Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues Push Administration to Reinstate Duluth EPA Lab Workers
WASHINGTON– 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 Amendment, as affirmed by the Supreme Court. “The Trump Administration is creating totally unnecessary chaos for the office that is supposed to protect Lake Superior. It has been months since I started asking them questions which they refuse to answer, and they continue to threaten the livelihoods and critical work of the dedicated public servants in the Duluth lab,” said Senator Smith. “These are real people and communities who continue to wonder if their jobs are truly safe. It’s just not the right way to do business or treat people.” Senator Tina Smith was joined in sending this letter by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). A copy
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 in over a decade, this committee is taking bipartisan action to cut red tape, boost the supply of housing, lower housing costs, and improve how we tackle homelessness in ways that best work for individual communities,” said Senator Smith. “The biggest share of the average Minnesotan’s monthly budget is their rent or their mortgage. Taking action on the housing crisis is one of the best ways we can make life more affordable and better for families, because if you don’t have a safe, decent, affordable place to live, nothing else in your life works.” Smith’s legislation included: “We all need a safe, stable place to call home. The ROAD to Housing Act of 2025 brings together real, workable solutions that will help more families put down roots and thrive. From making it easier to build high-quality homes using modern methods like modular construction, to expanding access to small-dollar mortgages and
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on the Federal Prison Camp in Duluth Remaining Open and Operational
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) issued the following statement on the Federal Prison Camp in Duluth remaining open and operational: “Reversing the decision to close the Duluth Prison Camp is a major victory for the workers, families, and community that have fought to keep these good-paying, union jobs in the region,” said Sen. Tina Smith. “These employees are essential to the local economy and have deep roots in Duluth. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and shouldn’t have been forced to choose between their careers and their community. I pushed hard to reverse this
Smith, Rounds Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Empower States and Communities to Reduce Homelessness
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) today introduced the Reducing Homelessness Through Program Reform Act, legislation to cut red tape and create local solutions for addressing homelessness. “Without a safe, affordable place to live nothing else in your life works – not your job, health, family, or education,” said Smith.“This bipartisan bill makes common sense reforms to federal homelessness programs: cutting red tape for homeless service providers, streamlining and improving federal housing vouchers, reducing administrative burden and modernizing out-of-date software systems. It will reduce homelessness while using taxpayer dollars more efficiently. We know that the best ideas come
U.S. Senator Tina Smith on Senate Passage of Republicans’ Disastrous Big Bill
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) released the following statement after voting against the Republicans’ disastrous and cruel budget bill: “What Republicans did here is simple: they voted to kick 16 million people off health insurance while giving massive tax breaks to billionaires and corporations, and managed to still raise the debt by a staggering $5 trillion. In Minnesota alone, nearly 200,000 people will lose their health insurance. Rural hospitals will be forced to close. Planned Parenthood will lose its funding and have to shutter clinics. “I’ve heard from tens of thousands of Minnesotans, and they all tell
Minnesota Congressional Delegation Introduces Bicameral, Bipartisan Resolution Honoring Melissa Hortman, Mark Hortman, and Condemning Political Violence
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN), along with Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Representatives Kelly Morrison (D-MN), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Angie Craig (D-MN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), and Brad Finstad (R-MN) introduced a resolution to honor the life of Minnesota State House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and condemn political violence. Full text of the resolution is available HERE and below: Whereas, on June 14, 2025, a gunman entered the home of
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