Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Legislation to Help Child Care Providers Serve Nutritious Meals
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced legislation to help ease the financial stress on child care providers across the country. Providers such as family child care homes, child care centers, Head Start programs, and after-school programs provide meals to more than 4.2 million children each day with the support of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The Child Care Nutrition Enhancement Act would increase the reimbursement rates child care providers receive for these meals. Not only would this help ensure millions of children receive nutritious meals, it would also ease the significant financial burdens for both child care providers and parents struggling to afford child care. Companion legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Greg Landsman (D-OH-1). “I have heard from too many childcare providers in Minnesota who have to dip into their own pockets to feed the kids in their care because of insufficient federal reimbursements. Investing more in childcare will help both families who are struggling to afford care and providers who are having trouble breaking even,” said Senator Smith. “This legislation would improve an effective, but under-resourced, existing program to ensure our kids are receiving nutritious meals and help ease the financial burden on childcare providers and parents.” “Every child deserves access to nutritious meals, especially during their formative years,” said Senator Bob Casey. “The research is clear: the CACFP improves the quality of meals in child care settings. By easing the
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins Elizabeth Warren, Banking Committee Democrats in Pressing SEC Chair to Require Disclosure of Corporate Lobbying Expenditures
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D – Minn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) signed onto a letter led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D – Mass.) urging Gary Gensler, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to create new rules requiring public companies to disclose their spending on lobbying efforts. Public companies are not currently required to report information on the details of their lobbying to the SEC even as corporate lobbying expenditures reach record highs. “In 2022, total federal lobbying expenditures reached $4.1 billion – the highest since 2010. Amazon and Meta spent almost $20 million each to influence decision-making in Congress and across government agencies, while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – which counts companies like JPMorgan Chase, Alphabet, and Chevron among its members – spent $79.4 million,” wrote the senators. “While these figures are staggering, they provide little insight into the interests that companies spend millions each year to advance. This lack of transparency erodes the ability of everyday investors to make informed decisions about where to invest their money – and where their money goes once they have invested.” Specifically, the senators are requesting that such rules require disclosure of lobbying strategy, the total amount of direct or indirect contributions to registered state and federal lobbyists and any material risks related to or arising from lobbying strategies and expenditures. The senators requested the SEC provide them with details on their plans to develop and issue such rules no later than
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith: Supplemental Security Income Recipients With Children Need to File Online by May 5 for Stimulus Checks
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/30/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—a member of the Senate Banking Committee—is taking steps to ensure Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries in Minnesota and nationwide who did not file tax returns know that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is requiring additional information by May 5 for dependents to receive cash assistance made possible through the CARES Act. Sen. Smith is encouraging SSI recipients who did not file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 and who have qualifying dependents to understand that the IRS is requiring additional information, which must be submitted using this tool, by Tuesday, May 5, 2020. According to
As COVID-19 Highlights Need to Understand Links Between Human, Animal and Environmental Health, U.S. Senator Tina Smith Urges Senate to Take Up Her Bipartisan Bill Pushing “One Health” Approach
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/30/19]— U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said today that coronavirus (COVID-19) is highlighting the urgent need to better understand the links between human, animal and environmental health, and that she is urging senate leaders to take up her bipartisan legislation to improve the nation’s preparedness to deal with future outbreaks that originate in animals. Sen. Smith said her bipartisan measure, the Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act, would ensure that federal agencies advance a “One Health” approach—the idea that human, animal and environmental health are all linked, and should be studied together. She introduced the measure in 2019 with Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) to improve preparedness and response to diseases like coronavirus. In a letter to
Backed by Large Group of Senate Colleagues, Sens. Tina Smith and Elizabeth Warren Press to Include $50 Billion Childcare Bailout in Next Coronavirus Relief Package
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/29/20]—U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led 29 of their Senate colleagues in calling on Senate leadership to include their plan for a $50 billion childcare bailout in the next coronavirus relief package, saying it is indispensable part of the nation’s response to the pandemic. Earlier this month, Sens. Smith and Warren unveiled their plan to stabilize the childcare system, keep providers in business, and ensure parents are able to go back to work when it is safe to return. A recent report revealed that without adequate support, Minnesota could lose 55 percent of its childcare supply and Massachusetts could lose 34 percent. And now, Sens. Smith,
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Dick Durbin to Introduce Legislative Fix to Help State and Local Governments Provide Paid Leave During Pandemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/28/20]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced plans to introduce a legislative fix that would help state and local governments provide public employees with paid leave when they need it most. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act requires many public and private employers to provide paid leave for workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic. That law provides tax credits to private-sector employers to cover the costs of paid leave. But the package did not extend those tax credits to public-sector employers. This is putting a financial strain on state and local governments at a time when many are grappling with additional costs brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The senators’ legislation will fix this problem by making state, local and Tribal governments eligible
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