Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Legislation to End Veteran Homelessness Nationwide
Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chair of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, introduced the Housing for All Veterans Act, legislation that would help bring an effective end to veteran homelessness. Minnesota is on the cusp of ending veteran homelessness, and nationwide levels of homelessness among former service members have been cut in half in the fifteen years since the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs launched the first-ever strategic plan to prevent and end the scourge of veteran homelessness in America. This legislation would help get us the rest of the way there and prevent veteran homelessness going forward. “We promise our veterans that we will take care of them after their service to our nation. But every day that we have veterans struggling to find a safe, affordable place to live, we’re failing them,” said Senator Smith. “Guaranteeing housing for low-income veterans shouldn’t be optional. It should a promise fulfilled for every veteran, to bring them home. We’ve made some great progress in solving veteran homelessness in the last fifteen years – Minnesota especially. But the Housing for All Veterans Act would finish the job and ensure every veteran has a roof over their heads.” “Our country continues to face a crisis of housing affordability,” said Kathryn Monet, CEO of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. “NCHV is thankful for Senator Smith’s leadership to address this crisis head on for veterans facing housing instability. Subsidies are a crucial support and we urge Congress to act upon this bill as a downpayment toward a world where affordable housing is available for all Americans.” “This legislation addresses the root cause of housing affordability, providing our veterans with a long-term, sustainable
U.S Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, Colleagues Press Postal Service for Details on How Facility Consolidation Could Impact On-Time Delivery of Mail-In Ballots
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) joined 17 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy requesting information about how the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) plans to ensure the timely delivery of mail-in ballots throughout the ongoing 2024 election cycle and beyond. The request comes in light of USPS facility consolidations initiated under DeJoy, which have been temporarily paused following outcry from people all across the country as well as Congressional leaders. Through this process, USPS has greenlit the downgrading of 56 of 59 selected postal facilities nationwide — including in Minnesota. “USPS serves an essential function in American elections. On a nonpartisan basis, it securely processes, transports, and delivers election mail, including ballots. In 2020, the Postal Service overcame a series of challenges, including the onset of a global pandemic, to fulfill this critical mission. Impressively, it delivered 97.9% of ballots within three days, even as a record number of Americans voted by mail. For the 2022 midterm elections, USPS maintained this standard of excellence and delivered 98.96% of ballots within three days,”wrote the senators. “We applaud these achievements, but much has changed since 2022.” “In July 2023, USPS completed its first regional consolidation in Richmond, Virginia. A report from the USPS Inspector General found that the consolidation led to “a decrease in service performance for the Richmond region that continued four months after launch,”they continued. “Earlier this year, these delays led some local election officials to direct area residents to
Legislation Backed by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith to Provide Financial Relief to Health Care Providers Becomes Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/22/20]–U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said that legislation they support to provide financial relief to health care providers working on the frontlines of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has become law. The legislation provides flexibility for a Medicare loan program that has supported health care providers during the pandemic. To date, the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments Program has provided approximately $100 billion in payments to health care providers to help alleviate financial stress caused by the pandemic. These upfront payments have been critical to supporting hospitals, nursing facilities, physician practices and other health care providers. However, repayment of these loans was
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Backs Push to Outlaw Discrimination in Our Nation’s Financial Services Industry
For Immediate Release: October 21, 2020 Contact: Katie McElrath katie_mcelrath@smith.senate.gov 202-365-5865 WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/21/20]—Today U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—a member of the Senate Banking Committee—backed new legislation to outlaw discrimination by banks and other financial institutions. The Fair Access to Financial Services Act, introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) Wednesday, closes a loophole in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While the law outlawed discrimination in certain places of public accommodations, it does not cover banks and other financial institutions. This new legislation would ensure that all people receive equal treatment when trying to access services at financial institutions and hold the institutions accountable when they engage in discriminatory
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce $300k Grant to Develop Recipes Featuring Minnesota Agriculture Products
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/20/20]–U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said that the Minnesota Department of Education is receiving a $300,000 grant to develop, standardize, prepare and test recipes for School Nutrition Programs that feature local Minnesota agriculture products including beets, greens, squash and carrots. The meals will be created with input from statewide partners including school nutrition professionals. Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. Sens. Klobuchar and Smith said that it’s important that students have access to nutritious meals, especially during the pandemic. “It is critical that we provide assistance to schools so that they can provide
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Presses USDA to Increase Incentive Payments to Farmers to Stop Decline in Conservation Reserve Program Enrollment
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/20/20]–U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is pressing U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to increase incentive payments to stop the enrollment decline in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which plays a key role in protecting environmentally-sensitive farm land, stopping soil erosion, improving water quality and preserving wildlife habitat. In a letter to Perdue Monday, Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, pushed him to significantly increase Practice Incentive Payments (PIP) and to begin making rental rate incentive payments, both tools that past Administrations have used to maintain strong enrollment in CRP. She was joined on
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