Latest Releases
Klobuchar, Smith Secure Significant Federal Funding for Infrastructure Improvements to Highway 11 Along the Rainy River
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded $2,560,000 in federal funding for the City of Loman’s Highway 11 Rainy River Slide Realignment and Resiliency Project. The project addresses two critical slope failures that threaten to close portions of Highway 11 along the Rainy River. The project will realign 1.2 miles of the highway about 150 feet to the west, removing the roadway from the slide areas and completing work to stabilize the slopes. “Highway 11 is a vital part of Northern Minnesota’s transportation system,” said Klobuchar. “With this grant, the City of Loman will make critical infrastructure improvements to make Highway 11 resilient and improve driving conditions.” “Minnesotans deserve to drive on safe, reliable roads,” said Smith. “Highway 11 along the Rainy River in Northern Minnesota is a danger to drivers, and this project will realign the highway on safer, more stable ground to protect and improve drivers’ safety.” The funding was secured through the USDOT Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) Grant program. PROTECT provides funding to ensure surface transportation resilience to natural hazards including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters through support of planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk coastal infrastructure. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides funding for PROTECT. ###
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Celebrates Red Lake, Inc. Trade Mission to India
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, celebrated that Red Lake Nation’s Red Lake, Inc. will be participating in a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) agribusiness trade mission to New Delhi, India at the end of the month. 47 diverse businesses and organizations will join Under Secretary Alexis M. Taylor on the mission, and Red Lake will be the only representative from a Native or Tribal community. “We need to support all farmers—and that includes making sure we’re advocating for Native farmers who may face unique and challenging barriers to successfully owning and operating farms,” said Sen. Smith. “This trade mission to India will be a great opportunity for Red Lake to cultivate new markets for their agriculture products.” While on the trade mission, participants will engage in targeted meetings and site visits to build new trade linkages, strengthen existing partnerships, observe U.S. products in the marketplace, and discover the latest Indian consumer food trends. Participants will also receive in-depth market briefings from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service and industry trade experts. Dating back to 2018, Senator Smith has pushed for Tribal inclusion on USDA trade missions. She joined colleagues from New Mexico, Montana, and North Dakota to send a letter to then Secretary Sonny Perdue to more fully incorporate tribes into these trade missions. ###
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Nearly $26 Million Grant for University of Minnesota, Academic Collaborators to Create Engineering Research Center
WASHINGTON, D.C. [8/7/2020]—This week, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced that the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the University of Minnesota Institute for Engineering in Medicine and three academic collaborators $25,999,491 to create an Engineering Research Center (ERC). The goal of the ERC, called the Advanced Technologies for Preservation of Biological Systems (ATP-Bio), is to develop and deploy technology to “stop biological time” through temperature control. This will improve transplantation and other biological therapies by preserving organs, tissues and cells. It will also help drive down the cost of drug discovery and much more. In addition, the center will provide educational
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Bill Cassidy Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve National COVID-19 Testing and Tracing
WASHINGTON, D.C. [08/7/20]—U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) introduced bipartisan legislation this week to improve coronavirus (COVID-19) testing and tracing in Minnesota and across the country. Representatives Angie Craig (MN-2) and Phil Roe (TN-01) introduced the bipartisan house companion today. The Suppress COVID-19 Act would support states’ work to address the virus by helping them purchase tests and testing supplies. It would also allow states to work together in interstate compacts and regional agreements to overcome challenges with the testing supply chain, such as a lack of available tests and slow turn-around for test results. Sen. Smith says that this bipartisan strategy will help states not only contain the
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Legislation to Help Root Out Systemic Racism, Culture of Violence Towards People of Color in Senate Floor Speech
WASHINGTON, D.C. [07/6/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced new legislation to help root out systemic racism and the culture of violence that is killing Black, Brown and Indigenous people during her third Senate floor speech focused on finding solutions to address systemic racism and much-needed changes in policing. Sen. Smith’s Supporting Innovation in Public Safety Act would help state, local, and Tribal governments reimagine policing in their communities by funding innovative projects to change how we deliver public safety. Sen. Smith says that the bill will empower local communities to pursue projects that improve public safety through systemic change, rather than by increasing police budgets.
U.S. Senators Klobuchar, Smith Join Push to Ensure School Meals Remain Available To Students as Schools Consider Reopening Options for New School Year
WASHINGTON, D.C. [08/5/20]— U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) joined a Senate push to ensure that school meal programs remain available to millions of students in Minnesota and across the country during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic regardless of school re-opening status. Klobuchar and Smith, along with more than 30 other Senators, are urging U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to continue critical waivers that have allowed students access to school breakfasts and lunch during the pandemic, which may be the only healthy and regular meals they receive. “The economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted
English