Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Presses Multi-Billion Dollar Corporation on Predatory Practices That Are Pricing Out Lake Elmo, Minnesota Residents
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Chair of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, sent a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELP), an Illinois-based corporation, expressing deep concern over the company’s mistreatment of residents in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. Her letter comes following extensive reporting that residents of Cimarron Park, which is owned by ELP, are being priced out by egregious rent increases, dealing with hostile management and suffering under unfair rules that make selling or moving into a new home more difficult. “This corporation’s well-documented practices of hiking rents and making it more difficult to find other housing options only serves to boost shareholder profits while hanging Minnesotans out to dry,” said Senator Smith. “Residents have been pleading for help for nearly four years, and Equity LifeStyle Properties has failed to show they are even listening to concerns. I want them to meaningfully engage with residents instead of putting their shareholders ahead of hardworking Minnesotans.” Cimarron Park is home to roughly 500 Minnesota families. Their conflict with ELP was first reported by WCCO News in December 2020, when residents decried a rent increase at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that initial report, residents said the situation had only worsened, with the Minnesota Star Tribune reporting declining services and poor management earlier this year. Most recently, residents reported unfair rules that make selling or moving into a new home unnecessarily expensive, trapping households into a cycle of ever-increasing rent, now totaling a 30% increase over the last five years. Equity LifeStyle Properties owns roughly 72,0000 homes and operates
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Presses Multi-Billion Dollar Corporation on Predatory Practices That Are Pricing Out Lake Elmo, Minnesota Residents
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Chair of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, sent a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELP), an Illinois-based corporation, expressing deep concern over the company’s mistreatment of residents in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. Her letter comes following extensive reporting that residents of Cimarron Park, which is owned by ELP, are being priced out by egregious rent increases, dealing with hostile management and suffering under unfair rules that make selling or moving into a new home more difficult. “This corporation’s well-documented practices of hiking rents and making it more difficult to find other housing options only serves to boost shareholder profits while hanging Minnesotans out to dry,” said Senator Smith. “Residents have been pleading for help for nearly four years, and Equity LifeStyle Properties has failed to show they are even listening to concerns. I want them to meaningfully engage with residents instead of putting their shareholders ahead of hardworking Minnesotans.” Cimarron Park is home to roughly 500 Minnesota families. Their conflict with ELP was first reported by WCCO News in December 2020, when residents decried a rent increase at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that initial report, residents said the situation had only worsened, with the Minnesota Star Tribune reporting declining services and poor management earlier this year. Most recently, residents reported unfair rules that make selling or moving into a new home unnecessarily expensive, trapping households into a cycle of ever-increasing rent, now totaling a 30% increase over the last five years. Equity LifeStyle Properties owns roughly 72,0000 homes and operates
Senator Tina Smith & Over 150 Members of Congress Call on Biden Administration to Make Urgent Investments in Childcare
WASHINGTON [4.7.22]– Last night, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) led more than 150 members of Congress in urging President Biden to address the on-going childcare crisis and expressed support for federal legislation that lowers the cost of child care for families, expands access to pre-K, and invests in the early childhood workforce and infrastructure. The letter, co-led by Representatives Katherine Clark (D-MA-5), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16), Katie Porter (D-CA-45), and Michelle “Mikie” Sherrill (D-NJ-11), called for urgent passage of President Bidens’ plan to reduce child care costs for families down to 7 percent of
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Federal Funding to Lower Utility Costs, Transition to Clean Energy in Hennepin County, Duluth
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/07/22]—Today, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-Minn.) announced that Duluth and areas in Hennepin County – including Minneapolis – were selected as part of a new federal program to help local governments create a path towards clean energy. The program will provide direct support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop community-wide action plans that address local air pollution, energy resilience, utility costs and energy burdens, and provide long-term jobs. This new program – the Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP) – will also provide technical assistance for communities to secure funding from
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith Secure $4+ Million for Tribal Nations
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/06/22]—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced that they have secured $4,199,000 for Minnesota Tribal Nations. These funds will support the communities of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. “This federal funding will have a real impact for Minnesota’s Tribal Nations. From supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs to strengthening public safety infrastructure and increasing energy efficiency, these projects will address key issues impacting our Native communities on a daily basis. I am proud to have worked with Tribal leaders
Sens. Smith, Cotton and Reps. Craig, Mullin Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Boost U.S. Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
WASHINGTON [4.5.22]– Today, Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) introduced bipartisan legislation to reduce dependence on foreign pharmaceutical manufacturing and boost production in the U.S. The pandemic has exposed our nation’s dependence on other countries for essential prescription drugs. Seventy-two percent of key pharmaceutical ingredients come from overseas, threatening the security of the supply chain and leading to shortages of essential prescription drugs. In fact, 29 of the 40 critical drugs for COVID-19 patients were in shortage at the start of the pandemic. The American Made Pharmaceuticals Act would
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