**VIDEO RELEASE**
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/24/2019]—In an interview this week on Bloomberg TV, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) discussed the challenges facing farmers and rural communities, and characterized the Trump Administration’s recently announced aid as “a little Band-Aid for a big, ugly problem.”
You can watch the video of her full interview here.
“I don’t know a single farm that wouldn’t see that and say, sure, I’m happy to accept a helping hand because I’m really hurting right now,” said Sen. Smith—a member of the Senate Ag Committee. “But what I think most farmers in Minnesota would say is that’s a little Band-Aid for a big, ugly problem. You know, farm income in Minnesota is at its lowest over the last five years. We know that farmers are…really struggling, especially in dairy but really across the board. And now in Minnesota, the weather, it will not stop raining. So there’s a real challenge getting crops in the ground…I really think that we ought to address the core challenges here.”
During Sen. Smith’s interview with Bloomberg TV, she touched on other priority issues. She highlighted her net-zero electricity emissions bill introduced earlier this month and also brought up the fact that Minnesotans sent her to Washington to find common ground and get things done. That’s why she’s focused on efforts like her proposal with Republican Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas to stop the process of “evergreening,” which occurs when drug companies make minimal changes to the formulation of a drug so that they can keep their patent for another five years.
You can watch the video of her full interview here.
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