Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Applauds Biden Admin Move to Eliminate Medical Debt from Credit Reports
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) celebrated a new proposed rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) shielding consumers’ credit scores from being impacted by medical debt. Today’s announcement came after Senator Smith, along with 9 of her colleagues, urged the agency to take action. According to the CFPB’s own report, there is over $88 billion in medical debt on consumer credit records. “You can’t choose when you get sick – it happens whether we like it or not. You shouldn’t be punished with a lower credit score just because you needed medical care,” said Senator Smith.“This move by the Biden Administration puts the American people first, and I’m glad they listened to me and my colleagues who pushed for this new rule.” Senator Smith, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, called attention to the growing crisis of medical debt in a letter to the CFPB in 2022. The move by the CFPB compliments actions by the Minnesota State Legislature, who passed the Debt Fairness Act as part of a large omnibus bill in May of this year to address the impact medical debt has on Minnesotans. ###
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Funding for White Earth Nation to Increase Solar Power and Energy Storage
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced $1.75 million for the White Earth Nation in Minnesota to use energy storage to increase their use of solar power and allow for greater energy flexibility. The project will expand an existing solar array at Pine Point Elementary School and Community Center to help lower electricity costs and support White Earth’s goal to be energy independent. “Tribal Nations have always been leaders in environmental stewardship,” said Senator Tina Smith. “This funding will help White Earth Tribal Nation continue building a more resilient and clean energy system for the Tribe.” The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity selected three communities across the country to receive a total of $3.7 million in project development assistance under the Energy Storage for Social Equity Program. The program successfully launched in March 2022 and selected 14 communities for similar projects that focused on providing a strategy for energy access and affordability, decarbonization, environmental impact, resilience, and social impact. The funding will promote an equitable clean energy transition, advance more affordable and reliable electricity, and support the Biden Administration’s Justice40 goals. ###
Klobuchar, Smith Urge Farmers to Sign Up for the Conservation Reserve Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. [01/28/22]—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (Both D-Minn.), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, are reminding Minnesota agricultural producers and landowners to enroll in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Applications will be accepted from January 31 to March 11 for the General CRP and from April 4 to May 13 for the Grassland CRP. “The Conservation Reserve Program protects critical natural resources and provides economic benefits for our rural communities,” Klobuchar said. “I have worked to increase the number of acres in CRP so farmers and landowners can continue to access the
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins 190+ Congressional Democrats in Brief to The Supreme Court Defending EPA’s Clean Air Act Authority
WASHINGTON, DC [1.25.22] — Today, Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), along with more than 190 congressional Democrats, submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in the case of West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The brief supports EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to protect the public from harmful pollution, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and address the climate crisis. It also rejects spurious arguments made by congressional Republicans in their own amicus brief, in which they wrongly challenge the EPA’s authority to address climate pollution. “For more than fifty years, the Clean Air Act has reduced pollution and
Senators Smith, Luján, and Clean Energy Advocates Discuss The Future Of Federal Investments In Clean Energy
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined Clean Energy for America and The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) to discuss how Congress will continue to move forward on historic federal investments in clean energy. During the conversation, Senator Smith underscored her support for clean energy and emphasized that Congress must urgently pass legislation that protects our environment, reduces emissions, and generates economic opportunity in the process. “Addressing climate change is a moral, economic, and a justice issue,” said Senator Smith. “Transitioning to clean energy and taking climate action will create more opportunity, more innovation,
Klobuchar, Smith, Colleagues Call for Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) joined 30 of their Senate colleagues in requesting that the Biden administration grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) re-designations for El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, in addition to a new TPS designation for Guatemala. TPS is a temporary, renewable program that provides relief from deportation and access to a work permit for foreign nationals from certain countries who are unable to return safely to their home country due to natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other extraordinary conditions. There are approximately 7,200 foreign-born Salvadorians and 6,700 foreign-born Guatemalans living in Minnesota.
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