Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Klobuchar, Smith, Announce Significant Federal Funding to Help Minnesota Families and Seniors With Heating Costs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-Minn.), announced over $112 million in federal funding to help families and seniors pay for energy costs this winter. The funding was made possible in part through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which both Klobuchar and Smith helped pass. “As Minnesota prepares for winter, families shouldn’t have to choose between heating their homes or buying other necessities,” said Klobuchar. “This federal funding will help families and seniors across our state pay their energy bills and keep their homes warm.” “As the temperature starts to drop in Minnesota, everyone should be able to heat their homes and stay warm,” said Senator Smith. “For low-income families, high energy prices can force an impossible choice between heating their homes and other essentials like rent, food, or medicine. I’m proud of our work to secure this funding, which will help families in Minnesota afford their heating costs and utility bills in the coming winter months.” The funding is issued through the Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides families with payment assistance to support their home energy needs. LIHEAP can also be used to weatherize homes to make them more energy efficient, and mitigate energy emergencies during disasters and extreme weather. Households can easily identify if they are eligible for assistance by using the LIHEAP Eligibility Tool on energyhelp.us. Those interested in applying for LIHEAP can visit energyhelp.us or call the National Energy Assistance Referral (NEAR) hotline toll-free at: 1-866-674-6327.
Senator Smith, Colleagues Introduce Senate Resolution in Solidarity with UAW Workers on Strike
WASHINGTON, [10.19.23] – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) joined Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and 31 of their colleagues in the Senate to introduce a resolution in solidarity with 150,000 members of United Auto Workers (UAW) bargaining for a fair contract. Autoworkers voted to go on strike in September– calling for a fair share of the record-breaking profits their labor produces as well as cost-of-living adjustments, an end to two-tier wage system, and restoration of pension benefits. Since then, the strike has expanded to 44 locations across 22 states. It is one of the largest U.S. strikes in the past three decades. “Workers bailed out the Big 3 auto manufacturers during the Great Recession to keep the companies afloat. Now, these companies make billions in profit while workers see stagnant wages,” said Smith. “I stand with the UAW workers in Minnesota and around the country who are striking for a fair contract and call on the automakers to negotiate with them in good faith.” “The fight the UAW is waging has everything to do with the outrageous level of corporate greed and arrogance on the part of senior executives in the automobile industry and their backers on Wall Street,” said Sanders. “At a time when the Big 3 automakers have made $250 billion in profits over the past decade, it is absolutely unacceptable that wages for the average autoworker have gone down by 30 percent in the past 20 years after adjusting for inflation. If these companies could afford
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Open Signup for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is opening signup for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on December 9, 2019. The deadline for agricultural producers to sign up for general CRP is February 8, 2020, while signup for continuous CRP is ongoing. The 2018 Farm Bill, which was signed into law in December 2018, includes Klobuchar’s provision to increase the number of acres in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to 27 million acres, based on Klobuchar and Senator John Thune’s (R-SD) Conservation Program Improvement Act. The 2018 Farm Bill also
Klobuchar, Smith Urge Department of Education to Address Loan Forgiveness for Defrauded Borrowers
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) are continuing to call on the Department of Education to address protections for student loan borrowers. In a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Klobuchar and Smith called on the Department of Education to immediately stop collecting on the student debt of borrowers who were defrauded by Globe University (Globe) and Minnesota School of Business (MSB), discharge the covered loans, and process pending borrower defense applications. Klobuchar and Smith’s call follows recent news of Globe and MSB filing for bankruptcy, which may prevent these defrauded students from receiving any of
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Continues Bipartisan Fight to Improve Access to Rural Health Care for New and Expecting Moms
WASHINGTON, D.C. [12/04/19]–U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is continuing her efforts with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to ensure new and expecting moms living in rural communities get the care they need by calling on Senate Health Committee leaders to hold a markup for the Rural Maternal and Obstetric Modernization of Services (Rural MOMS) Act. Earlier this year, Sen. Smith introduced her Rural MOMS legislation after hearing from Minnesotans and providers about the struggles families face in accessing maternity and obstetric care in rural areas and small towns. And this fall, the House companion bill to Sens. Smith and Murkowski’s bill advanced out of the House Committee
Klobuchar, Smith, Peterson Announce $200K for Transit Improvements in Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
WASHINGTON D.C. [11/27/2019]–U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), along with Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN-07), announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians a grant of $211,944 for transportation infrastructure improvements. The grant will help Red Lake Nation Public Transit purchase new buses and equipment, allowing it to accommodate ridership demand. Red Lake Nation Public Transit provides bus services on the reservation. “Investments in transportation serve as a down payment on the long-term economic well-being of our tribal communities and our state,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “By investing in buses and bus facilities for the Red Lake Band we are making