Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Announce STEM Education Funding for Minnesota Tribal Colleges and Universities
WASHINGTON [2/14/2024] – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith, a member of the Senate Indian Affairs and Education Committees, and Amy Klobuchar (both D-Minn.) announced funding for White Earth Tribal and Community College and Red Lake Nation College to expand their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. The funding comes from the National Science Foundation and is part of a larger project to promote education and careers in STEM for Indigenous students. “STEM education has never been more important as the demand for STEM-trained employees has soared,” said Senator Smith. “This funding will provide accessible pathways for Native students to pursue higher education and serve their communities – all while integrating Tribal cultural heritage and roots into their curriculum.” “Expanding higher education offerings can be a real game changer for students,” said Senator Klobuchar. “These National Science Foundation awards will open doors for White Earth Tribal and Community College and Red Lake Nation College students to learn essential skills for in-demand careers while ensuring Ojibwe language and culture remain key components of their education.” White Earth Tribal and Community College was awarded $2,500,000 to begin offering an associate’s degree in natural sciences, with coursework including biology, chemistry and physics. Having this coursework available to White Earth students will help graduates access good jobs and further education in high-demand fields such as health sciences. Red Lake Nation College will use their $2,500,000 in funding to expand curriculum in social and behavioral sciences, with coursework rooted in the Ojibwe language and culture. Given the high demand in Tribal areas for workers in social services, this program will strengthen the talent pipeline for graduates to fill that need. Senator Smith has long been a lead advocate for Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). In addition to
Following Amendment Push, Smith, Van Hollen, Durbin, Kaine, Schatz & Colleagues Welcome New National Security Memorandum to Ensure U.S. Security Assistance is Used in Line with International Law
The memorandum, modeled off of Senators’ amendment, also requires all countries that receive U.S. security assistance to facilitate U.S.-supported humanitarian aid and creates robust reporting requirements to Congress WASHINGTON – Friday, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and their colleagues welcomed a new National Security Memorandum (NSM) released by the Biden Administration Thursday aimed at ensuring all U.S. security assistance is used in line with international law, including international humanitarian law. The NSM is modeled off of the Senators’ amendment to ensure U.S. security assistance is used in line with international law. Additional cosponsors of the amendment were Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Following the intent of the amendment, the NSM also requires that prior to the transfer of U.S. security assistance, recipient countries must provide the U.S. with credible and reliable written assurances that they will facilitate and not arbitrarily deny or restrict U.S. humanitarian assistance and U.S-supported international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in areas of conflict. And, also in line with the Senator’s amendment, the NSM creates robust reporting requirements to Congress on these provisions and additional assessments of compliance with U.S. laws and policies. “When the United States provides security assistance, we need more in return than a mere promise
After Minnesota Workers Lose Hundreds in Workplace Savings Accounts Following Layoffs, Childcare Closures, Sen. Smith Introduces Bills to Protect Workers’ Savings From Forfeiture
WASHINGTON, D.C. [8/3/20]–U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)–a member of the Senate Banking Committee–introduced two pieces of legislation to prevent workers from losing their health care and childcare savings when they lose a job, have a surgery cancelled, or a child care center is closed. The measures are a direct response to letters Sen. Smith received from constituents who had lost hundreds or thousands of dollars in employer-based savings accounts following layoffs earlier this year. Federal Savings Accounts (FSAs) are an optional benefit that employers may offer to their employees. It allows workers to set aside money on a tax-advantaged basis to pay for certain out-of-pocket
U.S Senator Tina Smith Introduces Marijuana Reform Legislation to Protect Health, Safety, Civil Rights
WASHINGTON, D.C. [08/3/20]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced legislation to address health and safety considerations for implementing the legalization of marijuana at the federal level. As a complement to critical work to address the racist impacts of the failed federal prohibition on marijuana, Sen. Smith’s Substance Regulation and Safety Act of 2020 (SRSA) will ensure that the federal legalization process protects the health and safety of consumers, patients, drivers, and youth. The bill would remove marijuana from the nation’s list of illegal controlled substances, ensure the same federal oversight of marijuana products as tobacco and alcohol now have, and put racially-sensitive safeguards in place to combat cannabis use by
At the Urging of U.S. Senator Tina Smith, HUD Secretary Ben Carson Extends Critical Deadline for Housing Counseling Organizations at Risk of Losing Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. [08/1/20]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) says that Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Ben Carson heeded her call to extend the August 1, 2020 deadline for housing counselor certification for HUD’s Housing Counseling Assistance Program by at least one year. The move will help ensure counselors will be available to financially-strapped Americans facing evictions, foreclosures, and housing instability during the current economic crisis. Smith led a group of Senators—including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)—in pressing Secretary Carson for this extension so that counseling agencies can continue to get members of their organization certified to assist people in Minnesota and across the country who need help. Many agencies would have been unable
Sen. Smith Introduces Legislation to Expand Coverage for Lung Cancer Screening
WASHINGTON, D.C. [7/31/20]–This week U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)–a member of the Senate Health Committee–introduced legislation to expand coverage for lung cancer screenings to help detect cancer in more patients earlier. Her legislation would require commercial health plans to cover lung cancer screenings for individuals 40 or older at no cost sharing to the patient. Sen. Smith’s legislation—Katherine’s Lung Cancer Early Detection and Survival Act—is named in honor of Minnesotan Katherine Bensen, who is courageously fighting stage 4 non-smoking, non-small cell lung cancer. Katherine is a daughter of former Minnesota U.S. Representative Rick Nolan. Sen. Smith says that lung cancer is the number one cancer killer among
English