Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Legislation to Tackle Drug Shortages, Improve Public Health Preparedness Advances Through Key Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. [8.4.23] –U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that two of her legislative priorities, aimed at addressing drug shortages and improving public health preparedness, took a major step forward. “Drug shortages are hurting patients, pharmacists, and physicians across the country,” said Senator Smith. “I have heard directly from Minnesotans who are facing shortages of ADHD medications like Adderall, cancer-fighting drugs for chemotherapy, among other things. These drug shortages can be life-threatening, and I’ve made it a priority to tackle this problem. In addition, I’m focused on ensuring we are prepared for future public health threats. My bipartisan legislation will improve the FDA’s responsiveness when medication demand outpaces the supply, and help improve our ability to rapidly develop and distribute diagnostic tests in the event of a disease outbreak. I’m glad to see these priorities included in this important legislation.” The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Response Act is essential legislation that reauthorizes key public health and emergency preparedness programs. Current funding expires on September 30th. Millions of Americans have been affected by shortages of chemotherapy drugs, commonly-used antibiotics, pediatric formulations of medications like ibuprofen, and other essential drugs. Pieces of Senator Smith’s legislation, which have been included in the reauthorization, will help address these shortages and bolster public health preparedness. Senator Smith’s provisions include:
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Reintroduce Legislation to Improve Fire Safety in Public Housing
WASHINGTON, D.C. [8.3.23] – U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN) reintroduced legislation to help install sprinkler systems in older public housing buildings. Companion legislation was also introduced in the House by U.S. Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ 15) and John Rutherford (R-FL 05) with support from Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN 5). Smith originally introduced the Public Housing Fire Safety Act following the tragic Cedar High Apartments fire, which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2019. The upper floors of the building, where the fire erupted, did not have sprinkler systems installed. “In the wake of the tragic 2019 Cedar High Apartments Fire, I joined Senator Smith in introducing legislation to ensure that buildings have properly installed fire and sprinkler systems. Every second counts during a house fire, and with up-to-date systems, more lives can be saved,” said Klobuchar. “We need to continue these efforts by passing the Public Housing Fire Safety Act to bring us one step closer towards ensuring that buildings are safe for all residents.” “The fire at Cedar High Apartments was a tragic loss for the Cedar-Riverside community,” said Smith. “In the aftermath of the tragedy, I began connecting with people closely affected the fire and looking into ways to prevent it from happening again. This bill gets to the root of what we need to do: incentivize public housing authorities to install sprinkler systems and give them the support they need to do it.” “One of the most important investments our federal government
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith Seeks Young Minnesotans Interested In Attending a U.S. Service Academy
MINNESOTA [10/24/19]—U.S. Sen. Tina Smith’s (D-Minn.) office is now accepting applications from young Minnesotans interested in attending one of the nation’s four service academies, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. In order to attend a service academy, candidates must be nominated by a member of Congress, or other applicable nominating source. Applications are due by 5 pm on Friday, November 1. “As Senator, I am proud to be able to nominate talented Minnesotans to our four U.S. Service Academies, where they can prepare to be future leaders in our nation’s military,” said Sen. Smith. “I’m happy to assist eligible Minnesotans in the nomination process,
U.S. Senators Klobuchar and Smith Announce $480,000 to Help Give Farmers and Ranchers Tools to Deal with Stressful Economic Times
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/24/2019]—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $480,000 to fund a project to give farmers, ranchers and agri-businesses the tools they need to deal with economic and emotional stress brought on by the difficult farm economy. The funding will allow the University of Minnesota Extension to partner with seven other cooperative extension services in the upper Midwest to develop online resources people can turn to for help. It will also help expand programs including stress assistance classes, a stress assistance hotline and prescription drug abuse education. Right now, Minnesota ag
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Susan Collins Introduce Bipartisan Wind Energy Research and Development Legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/24/19]—This week, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced bipartisan legislation that would increase investment in clean, renewable wind energy. Their legislation, called the Wind Energy Research and Development Act, would renew and expand the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Wind Energy and award competitive grants to improve the energy efficiency, reliability and capacity of wind energy generation. The wind energy sector supports more than 114,000 American jobs and provides more than $1 billion in revenue each year for states and local communities. Sens. Smith and Collins say that federal support for wind research and
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Bill to Improve Mental and Physical Health Outcomes for Seniors
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/23/19]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced legislation to address the negative mental and physical health effects—and the economic consequences—of social isolation among seniors. More than 8 million older Americans experience social isolation, and nearly half of older adults feel isolated, alone, or left out. Socially isolated seniors face a 29 percent increased risk of mortality. And when it comes to federal Medicare spending, it’s $134 more per person per month for every socially isolated older adult. This is compared to Medicare spending on chronic conditions. Sen. Smith’s Older Americans Social Isolation and Loneliness Prevention Act calls for revising the Older Americans Act (OAA)
English