Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, Minnesota Fire Chiefs Celebrate Passage of the Fire Grants and Safety Act
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) issued the statements below after the Senate passed the Fire Grants and Safety Act, bipartisan legislation to continue providing federal funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant programs. This bill now goes to the President’s desk to be signed into law. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program helps firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources. The SAFER Grants program provides direct funding to fire departments and volunteer firefighter organizations to increase or maintain the number of trained “front line” firefighters and enhance their capacity to comply with staffing, response, and operational standards. Since 2015, fire departments across Minnesota have received over $33 million in SAFER grants and $59 million in AFG grants. “Firefighters put their lives on the line every day to save lives. We need to invest in our local fire departments and ensure that they have the funding they need to hire and train firefighters and purchase life-saving equipment,” said Senator Klobuchar. “That’s why I worked to pass the bipartisan Fire Grants and Safety Act which will support fire departments in Minnesota and across the country.” “Firefighters do one of the most difficult jobs possible, often at the risk of immense personal injury, to keep our families and loved ones safe. This funding is our way of giving them the support they need to do their jobs as safely and effectively as possible,” said
U.S. SENATOR TINA SMITH’S STATEMENT ON NOMINATION OF CHRISTY GOLDSMITH ROMERO TO CHAIR THE FDIC
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) , a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, applauded President Biden’s decision to nominate Christy Goldsmith Romero to be Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): “Christy Goldsmith Romero is a widely respected, principled financial regulator with extensive federal experience, and I applaud President Biden’s decision to nominate her as Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). This nomination comes at a pivotal time at the FDIC, and Goldsmith Romero’s track record of holding bad actors accountable at the Troubled Asset Relief Program and advancing consumer interests at the CFTC is exactly the experience needed at the agency charged with protecting Americans’ money. I urge my Senate colleagues to move quickly to advance her nomination so she can begin the important work needed at the FDIC.” ###
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren to President Trump: Your Executive Order to End U.S. Overreliance on Foreign Nations for Key Pharmaceutical Products is Far Too Weak
Washington, DC [09/4/2020] – This week United States Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told President Trump that his recent Executive Order to address the nation’s overreliance on foreign nations for key drug products is far too weak, and pressed him to support their legislation, which would arm the United States with the tools needed to adequately address this serious health and national security problem. In a letter to Trump Wednesday, the two Senators said that while his Executive Order directs several federal agencies to prioritize the procurement of adequate supplies of U.S.-produced essential medicines, it does not require those agencies to create a definitive list of essential medicines. It also fails to
Smith, Klobuchar Urge Administration to Support Wheat Farmers
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue requesting that funds in the CARES Act be help support wheat farmers who have experienced economic harm from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “As Members of Congress representing wheat-producing states, we write regarding the deteriorating economic conditions being experienced by wheat farmers across the country who are already nearly complete with this year’s harvest,” the senators wrote. “Whether it’s wheat farmers who wrapped up harvest in May, those in the field harvesting their crops now, or those looking ahead to harvest in
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, Gov. Walz, Lt. Gov. Flanagan Press to Expand Investment in Childcare, the Basic Infrastructure for Families, Economy
MINNESOTA [08/31/2020]— Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) was joined by Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan at a Minneapolis in-home childcare provider to discuss the growing importance of addressing the state’s critical childcare shortage that has worsened during the current coronavirus pandemic. The three were at the Minneapolis home of Luciana Carballo, an in-home childcare provider who has been forced by the pandemic to accept fewer children and make other changes to keep the children she cares for safe. The virus has put similar pressure on providers all across the state and it has hamstrung parents who
U.S. Senators Tina Smith & Mike Crapo Make Bipartisan Push to Enforce USMCA Dairy Provisions
WASHINGTON, D.C. [08/26/2020]—Yesterday U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) led a bipartisan group of 23 Senators in calling for the enforcement of United States-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA) dairy provisions. In a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, the Senators said that holding trade partners accountable to their trade commitments is critical to supporting dairy farmers and American dairy exports. “Fair market access for American dairy farmers was a key pillar of the USMCA’s agriculture section,” the Senators wrote. “USMCA is poised to create new export opportunities for America’s
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