Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Bipartisan Bill to Improve Rural Health Care Signed Into Law
WASHINGTON [01/06/23] – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Co-Chairs of the Senate Rural Health Caucus, announced that their bipartisan bill to improve rural health care was signed into law by President Biden. The State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) Reauthorization Act of 2022 will reauthorize a key program that supports health facilities in rural areas across the country. “When I meet with families, farmers, businesses and community leaders in greater Minnesota, one of the first issues that comes up is health care,” said Smith. “This bipartisan legislation will help make sure State Offices of Rural Health have the resources they need to expand and improve health care services in rural communities. I’m proud of our work to get this bill signed into law and help address the unique health care needs of rural America.” “As a doctor, I have seen how this critical program benefits clinics and hospitals in rural areas across Wyoming. I am pleased to see the president sign our bill to reauthorize this important program into law,” said Barrasso. “Now, we can ensure Wyoming’s Office of Rural Health continues to have the necessary resources needed to give our patients the highest quality of care they deserve.” This bill supports State Offices of Rural Health by extending a successful law on information-sharing, technical assistance, and care delivery in rural settings. Under the bill, the program will be reauthorized for five years, which will preserve the program’s flexibility to meet the needs of providers and
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Statement on Recent Decisions by FDA and Justice Department Protecting Access to Medication Abortion
WASHINGTON [1/6/22] – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement on recent announcements by the FDA and Justice Department regarding the availability of abortion pills: “These two decisions by the Justice Department and the FDA are big steps in the right direction and will ensure millions of women across the country have access to medication abortion. But these decisions can be overturned by a future administration and we need more permanent solutions. By attacking and undermining access to safe and effective medications, Republicans are saying that government – not women, not their health care providers – should decide what’s best for women. As we enter the new year, I will continue working to pass my legislation protecting access to medication abortion and restore the reproductive freedoms Republicans have ripped away.” This week, the FDA announced that abortion pills will soon be available for purchase at local U.S. pharmacies with a prescription. Additionally, the Justice Department cleared the U.S. Postal Service to deliver abortion pills in states with strict anti-abortion laws.
U.S. Sens. Tina Smith and Bill Cassidy Lead Bipartisan Push to Lower Wasteful Health Care Spending
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/01/19]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) introduced bipartisan legislation to help develop innovative ways to reduce unnecessary administrative costs in health care spending. Estimates suggest that while administrative costs could account for over one quarter of total health care spending in the United States, much of it is not directly related to delivering patient care. Sens. Smith and Cassidy’s bill—the Reducing Administrative Costs and Burdens in Health Care Act, which was first introduced last Congress—would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take steps toward reducing unnecessary administrative costs across the
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Highlights Bill to Boost Mental Health Services for Students While Visiting Minnesota Elementary School
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/25/19]—Today, U.S Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced she’s reintroduced her legislation to make sure students in schools across the nation are able to access the mental health services they need, where they are, while visiting Franklin Elementary School in Rochester. While hearing from Rochester area educators and mental health professionals, Sen. Smith discussed her Mental Health Services for Students Act, which would provide funding for comprehensive mental health services in schools. Young people experience mental health conditions about as often as adults—about 1 in 5 struggle with severe mental health problems—but they often have a hard time getting
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith Presses Nation’s Top Agriculture, Drug Enforcement, and Customs Officials to Clear Bureaucratic Hurdles for Minnesota Farmers Growing Industrial Hemp
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/19/19]—After taking a leading role in making sure Minnesota priorities were included in the 2018 Farm Bill, this week U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee—is once again standing up for Minnesota farmers by pressing top federal agriculture, drug enforcement, and customs officials to clear the bureaucratic hurdles that are preventing Minnesota farmers from obtaining hemp seed. Sen. Smith said last year’s Farm Bill established hemp as an agriculture commodity, and authorized the production, consumption, and sale of hemp in Minnesota and across the country. However, she said, a lack of coordination between federal
Klobuchar, Smith Join Colleagues to Introduce New Legislation to Tackle Nationwide Digital Equity Gap
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Broadband Caucus, and Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) to introduce new legislation aimed at closing the growing digital divide in communities across the country. The Digital Equity Act of 2019 creates new federal investments targeted toward a diverse array of projects at the state and local level that promote “digital equity”— a concept defined by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance as the “condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society, democracy and economy.”
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