Latest Releases
Senators Tina Smith, Jerry Moran Re-Introduce Legislation to Lower Cost of Oral Cancer Treatments
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to cut costs for cancer patients. Specifically, the bill would ensure cancer patients who are prescribed oral chemotherapy medication can access their drugs at comparable prices to other cancer treatments. Their Cancer Drug Parity Act requires health insurers to cover patient-administered (oral) cancer medications at the same cost-sharing level as traditional intravenous (IV) anticancer drug treatments, closing the coverage gap for federally regulated health plans. Over 2 million Americans are estimated to be diagnosed with cancer each year, and oral medications are a simpler, highly effective treatment option for many patients. According to a Susan G. Komen study released earlier this year, people receiving IV treatment reported a significantly greater negative impact on their daily lives than people receiving oral treatment, including having to take more time off from work. Despite these benefits, oral cancer treatments remain inaccessible to many patients due to unaffordable copays. “Oral treatments for cancer are often less invasive than traditional IV medications and can be taken at home, reducing logistical and occupational barriers to treatment,” said Sen Smith. “However, unlike IV treatments, which are covered by a health plan’s medical benefits with moderate to minimal copays, oral medications often have high, unaffordable copays. It can add up to thousands of dollars in costs for patients each year and can cause many to delay or forego necessary care to treat their cancer. Our bill brings parity to these two kinds of treatments and lowers costs for those taking oral cancer drugs.” “As cancer research and medical innovation continue to expand treatment options for cancer patients, including with orally administered cancer therapies, patients ought to be able to benefit from these medical advancements,” said Sen. Moran. “This commonsense legislation would encourage ERISA health insurance plans to expand access to orally administered cancer drugs. This legislation will
U.S. SENATOR TINA SMITH’S BIPARTISAN RURAL HOUSING SUPPLY LEGISLATION BECOMES LAW
9,000 homes in rural Minnesota will be saved by Smith’s bill MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), the top Democrat on the Senate Housing Subcommittee, announced her major bipartisan bill to preserve 400,000 rural homes across the country became law today. Smith’s Rural Housing Service Reform Act was included in a housing supply package that passed the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities. President Trump refused to sign the bill, but because he did not veto the legislation outright it automatically became law after 10 days of Presidential inaction. “Without a safe, affordable place to live, nothing in your life works. Not your health, not your job, and not your education,” said Senator Smith. “The lack of affordable, decent housing in this country has been a major problem for working families for years, but with the 21st Century Road to Housing Act becoming law, we’re choosing a different path: Build more housing and protect the homes we already have from falling into disrepair. I am so proud that language I wrote to reform the Rural Housing Service and save thousands of affordable homes in rural communities is now law.” Senator Smith’s bipartisan Rural Housing Service Reform Act would preserve up to 400,000 affordable homes in small towns and rural communities across the country, and more than 9,000 units in Minnesota, by making commonsense updates to programs at the USDA’s Rural Housing Service for the first time in decades. In addition to Senator Smith’s Rural Housing Service Reform Act, the package included a number of bills Senator Smith cosponsored and supported, including: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act doesn’t just boost housing supply. The legislation also addresses big corporations’ stranglehold on America’s housing market by banning large institutional investors
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Celebrate Award to Repair Flood Damage from Rapidan Dam Failure
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced a grant for Southeastern Minnesota to survey and repair damage done by severe storms in May 2024, which caused flooding and damage to road infrastructure in 42 counties. One notable example is the Rapidan Dam, a well-known and well-traveled-to location which was severely damaged and made the nearby bridge on County Road 9 unsafe for travelers. “The floods of May 2024 took a heavy toll on southeastern and south-central Minnesota and when natural disasters hit we need to work together to rebuild,” said Klobuchar. “This funding will allow
Senators Smith, Rounds Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Spur Economic Development in Underserved Communities
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to jumpstart economic development and address disparities in access to capital. The bill would strengthen and expand Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), which play a critical role in bringing capital and financial services to a wide range of small businesses, homeowners and housing developers. Their legislation—the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program Improvement Act will extend authorization of the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, while making it more reliable and accessible to smaller CDFIs. This legislation will expand and improve a successful program that operates at no cost to taxpayer and allows CDFIs to
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on Trump Administration’s Move to Abandon Minneapolis Police Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C — Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) issued the following statement on the Department of Justice’s decision to withdraw the federal consent decree with the Minneapolis Police Department: “I am deeply disturbed by the Trump administration’s decision to abandon the federal consent decree with the Minneapolis Police Department. This decree was based on the Justice Department’s own investigation, which found a pattern of unconstitutional and discriminatory policing practices that have hurt our community, especially Black and Native American people and people with mental illness, for decades. “It’s especially painful that this decision comes on the eve of the fifth
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Demands Answers from Department of Education on Cuts to Mental Health Programs
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined 20 of her Senate colleagues in demanding answers on recent reports that the Trump Administration had cut approximately $1 billion in federal mental health grants to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors, and other mental health workers. Rochester Public Schools had nearly $2 million in mental health grant funding cancelled. The funding would have trained and licensed staff to provide counseling and other mental health services to students across the school district. Smith and her colleagues also expressed concern about how these cuts will affect schools’ ability to support students and their behavioral health needs and questioned how the Department
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