Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins Senators Murphy, Coons, Merkley, 20 Colleagues Urging Biden Administration to Work with Israel to Take 5 Steps to Get More Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza
WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and 20 colleagues in a letter to President Biden urging the administration to encourage Israeli officials to take five specific steps to significantly increase urgently needed humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. “The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is dire and the civilian suffering is at an unacceptable and staggering level. Ninety-three percent of Palestinians in Gaza are facing crisis levels of hunger. Eighty-five percent of the population is displaced. Seventy percent of those killed are women and children,” the senators wrote. “While the scale of the crisis is massive, the humanitarian assistance that is entering Gaza is just a fraction of what is needed to save lives. Since aid operations resumed on October 21, delivery of lifesaving assistance to Gaza continues to be hampered, despite no evidence of Hamas theft or diversion of humanitarian assistance provided via the United Nations or international non-governmental organizations (INGOs).” In order to significantly increase the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, the senators recommended the administration work with Israeli officials to take five specific steps: “The largest daily amount of humanitarian aid entered Gaza on November 28th, during the seven-day humanitarian pause. Additional and longer humanitarian pauses are needed to enable a surge of assistance to enter Gaza and the safe movement of goods and people within Gaza. A humanitarian pause will
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Cynthia Lummis Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Prospective Homebuyers from Predatory Financing Agreements
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Preserving Pathways to Homeownership Act, bipartisan legislation to establish basic protections for consumers who seek to purchase a home using a land contract, or contract for deed. Land contracts are an alternative form of seller financing for real estate transactions, often marketed as a way for people who can’t get a conventional mortgage to realize the dream of owning a home. However, land contracts can lack many of the consumer protections available in mortgage lending: full disclosure of costs and fees, protections if a homeowner misses payments or falls on hard times, and protections in the case of fraud. Unscrupulous sellers have used these arrangements to take advantage of unsuspecting buyers. They design the land contract to fail and move to evict when the buyer inevitably breaches it. Buyers typically lose their home and everything they’ve invested in it, and the seller can repeat this process with other buyers. It is estimated that across the country, more than 8 million homes have been sold with land contracts, underscoring the widespread nature of this issue. “Without a safe, decent place to call home, nothing in your life works – not your job, your health, your education, or your family. It is appalling that some Minnesota families trying to pursue the dream of home ownership, who are struggling to receive traditional mortgages, whether due to their credit rating, or because the tenets of their faith preclude them from paying and profiting off
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, Colleagues Call on Postal Board of Governors to Immediately Reverse Changes Made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, Which Have Degraded and Delayed Postal Service Operations
WASHINGTON, D.C. [8/17/2020]—Today U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and colleagues sent a letter to the United States Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors, calling on them to immediately use their authority to reverse changes to Postal Service operations and mail service delays put in place by Trump donor turned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Mr. DeJoy appears to be engaged in a deliberate effort, with the support of the President, to delay and degrade mail service and undermine the mission of the United States Postal Service. Sens. Klobuchar and Smith said that fundamental changes to Postal Service operations made by DeJoy—including cutting back
U.S. Senator Tina Smith and Attorney General Keith Ellison Hear From Minnesotans Hit Hard by High Prescription Drug Prices During Pandemic
MINNESOTA [08/17/20]—Today U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—a member of the Senate Health Committee—and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison led a discussion about the impact of high prescription drug prices on Minnesotans during the pandemic, and the status of current efforts by large drug companies to undo Minnesota’s newly-enacted insulin affordability law. Sen. Smith has held several events in the state regarding the high price of insulin and prescription drugs more broadly, where she’s heard stories from Minnesotans who cannot afford the prescription medications they need to survive. Since 2013, drug spending has grown faster than most other categories of medical spending. And recent data
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Mike Rounds, Tammy Baldwin Introduce Bipartisan Plan to Invest in Rural Public Transit
WASHINGTON, D.C. [08/17/20]—U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) recently introduced bipartisan legislation to improve public transportation in certain rural communities across the country. Specifically, the Investments in Rural Transit Act would increase the federal contribution for operating assistance in rural areas with high transit dependency. The Federal Transit Administration provides grants to support rural public transportation, but it can be difficult for certain rural communities to provide the necessary local contribution to qualify for assistance. “High-quality, reliable public transit systems are important for Minnesotans who count on them to get to work, school, the doctor and more,” said Sen. Smith. “This legislation
Klobuchar, Smith Announce $4.2 Million for Public Transit Infrastructure Funding
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith announced that the Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded the Metropolitan Council $2,800,000 on behalf of the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) $1,412,890 for public transit infrastructure to support buses and bus facilities statewide. This funding will be used to replace, rehabilitate and purchase buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities and will include funding to modify low-emission vehicles and facilities. “The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on public transit infrastructure across Minnesota, including in our Tribal communities,” Klobuchar said.
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