Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Bipartisan Legislation to Provide Transparency For Those Looking to Purchase Popular Long-Term Savings Vehicles Signed Into Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced her bipartisan legislation with Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) to help provide transparency for consumers looking to purchase popular, long-term savings vehicles was signed into law as part of the bipartisan government funding bill. The law will help ensure that investors considering purchasing Registered Index Linked Annuities (RILAs) get clear and direct information that promotes investor understanding. “It’s more important than ever for consumers to have clear and concise information about their investments,” said Smith. “This legislation would help consumers looking to purchase RILAs by providing clear information about their potential investments in terms that they are able to understand. I hope this legislation will offer a model for how disclosures can and should be designed with consumers in mind. I am proud of our work to get this bill across the finished line and signed into law.” The sale of RILAs, which are tax-deferred, long-term investments often used for retirement, have grown rapidly in recent years. However, the lack of a tailored form for registering these products with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) often results in long, dense disclosures that are incomprehensible to the typical purchaser. The Registration for Index-Linked Annuities Act offers a model for how disclosures can be designed with the needs of investors in mind. By directing the SEC to develop a tailored RILA registration form, the bill will help ensure that investors have the information they need to determine whether the product makes sense for their
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Significant Federal Funding for Tribal Nations and the Native Community in the Twin Cities
WASHINGTON D.C. [1/13/23] –– U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced that she helped secure over $8.6 million for Minnesota Tribal Nations and communities in the Twin Cities metro area. These funds will support the Lower Sioux Indian Community, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, the Prairie Island Indian Community, the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, and the Native American Community Clinic. Senator Klobuchar also worked to secure this funding. “For too long, Native communities have experienced negative impacts of federal underinvestment and underfunding of critical services. I’m proud to have worked with Tribal leaders to help secure funding for projects that will address some of these disparities,” said Senator Smith. “These are significant investments that will increase access to Indigenous health services, expand Tribal housing opportunities, and invest in clean energy, carbon reduction, and protecting waters. I look forward to seeing all the good these projects will do for Minnesota’s Tribal and Native communities.” This federal funding will help further the following priorities: Expanding health care access and upgrading health care facilities: $2.25 million for the Indian Health Board in Minneapolis to support the Menaandawiwe Wellness Campus vision to provide traditional healing methods and establish a connection to nature for Native people living in the Twin Cities metro area. $1 million to expand the Native American Community Clinic’s capacity by adding ten additional medical rooms, five dental exam rooms, expanded laboratory and diagnostic services, and establish a better clinic flow to improve efficiency. $850,000 for the Leech Lake
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues Fight to Strengthen Rights of Public Sector Workers to Join Unions, Bargain Collectively
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/26/19]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and a number of her colleagues introduced bicameral legislation to protect the rights of nearly 17.3 million public workers to join a union and collectively bargain for fair wages, benefits, and improved working conditions. The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2019 will guarantee the right of public employees to organize, act concertedly, and bargain collectively in states that currently do not afford these basic protections. “Hard-working Americans have a fundamental right to join together to fight for fair wages and better working conditions,” said Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate HELP Committee. “By protecting the rights of public
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Pushes Bipartisan Legislation to Help Schools Replace Outdated Kitchen Equipment that Prevents them From Serving Most Nutritious Meals
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6/25/19]— U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced bipartisan legislation to help schools in Minnesota and across the country replace inefficient and outdated kitchen equipment that may prevent them from serving students the most nutritious meals possible. The School Food Modernization Act would provide grants, loan guarantees and technical assistance to schools in need of replacing outdated equipment. “Nutritious meals in schools don’t just keep kids from going hungry; they make it so students can focus and develop a love of learning,” said Senator Smith, a member of the Senate Education Committee. “Yet,
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Secures Bipartisan Support for Her Legislation to Ensure Millions of Americans with Diabetes Aren’t Forced Into Dangerous Practice of Rationing Insulin
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/25/19]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s (D-Minn.) legislation to hold insulin manufacturers accountable for excessive increases in the price of life-sustaining insulin—announced last week in Minneapolis and set to be introduced later this week in remembrance of Minnesotan Alec Smith—secured bipartisan support thanks to Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) cosponsoring the Emergency Access to Insulin Act. “Thank you to my colleague and neighbor Senator Cramer for supporting my legislation to provide Minnesotans and Americans with the insulin they need to survive, and to put us on a path to bring down the cost of insulin,” said Sen. Smith, a member
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Pushes Education Secretary DeVos to End Delays in Loan Forgiveness for Students who Attended Now-Defunct For-Profit Colleges
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/19/19]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is calling on U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to quickly process the claims of thousands of defrauded students in Minnesota and across the country seeking to get their federal student loans discharged. Thousands of pending discharge applications from students who attended now-defunct colleges – including more than 2,700 from Minnesota – have languished at the U.S. Department of Education for an average of 882 days. Sen. Smith — along with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), and 19 of their Democratic colleagues — wrote Wednesday to U.S. Education Secretary Betsy
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