Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce USDA Partnership to Expand, Bolster Minnesota’s Food Supply Chain
WASHINGTON [2/7/2024] – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, announced federal funding to strengthen the middle portions of Minnesota’s food supply chain. These funds will help small farms and small food businesses access more customers and help consumers find more locally-grown goods – oftentimes at lower cost. The funding is made possible through the American Rescue Plan, legislation both Klobuchar and Smith supported. “To keep prices low at the grocery store, we need to invest in our food supply chain to make it resilient from disruptions and bottlenecks,” said Klobuchar. “These grants will strengthen the infrastructure needed to bring food from farm to table, support farmers as they expand into new markets, and deliver technical skills training for local food businesses.” “Farmers in Minnesota know firsthand the vulnerabilities of our food supply chain and the importance of making it more resilient in the long term,” said Smith. “This funding will help strengthen our food supply system and also expand opportunity for farmers in Minnesota and around the country by creating new and better markets for their products.” This funding is one of many actions taken under the Biden Administration to expand processing capacity and increase competition in agriculture, making markets more accessible, fair, competitive and resilient for producers. The four-year partnership between the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and United States Department of Agriculture will bolster the middle of Minnesota’s food supply chain, meaning more opportunities for producers to sell their goods, better infrastructure for food businesses to operate with, and
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Increase Oversight of the For-Profit College Industry
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined her colleagues Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to reintroduce legislation to establish an interagency committee tasked with improving coordination of federal oversight of for-profit colleges, so that students are not scammed out of an education and into a mountain of debt. The bill, called the Proprietary Education Oversight Task Force Act, would improve enforcement of existing laws and make it easier for students to voice concerns about their experiences with for-profit colleges. “Students should be protected from predatory institutions that will leave them with thousands of dollars of debt and limited job prospects,” said Smith, a member of the Senate Education Committee. “This bill will protect students and taxpayers alike by improving the oversight of for-profit colleges.” “Predatory for-profit colleges rake in billions in federal student aid rather than to provide a quality education to students, who are often drowning in debt with a near-meaningless degree. We must step in to provide the proper federal oversight to stop this industry from continuing to take advantage of students,” said Durbin. “The Proprietary Education Oversight Task Force Act will give the power back to students. With readily available information about which colleges are known to take financial advantage of students, students will have the tools to make the best decision for the future of their education.” “For-profit colleges all too often put profit and enrollment over education by luring students into insufficient academic opportunities and leaving them with insurmountable debt,” said Blumenthal. “With the Proprietary Education Oversight Task Force Act, we
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
Minnesota Congressional Delegation Urges FEMA to Provide Additional Financial Assistance and Review Procedures that led to 2019 Spring Storm Damage Underestimation
WASHINGTON – This week, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN), and Representatives Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-1), Angie Craig (D-MN-2), Dean Phillips (D-MN-3), Betty McCollum (D-MN-4), Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5), Tom Emmer (R-MN-6), Collin Peterson (D-MN-7), and Pete Stauber (R-MN-8) urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide additional financial assistance to the state and undertake a full review of the procedures that it relied on in developing its estimate of the damages from severe weather and widespread flooding in the spring of 2019 in Minnesota. Historic snowfall, ice, and melting snow caused widespread flooding and significant infrastructure damage
U.S. Senator Tina Smith & 32 Colleagues Introduce Bill to Achieve Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the United States by 2050
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/13/20]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) helped introduce legislation—the Clean Economy Act—that would make sure the U.S. takes bold action to address the climate crisis, boost American competitiveness, promote healthier communities and foster a growing economy that works for all. By providing clear direction from Congress, the Clean Economy Act would direct Federal agencies to use existing authorities to put our country on a pathway to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2050 while fostering a stronger, fairer economy for all Americans. You can access video of Sen. Smith discussing this legislation here. “Our nation can either lead or follow when it
U.S. Senators Smith, Rounds, Fischer & Baldwin Host Bipartisan Rural Working Group Meeting in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/13/20]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.)—leaders of the Bipartisan Senate Rural Working Group—hosted a kickoff event with rural leaders and stakeholders in Washington. The group, co-chaired by Sens. Smith and Rounds, seeks to connect people and organizations with ties to rural communities who want to help address the many unique challenges that often hit rural areas hard. The group also aims to identify successful ideas and partnerships to spur efforts to restore economic prosperity in rural communities across the country. “I’ve been to rural communities and Tribal areas across Minnesota,
English