Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Funding to Upgrade, Relocate Duluth International Airport’s Air Traffic Control Tower
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith announced she helped secure funding for Duluth International Airport’s Air Traffic Control Tower relocation project. The $10 million in funding will support relocating the non-standard tower currently at the airport, a tower which was commissioned in 1963. The airport coordinates over 67,000 arrivals/departures per year, contributes over $700 million to northern Minnesota’s economy, and supports over 6,000 jobs in the area. “The Duluth International Airport provides critical service to northern Minnesota, from commercial service to cargo, military and medical flights, yet it’s operating with a 70-year-old tower – the third oldest in the nation,” said Senator Smith. “This investment will make DLH safer and more efficient. It’s exactly the kind of project we aimed to support through the President’s infrastructure law.” In 2023, Smith joined the Minnesota delegation in sending a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requesting that they expedite reviews and approvals required for Duluth International Airport (DLH) to apply for grant funding to build a new air traffic control tower. ###
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Expansion of Terminal 2 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-Minn.) announced federal funding for the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to expand Terminal 2. The project will add two new gates to the terminal’s north side, Gates H15 and H16. The funding comes from President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure legislation, which Senators Klobuchar and Smith helped pass. “Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is among the busiest airports in the country and supports tens of thousands of jobs,” said Senator Klobuchar. “This funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will enable the airport to continue serving the Twin Cities area, improve the travel experience for passengers, and maintain its position as a top-ranking airport.” “MSP is a critical transportation hub and economic driver for communities across Minnesota,” said Senator Smith. “This investment will make sure MSP remains one of the best airports in the world and has the capacity to meet demand.” The $20,000,000 grant was awarded through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Terminals Program, which received a $5 billion boost through the President’s infrastructure legislation. The program funds safe, sustainable and accessible airport terminals, on-airport rail access projects and airport-owned traffic control towers. Several investments have been made in Minnesota’s largest airport since President Biden signed the infrastructure legislation that Klobuchar and Smith helped pass, including five new boarding bridges, new electrical substations for baggage claim, the north security checkpoint, and airport police, as well as new walkways, ramps, and slopes to support passengers with disabilities. The law has also funded a portion of a project to rehabilitate and
U.S. Senators Klobuchar, Smith & Democratic Senate Colleagues Raise Concerns About Dangerous Medicaid Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/25/20]—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and a number of their Senate Democratic colleagues called on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to withdraw proposed changes to the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR), which would disrupt state Medicaid financing. The proposed rule would limit the types of financing mechanisms states can use to pay for their non-federal share of Medicaid costs. In addition, the discretion reserved by CMS to approve or deny state proposals does not provide enough guidance to states who must plan far in the future for program expenditures. Right now, state budgets are
Klobuchar, Smith, Cramer, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Sustain Rural Broadband Connectivity During Coronavirus Pandemic
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), along with Tina Smith (D-MN), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Doug Jones (D-AL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jon Tester (D-MT), John Barrasso (R-WY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Todd Young (R-IN), and Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced the Keeping Critical Connections Act to help small broadband providers ensure rural broadband connectivity for students and their families during the coronavirus pandemic. “Access to high speed internet is critical for students and their families during the coronavirus outbreak,” Klobuchar said. “The Keeping Critical Connections Act would help small broadband providers continue offering free
Members of the Minnesota Congressional Delegation Urge Administration to Expedite Delivery of Critical Medical Supplies
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, and Representatives Angie Craig (MN-02), Dean Phillips (MN-03), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), and Collin Peterson (MN-07) wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) calling on the Administration to expedite the delivery of personal protective equipment from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) to Minnesota as the state confronts the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). State officials have made several requests for items from the SNS, however health care professionals are still waiting for the majority of these critical supplies. “HHS has rightly mobilized the SNS in response to the current unprecedented need for medical
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Presses to Sustain Rural Hospitals and Providers Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/22/2020]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) helped introduce the bipartisan Immediate Relief for Rural Facilities and Providers Act, which would stabilize rural hospitals and provide resources to health care providers as coronavirus (COVID-19) strains health care systems in Minnesota and across the country. “As we all work to combat the coronavirus, I think about how important rural hospitals and providers are as public health experts in Minnesota and across the country, and I’m grateful for the care they’re providing to keep millions of people healthy. We need to provide relief to these rural hospitals and providers, and we need to
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