Latest Releases
Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar, and Representative Angie Craig Press Postal Service for Answers on Mail Carriers’ Missing Paychecks
WASHINGTON, D.C. [09/25/23] — Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar, and U.S. Representative Angie Craig (all D-Minn.) sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy seeking answers about an apparent payroll system error that led to an estimated 53,000 rural letter carriers missing or receiving only a partial paycheck on September 1. After hearing from Minnesotans affected by the error, the lawmakers pressed DeJoy on the Postal Service’s insufficient response to their significant error, and demanded immediate back pay for the impacted workers. “Rural letter carriers – including carrier assistants – are essential workers whose services are critical to small towns and rural places in Minnesota and around the country,” wrote the lawmakers in their letter. “As you know, these carriers deliver medications to veterans, bills to seniors, and support businesses large and small, all for relatively modest pay. Like a lot of American families, many rural letter carriers can’t afford a missed paycheck. We understand that USPS offered affected employees the option to receive a salary advance in the form of a money order at 65 percent of gross pay. However, that is an insufficient proposal that fails to address the scope of these employees’ needs, and does not demonstrate a commitment to getting these workers the pay they earned.” In their letter, Smith, Klobuchar, and Craig called for DeJoy to answer the following questions by September 30, 2023: You can access a full copy of the letter here.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Significant Federal Funding to Combat Extreme Heat, Create More Green Spaces in Minnesota
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced over $33 million in federal funding to plant and maintain trees, combat extreme heat and climate change, and improve access to nature in cities, towns, and suburbs throughout Minnesota. The funding is made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act, which Smith helped pass. “As climate change fuels record-breaking heat waves across the country, we need to be doing more to increase tree cover and improve access to nature,” said Smith. “Extreme heat strains our energy systems and has negative effects on public health and overall well-being. These investments, made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, will increase access to green spaces and help communities become more resilient to extreme heat thanks to the cooling effects of tree cover.” The grants are made possible by investments from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history. Studies show that trees in communities are associated with improved physical and mental health, lower average temperatures during extreme heat, and increased food security, and create new economic opportunities. This historic funding will help support projects that increase tree cover in disadvantaged communities, provide equitable access to the benefits of nature, and deliver tangible economic and ecological benefits to Minnesota. The grants include:
U.S. Senator Tina Smith: Bipartisan Senate Coronavirus Deal Will Help Minnesota Health Providers Deal with Surge, Send Much-Needed Aid to Families, Workers & Small Businesses
WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/25/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said the nearly $2 trillion Senate coronavirus deal approved late Wednesday will speed up assistance to health care providers in Minnesota and across the country in order to deal with the coming surge in cases, and help hard-hit Minnesota families, workers and small businesses deal with the fallout. Sen. Smith said she will push hard to get it signed by the President and get the assistance out to states as quickly as possible. “We are facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis in the coronavirus pandemic. With this bipartisan legislation, help is
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Presses Top Roche Diagnostics Executive to Prioritize Supplying Key Coronavirus Testing Reagent to Increase Capacity at Public Health Labs
WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/25/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) pressed Roche Diagnostics to supply the vital reagent—which is a solution critical for coronavirus testing—that public health laboratories need in order to increase testing capacity. Sen. Smith has heard from the Minnesota Department of Health that it is quickly running out of reagents and diagnostic kits needed to keep up with demand. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been able to issue COVID-19 test kits, testing requires additional reagents that are not provided by the CDC. Roche Diagnostics has developed a reagent system that would enable labs to
U.S. Senators Klobuchar, Smith & Democratic Senate Colleagues Raise Concerns About Dangerous Medicaid Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/25/20]—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and a number of their Senate Democratic colleagues called on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to withdraw proposed changes to the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR), which would disrupt state Medicaid financing. The proposed rule would limit the types of financing mechanisms states can use to pay for their non-federal share of Medicaid costs. In addition, the discretion reserved by CMS to approve or deny state proposals does not provide enough guidance to states who must plan far in the future for program expenditures. Right now, state budgets are
Klobuchar, Smith, Cramer, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Sustain Rural Broadband Connectivity During Coronavirus Pandemic
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), along with Tina Smith (D-MN), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Doug Jones (D-AL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jon Tester (D-MT), John Barrasso (R-WY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Todd Young (R-IN), and Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced the Keeping Critical Connections Act to help small broadband providers ensure rural broadband connectivity for students and their families during the coronavirus pandemic. “Access to high speed internet is critical for students and their families during the coronavirus outbreak,” Klobuchar said. “The Keeping Critical Connections Act would help small broadband providers continue offering free
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