Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues, Demand VA Improves Care for Victims of Sexual Assault
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), led by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT), joined her colleagues to send a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) urging the Department to take immediate steps to improve the readiness of VA facilities and staff to address the needs of veterans after experiencing a sexual assault. The letter comes as a result of a concerning VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report finding significant shortfalls in care provided by VA to veterans who seek care after sexual assault. The letter was also signed by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Patty Murray (D-WA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) Angus King (I-ME), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ). “We urge the Department to work expeditiously to implement the recommendations in the [OIG] report and take a more proactive stance towards preparing facilities, both emergent and non-emergent, and staff for how to respond to encounters related to sexual assault,” wrote the Senators to VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “Despite the low volume of emergent acute sexual assault victims presenting in VA emergency departments and urgent care centers, we expect the Department to ensure our veterans receive the best possible health care and services, either onsite or via a warm handoff to a community provider.” The Senators highlighted VA’s “unacceptable” shortfalls in providing
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Federal Grant to Build New Child Care Facility in Ely
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $1,200,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant to remodel an existing building into a child care facility. The newly renovated facility will house the Ely Area Community Foundation Happy Days Childcare Inc. and provide residents with expanded child care services. “Finding child care is a challenge for far too many parents,” said Klobuchar. “We secured this significant federal grant to expand child care services and give parents in Ely more options.” “Access to affordable child care is essential, both for the safe and healthy development of our kids, and because it allows parents the freedom to pursue their careers and contribute to the economy,” said Smith. “This investment in Ely that I helped secure will create a new child care facility that will help hundreds of families get much needed child care services.” Senators Klobuchar and Smith are members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, which oversees the USDA. This federal funding was secured through the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. Program grants can be used by communities across the country to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community in a primarily rural area, such as health care facilities, public safety services, educational services, and more. ###
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Nearly $26 Million Grant for University of Minnesota, Academic Collaborators to Create Engineering Research Center
WASHINGTON, D.C. [8/7/2020]—This week, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced that the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the University of Minnesota Institute for Engineering in Medicine and three academic collaborators $25,999,491 to create an Engineering Research Center (ERC). The goal of the ERC, called the Advanced Technologies for Preservation of Biological Systems (ATP-Bio), is to develop and deploy technology to “stop biological time” through temperature control. This will improve transplantation and other biological therapies by preserving organs, tissues and cells. It will also help drive down the cost of drug discovery and much more. In addition, the center will provide educational
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Bill Cassidy Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve National COVID-19 Testing and Tracing
WASHINGTON, D.C. [08/7/20]—U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) introduced bipartisan legislation this week to improve coronavirus (COVID-19) testing and tracing in Minnesota and across the country. Representatives Angie Craig (MN-2) and Phil Roe (TN-01) introduced the bipartisan house companion today. The Suppress COVID-19 Act would support states’ work to address the virus by helping them purchase tests and testing supplies. It would also allow states to work together in interstate compacts and regional agreements to overcome challenges with the testing supply chain, such as a lack of available tests and slow turn-around for test results. Sen. Smith says that this bipartisan strategy will help states not only contain the
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Legislation to Help Root Out Systemic Racism, Culture of Violence Towards People of Color in Senate Floor Speech
WASHINGTON, D.C. [07/6/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced new legislation to help root out systemic racism and the culture of violence that is killing Black, Brown and Indigenous people during her third Senate floor speech focused on finding solutions to address systemic racism and much-needed changes in policing. Sen. Smith’s Supporting Innovation in Public Safety Act would help state, local, and Tribal governments reimagine policing in their communities by funding innovative projects to change how we deliver public safety. Sen. Smith says that the bill will empower local communities to pursue projects that improve public safety through systemic change, rather than by increasing police budgets.
U.S. Senators Klobuchar, Smith Join Push to Ensure School Meals Remain Available To Students as Schools Consider Reopening Options for New School Year
WASHINGTON, D.C. [08/5/20]— U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) joined a Senate push to ensure that school meal programs remain available to millions of students in Minnesota and across the country during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic regardless of school re-opening status. Klobuchar and Smith, along with more than 30 other Senators, are urging U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to continue critical waivers that have allowed students access to school breakfasts and lunch during the pandemic, which may be the only healthy and regular meals they receive. “The economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted
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