Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Announce STEM Education Funding for Minnesota Tribal Colleges and Universities
WASHINGTON [2/14/2024] – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith, a member of the Senate Indian Affairs and Education Committees, and Amy Klobuchar (both D-Minn.) announced funding for White Earth Tribal and Community College and Red Lake Nation College to expand their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. The funding comes from the National Science Foundation and is part of a larger project to promote education and careers in STEM for Indigenous students. “STEM education has never been more important as the demand for STEM-trained employees has soared,” said Senator Smith. “This funding will provide accessible pathways for Native students to pursue higher education and serve their communities – all while integrating Tribal cultural heritage and roots into their curriculum.” “Expanding higher education offerings can be a real game changer for students,” said Senator Klobuchar. “These National Science Foundation awards will open doors for White Earth Tribal and Community College and Red Lake Nation College students to learn essential skills for in-demand careers while ensuring Ojibwe language and culture remain key components of their education.” White Earth Tribal and Community College was awarded $2,500,000 to begin offering an associate’s degree in natural sciences, with coursework including biology, chemistry and physics. Having this coursework available to White Earth students will help graduates access good jobs and further education in high-demand fields such as health sciences. Red Lake Nation College will use their $2,500,000 in funding to expand curriculum in social and behavioral sciences, with coursework rooted in the Ojibwe language and culture. Given the high demand in Tribal areas for workers in social services, this program will strengthen the talent pipeline for graduates to fill that need. Senator Smith has long been a lead advocate for Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). In addition to
Following Amendment Push, Smith, Van Hollen, Durbin, Kaine, Schatz & Colleagues Welcome New National Security Memorandum to Ensure U.S. Security Assistance is Used in Line with International Law
The memorandum, modeled off of Senators’ amendment, also requires all countries that receive U.S. security assistance to facilitate U.S.-supported humanitarian aid and creates robust reporting requirements to Congress WASHINGTON – Friday, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and their colleagues welcomed a new National Security Memorandum (NSM) released by the Biden Administration Thursday aimed at ensuring all U.S. security assistance is used in line with international law, including international humanitarian law. The NSM is modeled off of the Senators’ amendment to ensure U.S. security assistance is used in line with international law. Additional cosponsors of the amendment were Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Following the intent of the amendment, the NSM also requires that prior to the transfer of U.S. security assistance, recipient countries must provide the U.S. with credible and reliable written assurances that they will facilitate and not arbitrarily deny or restrict U.S. humanitarian assistance and U.S-supported international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in areas of conflict. And, also in line with the Senator’s amendment, the NSM creates robust reporting requirements to Congress on these provisions and additional assessments of compliance with U.S. laws and policies. “When the United States provides security assistance, we need more in return than a mere promise
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith: Virtually Every Minnesota Community Has a Housing Shortage That Hurts State’s Families, Businesses, and Economic Growth
U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said today that virtually every Minnesota community has a shortage of quality, affordable housing, which not only hurts the health and well-being of families, communities and businesses across the state, but also restrains job creation and economic growth. She released a report of the findings of her recently-completed “Statewide Housing Listening Tour” at an event in Duluth on Monday. Senator Smith, a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees the nation’s housing policy, said she and her staff met with hundreds of Minnesotans during 21 meetings and listening sessions in communities across the state. They found many barriers
U.S. Senators Tina Smith & Lisa Murkowski Press Secretary DeVos for Answers About Undercounting American Indian and Alaska Native Students
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/14/2020]—U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) pressed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to stop undercounting the number of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) students in America’s schools. Inaccurately identifying students leads to an incomplete picture of whether or not a school is adequately meeting students’ educational needs. Sens. Smith and Murkowski—both members of the Senate Indian Affairs and Education Committees—said that the Department of Education’s guidance and standards for the collection, aggregation and reporting of student race and ethnicity data are causing a significant undercounting of AIAN students at the federal level—especially for AIAN students from multiethnic or multiracial backgrounds. The Senators say that undercounting
U.S. Senators Smith, Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect Children from Human Trafficking
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/14/20]—According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), every two minutes a child is being victimized for sexual exploitation. Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)—along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)—introduced the bipartisan Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act, which would prevent the human trafficking and exploitation of children by providing grants critical for training students, parents, teachers, and school personnel to understand, recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human trafficking. Specifically, the bill would issue grants to non-profit organizations, schools, and educational agencies to develop and implement age-appropriate and culturally competent curriculum, all while prioritizing geographic
Klobuchar, Smith Help Secure Additional $3 Million of Crucial Funding for Lewis and Clark Regional Water System
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith announced that $3 million of the additional funding for the nation’s rural water projects—approved by Congress in December—will go the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System. In total the water system will receive $18 million in federal funding for fiscal year 2020. The Senators said that this water system serves communities across southwest Minnesota, northwest Iowa, and southeast South Dakota that don’t currently have a reliable source of clean water. Once completed, the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System will cover a service territory of more than 5,000 square miles and
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