Senate leaders to extend two coronavirus (COVID-19) unemployment programs that are set to expire December 26 in the next relief package. In a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sens. Klobuchar, Smith and 30 of their colleagues called for these programs to be extended with additional weeks of eligibility for workers. They noted that approximately 4.4 million workers will have already run out of benefits by the end of the year, with millions more exhausting their benefits next year. The senators also stressed the importance of significantly reforming the
Sen. Tina Smith & Rep. Betty McCollum’s Bill to Restore 11k Acres of Land to Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe to be Signed Into Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. [12/03/20]—After passing the U.S. House of Representatives today, legislation authored by U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (MN-04) to restore over eleven-thousand acres of wrongly seized land to the Leech Lake Reservation is headed to the President’s desk to be signed into law. “My colleague Representative McCollum and I worked to right this wrong and get this effort over the finish line, but above all I want to recognize the decades of work that Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe put into making this possible,” said Sen. Smith. “This historic win belongs to them and
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith Tells Agriculture Committee that Minnesota Farmers Feel Impact of Climate Change, Discusses Innovative State Efforts to Address it
WASHINGTON, D.C. [12/02/20]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing today that Minnesota farmers see the reality of climate change every year with the increasing impact of drought, heat, and floods, and she pointed to the innovative work of a new coalition of Minnesota businesses and researchers that is working to find solutions. Sen. Smith told the panel about MBOLD, a coalition of food and agriculture leaders who are working to deal with climate change, food insecurity and many other pressing problems for agriculture. The group includes the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Fortune 100 companies as
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Applauds Move to Help High School Students in Minnesota Who Lost Jobs Due to COVID-19, Urges Eligible Students to Apply Soon
WASHINGTON, D.C. [12/02/20]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) says a recent Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling allowing eligible high school students to receive coronavirus (COVID-19) unemployment assistance is welcome news, and she urges eligible students to apply before December 25. Earlier this year, Sens. Smith and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced bicameral legislation with U.S. Representatives Angie Craig (MN-2), Dean Phillips (MN-3), Ilhan Omar (MN-5) and Betty McCollum (MN-4) to help high school students in Minnesota who have lost jobs due to the pandemic. “Minnesota high schoolers who lost jobs in the pandemic had been denied unemployment benefits they should have been eligible
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