Latest Releases
Sen. Smith Leads Bipartisan Legislation to Safeguard American Food Exports and Protect Farmers
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Chris Coons (D-DE), introduced bipartisan legislation to protect farmers in the event of animal disease outbreaks. The Safe American Food Exports (SAFE) Act would give the USDA clear authority to preemptively negotiate regionalization agreements for known animal disease threats, ultimately preventing unsafe agriculture exports from getting shipped around the globe and keeping trading markets open for American farmers with disease-free livestock. “I hear from Minnesota farmers all the time about the toll avian flu outbreaks have on families and the economy. Animal disease outbreaks can unnecessarily disrupt trade and hurt our exporting ability,” said Sen. Smith. “This bipartisan bill would allow the USDA to proactively negotiate regionalization agreements with our key trading partners. It’s a common-sense step that would help our farmers weather any future animal disease outbreaks.” “Indiana is a top ranked poultry-producing state, being first in the country for ducks, second for layer chickens and table eggs, and third for turkeys,” said Sen. Braun. “During the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak last year, our Hoosier poultry producers relied on trade regionalization agreements to ensure that their safe food products made it to market. Spending most of my life around the farm, I know just how devastating animal disease outbreaks can be. The SAFE Act will help farmers focus on animal health, rather than finding a market for their safe food products, by giving USDA the authority to negotiate proactive trade agreements.” “Poultry farmers across the
Senator Smith, Colleagues Call on Fed to Strengthen Rules for Banks with Assets Over $100 Billion
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angus King (I-Maine), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) wrote the Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve (Fed) Michael Barr, calling on him to exercise the Fed’s authority to apply stronger regulation and supervision to banks with assets totaling $100 to $250 billion. “The fall of both SVB and Signature, the near-crash of First Republic, and the struggles of other regional banks shed new light on the systemic importance of banks with assets totaling between $100 and $250 billion,” wrote the senators. “In response to SVB’s and Signature Bank’s failures, the Department of Treasury, after consultation with the Fed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), approved ‘systemic risk exceptions’ allowing the FDIC to fully compensate the banks’ depositors, including those holding deposits above the $250,000 FDIC insurance threshold. In making this determination, regulators acknowledged the systemic significance of banks of this size, and that their failure could have significant spillover effects on the broader banking system.” The 2018 Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA), which unwound Enhanced Prudential Standards for mid-sized banks, provided the Fed with the discretion to maintain stronger rules – including stronger requirements for capital, liquidity, stress testing, and resolution plans – to banks with assets between $100 and $250 billion. The Fed has largely failed to
Sen. Tina Smith’s Statement on President Trump’s Remarks at Press Conference with Vladimir Putin
WASHINGTON [07/16/18]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement on President Trump’s remarks while at a press conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin: “The president’s press conference on his meeting with Vladimir Putin was nothing short of disgraceful. There is no question that Russia attacked our democracy in 2016 by interfering in the election, as our American intelligence community long ago concluded. When asked today to choose between our own country’s intelligence community and Vladimir Putin—the leader of a hostile foreign power—President Trump refused to choose, and instead blamed our own country. This is a shocking development when I
Sen. Tina Smith Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Help Tribes Pursue Justice for Crimes of Sexual Violence Committed by Non-Indian Offenders
WASHINGTON [07/17/18]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee—has introduced bipartisan legislation to make sure tribes in Minnesota and across the country are able to prosecute crimes of sexual violence committed by non-Indian offenders. According to the National Institute of Justice, over half of all Native American women—56 percent—and more than one in four men have experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes. And among those, almost all—96 percent of women and 89 percent of men—were victimized by a non-Indian offender. Yet, few survivors ever see justice. The Justice for Native Survivors of Sexual Violence Act—introduced with Senate
Sen. Tina Smith Blasts Supreme Court Justice Nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s Troubling Record on the Environment
WASHINGTON [07/18/18]—In a speech delivered on the Senate Floor, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) took President Trump’s Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh to task for his troubling record on the environment. Sen. Smith was particularly concerned with Kavanaugh’s writings on clean air where he signaled skepticism about protecting Americans from smog and carbon monoxide, both of which are known to cause serious health issues. You can watch Sen. Smith’s speech here. “Supreme Court Justices serve for life,” Sen. Smith said. “So we can’t afford a Justice who is hostile to our environment and to human health. We can’t afford a Justice who
Sen. Tina Smith Leads Effort to Extend Humanitarian Protections For Somali Nationals Living in Minnesota, Across the Country
WASHINGTON [07/18/18]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) led 21 of her Senate colleagues—including fellow Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar—in urging the Trump administration to extend humanitarian protections for hundreds of Somali nationals who have taken refuge in Minnesota and other states to escape civil war, human rights abuses and violence in their home country. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sen. Smith and her Senate colleagues pressed the Trump Administration to extend the protections, known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS), for the almost 500 Somali nationals living in the United States.
English