Latest Releases
Klobuchar, Baldwin, Smith, Stauber Urge Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to Support Federal Funding to Rebuild the Blatnik Bridge
WASHINGTON – Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Tina Smith (D-MN) and Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN) sent a bipartisan letter urging Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to support Minnesota and Wisconsin’s application for federal funding to rebuild the Blatnik Bridge. “We write to reiterate our strong support of the Minnesota and Wisconsin Department of Transportations’ application for federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” wrote the lawmakers. “By replacing the Blatnik Bridge, the project would exemplify the type of critical infrastructure project that was envisioned by Congress.”“As noted in our previous letter to President Biden in September 2023, the Blatnik Bridge, located over St. Louis Bay on Lake Superior, is one of two bridges that connects the cities of Duluth, Minnesota with Superior, Wisconsin,” the lawmakers continued. “It is an essential economic engine in the region and a key link in the global supply chain.”In September, Klobuchar, Smith, Baldwin, and Representative Stauber sent a letter to President Biden urging him to fund this project. In August, Klobuchar and Smith sent letters to Secretary Buttigieg in support of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)’s applications for funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including the U.S. Department of Transportation National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program and its Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) Program. In 2022, Klobuchar, Smith, and Baldwin sent a letter to President Biden urging him to fund this project. President Biden visited the Blatnik Bridge in 2022 with Klobuchar, Baldwin, and Smith, to discuss how the bridge could benefit from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In 2021, Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Commerce
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar and Representative Angie Craig Press Postal Service Again for Answers on Mail Carriers’ Missing Paychecks
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D – MN), and U.S. Representative Angie Craig (D-MN02) sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy seeking answers about an apparent payroll system error that led to an estimated 2,200 rural letter carriers missing paychecks. The incident is the second major payroll problem for the Postal Service since September. The lawmakers sent a similar letter to Postmaster General DeJoy in September seeking answers when approximately 53,000 postal workers missed or received only partial paychecks, and the Postal Service responded that they had solved the issue that caused the error. “In your response, you assured us that the payroll programming error was ‘corrected’ and ‘rigorously tested,’ but just three months later we must address this again with you. Rural letter carriers provide an essential service to small towns and rural places in Minnesota and around the country. They deliver medicine, bills, Social Security checks and other crucial documents and items. They provide for their own families and deserve timely compensation,” the lawmakers said. In their letter, Senators Smith, Klobuchar, and Representative Craig called for DeJoy to take immediate steps to pay affected workers and ensure this problem is not repeated. Smith, Klobuchar and Craig have long worked to improve the reliability of postal service in Minnesota. All 3 lawmakers have introduced bicameral, bipartisan legislation addressing transparency at the Postal Service. Smith and Klobuchar both sent letters to Postmaster DeJoy regarding the disruptions caused by increased Amazon package delivery and decried Postmaster General DeJoy’s response. In September, they pressed USPS for answers about a payroll error that led to 53,000 rural letter carriers missing or receiving only a partial
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Urges Immediate Action to Control Spread of Coronavirus
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/03/20]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is calling on the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Health Subcommittee to quickly provide emergency funding to the depleted Public Health Emergency Fund (PHEF) so that state and local health departments aren’t overwhelmed by the emerging coronavirus outbreak. Sen. Smith—a member of the Senate Health Committee—says that PHEF, a critical source of funding for public health emergencies, was depleted in 2012. “Though our federal public health response has been adequately surveilling, screening, and testing for the virus, now is the time to ensure that our states and localities are equally prepared to respond,” wrote Sen. Smith. “As this emergency response evolves, states and localities may foot the bill for medical screening, countermeasures, deployment of
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Continues Fight to Strengthen Workers’ Rights and Wages
WASHINGTON, D.C. [02/3/20]— U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) helped introduce a bill to prohibit states from passing “right-to-work” laws that make it harder for workers to form unions, fight for higher wages and push for better working conditions. Right now, under “right-to-work” laws, some members are not paying dues despite the fact that they benefit from a union. This is draining key resources used by unions to fight for workers’ rights. “I believe that workers have a fundamental right to join together for fair wages, benefits and improved working conditions,” said Sen. Smith. “But right now, so-called ‘right-to-work’ laws are undermining workers’ ability to join together to fight for better pay and working conditions. It’s time
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Duluth Mayor Emily Larson as State of the Union Guest
WASHINGTON, D.C. [01/30/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said that Duluth Mayor Emily Larson will be her guest at the President’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday, February 4 in Washington, D.C. Sen. Smith made her first stop in Minnesota as Senator in Duluth, alongside Duluth Mayor Larson. Since then, Sen. Smith and Mayor Larson have worked together on many issues, including the need to support and create affordable housing. The two understand that as new jobs are created, the people who fill them need an affordable place to live. Duluth—like many communities across the state—is taking steps to address this.
Klobuchar, Smith, Murray, Democrats Press Health Department for Updates on Novel Coronavirus, Call for Continuing Robust, Scientifically-Driven Response
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and 29 Democratic senators in sending a letter to Secretary Alex Azar at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requesting updates on the Administration’s response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus outbreak and information on the steps being taken to keep Americans safe. In the letter, the senators asked the Department to keep them updated with the latest information regarding the severity of the disease, the country’s capacity to diagnose cases,
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