Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Decry Postal Service’s Response to Minnesotans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN) slammed the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) responses to their recent letters as unacceptable. The letters asked the Postmaster General to take immediate steps to address the pressing concerns of Minnesotans. After hearing from Bemidji-area constituents and postal workers, Senators Smith and Klobuchar pressed the Postmaster General about agreements made with Amazon that have overwhelmed the already-stretched postal system in Minnesota and pushed workers into dangerous and unsustainable conditions. Minnesotans rely on the Postal Service to receive prescriptions, paychecks, and other essential needs, and Minnesotans across the state have reported delays in receiving these deliveries. Postal workers, particularly in the Bemidji area, report chaos as they are told to prioritize the deliveries of Amazon packages over regular mail and lack of staffing to meet the Postal Service’s delivery standards. In response to Senators Smith and Klobuchar’s letters, the Postal Service asserted that, “for the most part, all mailpieces and packages, including in Bemidji, are being delivered daily.” Dozens of reports from across Minnesota, including from members of Senator Smith’s staff and their families, contradict that claim. Additionally, postal workers and constituents report mail deliveries going out well into the night – hours after dark – which is dangerous as well as an unreasonable work load. Senators Smith and Klobuchar stand by the reports of Minnesotans. Plus, the Postal Service’s Inspector General has found that USPS’s tracking systems are unreliable and riddled with false data, a problem Sen. Smith and Klobuchar have introduced legislation to fix. “The Postal Service management has asked me to take their word over the words of Minnesotans. I believe Minnesotans,” said Senator Smith. “This week, I have heard from postal workers and their families
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Celebrates Inclusion of C-130 Aircraft for Minnesota’s Air National Guard in National Defense Authorization Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith released the following statement on the inclusion of her bipartisan amendment to mandate the United States Air Force maintain a minimum 271 C-130 aircraft, which will ensure that the Minnesota National Guard’s 133rd Airlift Wing maintains its flying mission. “Our C-130s are essential to Minnesota’s 133rd Airlift Wing and the Air Force’s capability to carry out their missions,” said Senator Smith.“Ensuring they maintain enough of these aircraft means stability for the men and women of Minnesota’s National Guard as they carry out their duties at home and overseas.” The C-130 aircraft is essential to carry out missions at home and overseas and are essential to the operations of the Minnesota National Guard. The bipartisan amendment was co-led by Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). Senator Smith has repeatedly advocated for Minnesota’s 133rd Airlift Wing – in June she joined Senator Klobuchar and the entire Minnesota delegation from the House of Representatives in urging the Air Force to select the 133rd Airlift Wing to receive new C-130J Transport Planes. In September, the Air Force heeded their calls and announced that Minnesota will receive the new aircraft, pending an environmental review.
Klobuchar, Smith, Colleagues Call for Investigation into Racially Discriminatory and Violent Policing at Minneapolis Police Department
MINNEAPOLIS – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN), along with 26 colleagues, are calling on the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct an investigation into the patterns and practices of racially discriminatory and violent policing in the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). Klobuchar and Smith were joined by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jon Tester (D-MT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI),
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on Officer-Involved Death in Minneapolis
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/26/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement after a video surfaced showing a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, who died soon after. “We are once again traumatized by the tragic scene of a black man pleading for his life at the hands of a white police officer. We cannot look away from this injustice and terrible loss of life. “Mayor Frey and Chief Arradondo have called for an immediate federal investigation. That’s the right thing to do. We must learn exactly what happened, secure justice, and hold the people involved accountable. It is in our power to end this pattern of abuse
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith Blasts Nation’s Top Consumer Protection Official For Pushing New Rule that Guts Needed Payday Lending Protections
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/20/20] – U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn) has blasted the nation’s top consumer protection official for helping shepherd a new rule that will gut payday lending protections needed by financially-vulnerable Americans, saying the “corrupt” process used to develop the rule was badly tainted by the work of political appointees who manipulated economic data to get rid of current consumer protections. Sen. Smith, in a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathleen Kraninger this week, called for an immediate halt to the current rulemaking process, and for an investigation into the serious improprieties uncovered about the process. The
U.S. Senators Smith & Shaheen, Ranking Members Wyden & Murray Release Senate Democrats’ Plan to Expand Health Care Coverage & Affordability During COVID-19
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/22/20]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) alongside Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), released a Senate Democratic plan to expand health care coverage and affordability during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a white paper, the senators outline a series of common sense legislative priorities that the Senate should take up immediately, including expanding premium support through subsidies and tax credits, incentivizing Medicaid expansion in hold-out states, and a special open enrollment period. Their proposal also calls for all COVID-19 treatment costs to
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