Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Klobuchar, Smith, Announce Significant Federal Funding to Help Minnesota Families and Seniors With Heating Costs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-Minn.), announced over $112 million in federal funding to help families and seniors pay for energy costs this winter. The funding was made possible in part through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which both Klobuchar and Smith helped pass. “As Minnesota prepares for winter, families shouldn’t have to choose between heating their homes or buying other necessities,” said Klobuchar. “This federal funding will help families and seniors across our state pay their energy bills and keep their homes warm.” “As the temperature starts to drop in Minnesota, everyone should be able to heat their homes and stay warm,” said Senator Smith. “For low-income families, high energy prices can force an impossible choice between heating their homes and other essentials like rent, food, or medicine. I’m proud of our work to secure this funding, which will help families in Minnesota afford their heating costs and utility bills in the coming winter months.” The funding is issued through the Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides families with payment assistance to support their home energy needs. LIHEAP can also be used to weatherize homes to make them more energy efficient, and mitigate energy emergencies during disasters and extreme weather. Households can easily identify if they are eligible for assistance by using the LIHEAP Eligibility Tool on energyhelp.us. Those interested in applying for LIHEAP can visit energyhelp.us or call the National Energy Assistance Referral (NEAR) hotline toll-free at: 1-866-674-6327.
Senator Smith, Colleagues Introduce Senate Resolution in Solidarity with UAW Workers on Strike
WASHINGTON, [10.19.23] – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) joined Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and 31 of their colleagues in the Senate to introduce a resolution in solidarity with 150,000 members of United Auto Workers (UAW) bargaining for a fair contract. Autoworkers voted to go on strike in September– calling for a fair share of the record-breaking profits their labor produces as well as cost-of-living adjustments, an end to two-tier wage system, and restoration of pension benefits. Since then, the strike has expanded to 44 locations across 22 states. It is one of the largest U.S. strikes in the past three decades. “Workers bailed out the Big 3 auto manufacturers during the Great Recession to keep the companies afloat. Now, these companies make billions in profit while workers see stagnant wages,” said Smith. “I stand with the UAW workers in Minnesota and around the country who are striking for a fair contract and call on the automakers to negotiate with them in good faith.” “The fight the UAW is waging has everything to do with the outrageous level of corporate greed and arrogance on the part of senior executives in the automobile industry and their backers on Wall Street,” said Sanders. “At a time when the Big 3 automakers have made $250 billion in profits over the past decade, it is absolutely unacceptable that wages for the average autoworker have gone down by 30 percent in the past 20 years after adjusting for inflation. If these companies could afford
Sen. Tina Smith Leads 23 Senators in Calling to Protect Minor Children Left Alone When Parents are Arrested or Detained By U.S. Immigration Officials
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/23/18]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith introduced legislation—also supported by Minnesota colleague Sen. Amy Klobuchar—that would protect the safety and well-being of minor children who have been left alone and vulnerable after their parents have been arrested or detained by U.S. immigration authorities. Sen. Smith believes the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for Separated Children Act is necessary because in the past children have been abandoned at home or at school after their parents’ detention, often without information about their parents’ location and without adequate arrangements for their care. She understands that with the Trump administration reportedly seeking to step up
Sen. Tina Smith Continues Fighting for Ag with Support for Bill to Safely Transport Livestock
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/25/18]—U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is supporting bipartisan legislation—the Transporting Livestock Across America Safely Act—to give drivers more flexibility during their trips and better protect the safety of livestock, especially in the hot summer months and cold Minnesota winters. Currently, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires haulers to turn on an electronic logging device in their trucks when they reach a certain point from where they originally picked up their livestock. From that point on, haulers must track their on-duty time before taking a mandatory extended rest period. This extended rest period puts
Sen. Tina Smith Leads Bipartisan Call to Extend Enrollment Period for Margin Protection Program to Help Dairy Farmers in Minnesota, Across the Country
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/31/18]—Today, U.S Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) led a bipartisan effort—joined by Sen. Amy Klobuchar—to help more dairy farmers in Minnesota and across the country by calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to extend the June 1 deadline to enroll in the improved Margin Protection Program (MPP), which helps dairy producers weather difficult years and prevent further losses on their farms and in the rural communities they support. The MPP was created in the last Farm Bill in order to give farmers more stability as milk or feed prices change, but improvements were needed as milk prices
Sen. Tina Smith Tells Senate Agriculture Committee Leaders that Farm Bill Energy Programs Are Key to Reviving Lagging Farm Economy
WASHINGTON, D.C [06/04/18]—As the Senate prepares to begin work on the 2018 Farm Bill, U.S Senator Tina Smith, today told the leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee that expanded use of renewable fuels and increased investment in rural energy programs will be key to creating jobs and reviving the nation’s lagging farm economy. In a letter Monday to Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sen. Smith, led a bipartisan group of a committee members in calling for improvements and strong funding in the program’s that make up the Energy section of the Farm Bill when
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