Latest Releases
Statement from U.S. Senator Tina Smith on the Biden Administration’s Approval of Minnesota’s Request for Disaster Declaration
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) released the following statement in response to the Biden Administration’s approval of Minnesota’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration. “Minnesotans are struggling right now — these floods have turned people’s worlds upside down. I appreciate the swift declaration from President Biden following our request for aid,” said Senator Smith. “Minnesota needs help, and the federal government is answering. These unlocked resources will make an important difference as communities get back on their feet and we work to rebuild.” The declaration applies to 22 counties, though that list is expected to grow as more damage estimates are completed. This week, Senators Klobuchar and Smith led the entire bipartisan Minnesota congressional delegation in urging President Biden to approve Minnesota’s request. ###
Senators Klobuchar, Smith Lead Entire Minnesota Bipartisan Congressional Delegation in Urging Biden Administration to Approve Minnesota’s Request for Disaster Declaration
MINNEAPOLIS – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) and U.S. Representatives Brad Finstad (R-MN-01), Angie Craig (D-MN-02), Dean Phillips (D-MN-03), Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05), Tom Emmer (R-MN-06), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN-07), and Pete Stauber (R-MN-08) urged the Biden Administration to approve Minnesota’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration to help communities that are working to recover from severe weather and flooding. Once this disaster declaration is approved, the federal government will be able to provide disaster assistance for various recovery and rebuilding efforts. “We write to you in strong support of the state of Minnesota’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration under the Stafford Act to assist communities that are working to recover from severe storms and flooding. These natural disasters have caused significant damage, and we ask that you quickly grant approval for federal disaster assistance,”said the lawmakers. The lawmakers continued, “Time and time again, Minnesotans have stepped up to support their neighbors after natural disasters. When flood waters rise and homes are damaged, volunteers and neighbors are quick to fill sandbags, clean up debris, and lend a hand to those in need. Impacted communities will repair the damage and rebuild following these disasters, but rapid federal assistance will speed up this recovery effort. We strongly support Minnesota’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration and ask that you grant its approval without delay.” Full text of the letter is available HERE and below: Dear Mr. President: We write to you in strong support of the state of Minnesota’s
U.S. Senator Tina Smith to Nation’s Rural Health Care Leaders: COVID-19 Has Hit Rural America Hard
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/10/21]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate Health Committee, told rural health leaders from across the country that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a devastating crisis in rural health care delivery, and has exacerbated the already-steep challenges that have plagued rural providers in Minnesota and across the country for years. Sen. Smith, in her virtual remarks to the Rural Health Policy Institute on Wednesday, said the pandemic has increased costs and decreased revenues for rural health providers, who also have struggled to get the ventilators and protective equipment needed to treat an influx of
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Teams up with Senate Colleagues to Introduce Justice for Black Farmers Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. [2/10/21]—This week, Senate Agriculture Committee member U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—along with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)—introduced landmark legislation aimed at addressing and correcting historic discrimination within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in federal farm assistance and lending that has caused Black farmers to lose millions of acres of farmland, and has robbed these farmers and their families of the hundreds of billions of dollars of inter-generational wealth that land represented. Just over 100 years ago, there were nearly 1 million Black farmers
U.S. Senators Tina Smith & Dick Durbin, U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider Introduce Bill to Help State, Local Governments Provide Paid Leave to Employees During Pandemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/9/21]—U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced a key measure to help state and local governments provide paid leave to public employees who can’t work due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A bipartisan House companion bill was introduced by U.S. Representative Brad Schneider (IL-10). The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted last year, provided tax credits to private-sector employers to cover the costs of paid leave during the pandemic. Congress also extended those tax credits through 2021 in a bipartisan measure enacted in December 2020. But those measures did not make public-sector employers eligible for paid leave credits. The lack of access to the paid leave credits is putting
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Urges Amazon to Recognize Workers Seeking Union Representation Ahead of Key National Labor Relations Board Vote
WASHINGTON, D.C. [2/8/21]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—who has long been fighting for Amazon workers, including those at the Amazon fulfillment center in Shakopee, Minn.—and a group of her colleagues are urging Amazon to do right by its workers and support workers’ efforts to freely exercise their right to organize a union. In their letter sent to current Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, and his successor, Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy, Sen. Smith and her colleagues expressed support for Amazon workers seeking to organize a union with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). The senators also pushed
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