Latest Releases
U.S. SENATOR TINA SMITH’S BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION INCLUDED IN LANDMARK HOUSING PACKAGE THAT PASSED THE UNITED STATES SENATE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), the top Democrat on the Senate Housing Subcommittee, announced that one of her major bipartisan bills aimed at combatting America’s housing crisis was included in a package that passed the Senate in an 89-10 vote. Senator Smith’s bipartisan Rural Housing Service Reform Act was included in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the first comprehensive housing supply legislation in 30 years. “Without a safe, affordable place to live, nothing else in your life works. The lack of decent housing in this country is a choice that we’re making, but with this package, we’re choosing a different path,” said Senator Smith. “For the first time in decades, the Senate is taking bipartisan action to cut red tape so we can build more housing and lower costs for Americans.” Senator Smith’s bipartisan Rural Housing Service Reform Act would preserve up to 400,000 affordable homes in small towns and rural communities across the country, and more than 9,000 units in Minnesota, by making commonsense updates to programs at the USDA’s Rural Housing Service for the first time in decades. The bill was included in the final package that passed the Senate. In addition to Senator Smith’s Rural Housing Service Reform Act, the package included a number of bills Senator Smith cosponsored and supported, including: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act doesn’t just boost housing supply. The legislation also addresses big corporations’ stranglehold on America’s housing market by banning large institutional investors from purchasing
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Bill to Strengthen Teacher Workforce
Washington, DC — This week, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced the Addressing Teacher Shortages Act, bicameral legislation to help schools recruit, prepare and retain educators amid the ongoing teacher shortage. The bill is co-led in the House of Representatives by Congresswomen Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Jahana Hayes (D-CT). In Minnesota, 84% of school districts report being affected by teacher shortages, and nearly one in four licensed teachers in Minnesota isn’t working in a classroom. Among those who do, almost one-third of new teachers leave the profession within five years. “Building a stronger education system is one of the smartest investments we can make. I hear from Minnesota schools every year about the shortages they can’t seem to fill, and that it’s only getting worse. Smaller and rural districts particularly struggle to fill spots, but no matter where it is, we can’t seem to hire teachers in key subjects like STEM, technical education and special education,” said Senator Tina Smith. “These shortages hurt our students the most, and that’s why this legislation is so critical. Our kids deserve fully staffed schools.” The Addressing Teacher Shortages Act would establish a competitive federal grant program that school districts can apply to for five years of funding to strengthen teacher recruitment, training and retention. The bill also provides staffing resources at the U.S. Department of Education to help under-resourced communities apply for and access these grants. The bill gives school districts broad latitude to determine how best to spend the grant money to hire and retain qualified teachers in
ICYMI: U.S. Senator Tina Smith Blasts Wrongful Firing of Duluth EPA Scientists by the Trump Administration
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) blasted the news that scientists at the Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division Laboratory were fired for signing onto a letter expressing concerns over cuts and changes at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that they argued would endanger the health and safety of Minnesotans. In a statement to the Duluth News Tribune, Smith decried the firings and expressed pride in the workers who had the guts to sign onto the Declaration of Dissent warning about the impacts of EPA cuts. “How is firing the people who keep Lake Superior and Minnesota’s waters clean and
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Demands Answers from Trump Administration on Actions Purportedly Allowing Sulfide-Ore Copper Mining Near the Boundary Waters
[ST. PAUL, MN] – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) is demanding answers from the Trump Administration regarding its recent announcement about planned executive actions to allow sulfide-ore mining in the Rainy River Watershed, where waters flow into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). The only sulfide-ore mine proposed in the area would be owned by Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta, a company with a questionable environmental record, and the minerals they intend to mine would be shipped overseas to be processed outside of the United States – most likely to China. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues Push Administration to Reinstate Duluth EPA Lab Workers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), joined by 16 of her Senate colleagues, called on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin to reinstate workers placed on administrative leave for expressing concern with the agency’s direction under the Trump Administration. Senator Smith is standing up for EPA employees in Duluth, Minnesota. These employees faced disciplinary action for signing a “Declaration of Dissent” about the agency’s leadership. In the letter to Administrator Zeldin, the Senators emphasize that public employees have the right to speak their views on issues that matter to them in their personal lives under the First
Minnesota Housing Organizations Celebrate Smith’s Bipartisan Rural Housing, Homelessness Bills Advancing in U.S. Senate
ST. PAUL, MN – Minnesota housing organizations from across the state are celebrating legislation by U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), top Democrat on the Senate Housing Subcommittee, advancing to the Senate floor. Smith’s bills were included in the first comprehensive, national housing reform legislative package in over a decade, dubbed the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, which passed the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee unanimously (24-0). “The lack of safe, decent, affordable housing in this country is a choice that we’re making, but with this new legislative package, we’re choosing a different path. For the first time
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