Latest Releases
Klobuchar, Smith Secure Significant Federal Funding for Rehabilitating the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded $11,200,000 for the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge. The grant, provided through USDOT’s RAISE program, will rehabilitate this historic bridge, including surface preparation and repainting, lead abatement, replacement of deteriorated sections, miscellaneous structural steel repairs, repairs to spalled and delaminated concrete, and replacement of the bridge sidewalks. It builds on the $1,500,000 in total funding secured for the Aerial Lift Bridge’s pedestrian walkways by Senators Klobuchar and Smith in Fiscal Years 2022, 2023, and 2024. “The Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge is a landmark and a vital part of Duluth’s transportation system,” said Klobuchar. “It is not only a critical link for drivers, but also supports essential infrastructure such as water, sewage, natural gas, electrical, and data services, and provides ships key access to the Twin Ports. With this grant, the City of Duluth will make critical infrastructure improvements to make the Aerial Lift Bridge resilient for generations to come.” “The Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge is an iconic and historic piece of infrastructure that has connected communities and supported local businesses for over a century,” said Smith. “Securing resources for projects like this is important for strengthening Minnesota’s infrastructure and economy. This funding will support the critical repairs and upgrades needed to ensure the bridge remains operational for years to come.” “The City of Duluth is thrilled to receive this $11.2 million RAISE grant from the US Department of Transportation,” said Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert. “The Aerial Lift Bridge
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Celebrate Historic Investment in State’s Largest Electric Co-Op for Affordable, Clean Energy
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN), celebrated historic funding for clean, reliable and low-cost energy for rural Minnesotans. Connexus Energy will use funding secured by Senators Smith and Klobuchar to produce over 280 megawatts of clean energy through hydro, solar and wind energy that will lower costs for its 146,000 members in rural Minnesota while supporting 400 jobs. With $170 million in funding, these projects will reduce climate pollution by more than 1.1 million tons of harmful, climate-warming emissions each year. Minnesota’s electric cooperatives provide electricity to nearly one-third of the state. Connexus is based in Ramsey, Minnesota and serves 146,000 members across Anoka, Chisago, Hennepin, Isanti, Mille Lacs, Ramsey, Sherburne, and Washington counties. “The clean energy transition is here, and we can either lead or follow. I want Minnesota to lead, and with this announcement, we will,” said Senator Smith. “With this investment, cooperatives can unleash clean energy in a way that works best for their communities. This will fight climate change. This will lower energy costs. And this will strengthen our energy security and resilience by ensuring our rural communities continue to have safe, reliable and clean, American-made energy for years to come.” “Domestically produced renewable power strengthens our energy independence and boosts rural economies,” said Senator Klobuchar. “These Empowering Rural America Program grants will lower rural energy costs, create good paying jobs, and support renewable energy projects in Minnesota and across the country.” Senator Smith was instrumental in securing this funding for rural electric co-ops through her
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Join Colleagues in Introducing Legislation to Double Pell Grant Amounts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) joined their colleagues Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) to introduce the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2024, legislation that would nearly double the Pell Grant maximum award. During the 1975-76 school year, the Pell Grant was enough to cover three-fourths of the average cost of attendance at a four-year public college. Today, a Pell Grant covers less than 30% of tuition, fees, and living expenses. The Pell Grant program is the cornerstone of federal financial aid for higher education, serving over 6 million undergraduate students. Representatives
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Unveils Legislation to Repeal the Comstock Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6/20/24] —Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced a bill to repeal an arcane 1873 law, called the Comstock Act, that Republicans and anti-choice extremists want to misuse to ban abortion nationwide. Comstock has been cited recently by Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas in oral arguments during the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA and invoked in Project 2025 – broadly seen as a roadmap for a future Trump administration – as a way for an extremist, anti-choice administration to use unilateral executive action to effectively ban abortion nationwide. “The Comstock Act is a 150-year-old zombie law banning abortion that’s long been relegated to the dustbin of
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Celebrates 4th Year of Juneteenth Being Recognized as a Federal Holiday
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith celebrated the fourth year that Juneteenth was officially recognized as a federal holiday in the United States. The annual holiday celebrates the date that news of emancipation of slaves in the South reached Galveston, Texas, two years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Senator Smith’s bill establishing the holiday was signed into law by President Biden in June, 2021. Smith helped introduced a bipartisan Senate resolution this week for the legislative body to commemorate the date. She celebrated Juneteenth in Minnesota at the Northside Juneteenth Festival Celebration on June 15th. “The end of slavery in this country is
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
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