Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Announce Clean Energy Support for Three Minnesota Tribes
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tina Smith, a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and Amy Klobuchar (both D-Minn.) announced federal funding to connect Tribal homes to clean electricity, including homes previously not connected to electricity at all. Minnesota Tribes selected for funding include Prairie Island Indian Community, Red Lake Nation and Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. The grants are made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which Senators Smith and Klobuchar both supported. “For generations, Native communities have been hurt by underinvestment and underfunding of basic infrastructure. Our transition to a clean energy economy can’t leave Indian Country behind,” said Senator Smith. “This funding gets us closer to ensuring every household in Minnesota, including on Tribal lands, have access to clean electricity.” “This federal grant will deliver critical clean energy infrastructure improvements,” said Senator Klobuchar.“Investments into clean electricity are vital for securing the power grid in Tribal communities and bolstering the transition to renewable energy.” “This investment in Indian Country and, specifically, the Prairie Island Indian Community, will literally help create a brighter future for our people,” said Prairie Island Tribal Council President Grant Johnson. “Achieving energy sovereignty while eliminating or offsetting all greenhouse gas emissions on Prairie Island is the goal of our net zero program. This grant will allow us to make electrification improvements to our members’ home and involve them more directly in our efforts to change our energy narrative and achieve our net zero goal.” “We are excited and honored to have received the funding from the Biden-Harris Administration America Agenda to Electrify Homes Across Indian Country with Clean Energy. This funding will assist us in the implementation capacity
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Kevin Cramer, John Fetterman and Katie Britt Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Domestic Bus Manufacturing Market
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) led her colleagues Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Fetterman (D-PA) and Katie Britt (R-AL) in introducing bipartisan legislation to cut red tape and reform the domestic bus manufacturing industry by providing more flexibility for local transit systems when purchasing buses. Current U.S. standards impose outdated, 40-year-old payment practices on our bus manufacturers and purchasers, which result in unnecessarily high costs. Many domestic bus manufacturers have gone bankrupt or left the market, despite high demand for new vehicles. The Bus Rolling Stock Modernization Act would help fix this problem.The legislation allows bus manufacturers to apply for advanced payments up to 20%, enabling them to invest in the labor and machinery needed to meet demand of transit agencies and keep production costs down. “Each day, transit systems connect Minnesotans to their jobs, schools, grocery stores and countless other opportunities – all while reducing traffic congestion and pollution,” said Senator Smith. “This bill makes a straightforward and commonsense update to the current FTA regulations that would cut unnecessary red tape and strengthen the domestic bus manufacturing market. This small change will also support U.S. bus manufacturing jobs, get more buses into service, and help Americans get to their work, school, and health care appointments more easily.” “This legislation represents a bipartisan effort to revitalize the bus manufacturing industry across America. This simple change will have the dual benefit of much-needed flexibility for local transit agencies and contracting stability for manufacturers like Motor Coach Industries in Pembina North Dakota. This helps pave the way for further investment and job
U.S. Senators Smith, Wicker Propose Bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program Fix for Rural Hospitals
WASHINGTON, D.C. [7/23/20] – This week, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) introduced a bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fix for rural hospitals. The PPP Access for Rural Hospitals Act would waive the Small Business Administration (SBA) affiliation rules for non-profit critical access hospitals and hospitals that serve rural areas so that they may qualify for PPP loans. Granting smaller non-profit and rural hospitals access to the PPP program would allow facilities to retain critical staff and focus their resources on providing quality care to patients for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic. “Rural hospitals aren’t just vital to public health; they’re economic engines for
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Help Loggers, Timber Haulers Weather COVID-19 Economic Crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C. [7/23/20] – This week, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced bipartisan legislation to provide relief to logging and log hauling businesses that have been seriously impacted by COVID-19 and the resulting economic crisis. The lawmakers’ bipartisan bill would establish a new program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide direct payments to timber harvesting and hauling businesses that can demonstrate they have experienced significant economic hardship compared to the previous year. The logging industry has experienced a steep decline in demand for wood fiber since the coronavirus pandemic began, leading to an estimated 20 percent
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar’s Measure to Install Fire Sprinkler Systems in Public Housing One Step Closer to Becoming Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. [7/15/2020]—This week, legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to encourage public housing authorities to install sprinkler systems in older apartment buildings cleared the House Appropriations Committee as part of a larger House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies funding package. The Public Housing Fire Safety Act would create an annual $25 million competitive grant program to provide funds to public housing authorities who wish to retrofit older high-rise apartment buildings with sprinkler systems. It would also collect data on the status of sprinkler installations in public housing high-rises around the country. “The fire at Cedar High Apartments was a tragic
Murray, Smith Urge Labor Department to Withdraw Proposal That Would Discourage Financial Advisors From Supporting Racial Justice
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), and 11 of their Democratic Senate colleagues submitted a comment letter in response the Department of Labor’s proposed rule that would discourage financial advisors from considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. In their comment letter urging the Department to withdraw its proposed rule, the Senators emphasize how ESG investing can be important in considering practices that can impact a company’s performance like diversity and how it can serve as a tool for long-term change in the fight against
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