Latest Releases
With Farm Bill on the Horizon, U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Slate of Legislation to Help Farmers and Address Workforce Shortages
WASHINGTON, D.C. [7.20.23] – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced legislation to help address workforce shortages in farming and boost economic growth and development in rural communities. The bills are set to be included as part of this year’s Farm Bill, a package of legislation passed every five years that is critically important for farmers, rural communities, and the environment. Specifically, Smith’s legislation will help increase access to capital for under-served farmers, boost training and economic opportunity for beginner farmers, and help make land more affordable for historically disadvantaged farmers. “The Farm Bill touches the lives of virtually every American and is vital to our state’s economy,” said Sen. Smith. “The bills that I am introducing today will help beginning farmers access land and develop markets for their products, two of the biggest issues I have heard during my Farm Bill listening sessions around the state. I will continue working to get them across the finish line and make this year’s Farm Bill as strong as possible.” Senator Smith’s bills include: “With millions of acres of agricultural land anticipated to change hands over the next decade, now is the moment for Congress to take action and ensure that the 2023 Farm Bill delivers material benefits for historically underserved farmers, ranchers, and forest owners striving to establish and grow their operations,” said Holly Rippon-Butler, Land Policy Director with the National Young Farmers Coalition. “Land access is the top challenge that young farmers across the country face. We are grateful for
Senator Tina Smith, Congressional Delegation Conclude Mission to Iceland to Advance Clean Energy and Diplomatic Initiatives
WASHINGTON – A United States Senate delegation has concluded its mission to Iceland, where Senators met with the nation’s leaders and clean energy experts on a range of topics including expanding renewable energy and strengthening NATO. The bipartisan delegation included U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). The senators were briefed by U.S. Ambassador to Iceland Carrin F. Patman and U.S. embassy officials, met with host nation President Gudni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, Minister for the Environment, Energy, and Climate Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, Foreign Affairs Minister Thórdís Gylfadóttir, and members of the national parliament to discuss their work on climate action and the importance of maintaining and strengthening U.S.-Iceland ties and the NATO Alliance. They also toured geothermal power plants and carbon removal facilities and met with experts, business, and clean energy leaders to discuss Iceland’s work to produce nearly 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources and remove and store carbon from the atmosphere. The delegation also met with American servicemembers rotationally deployed to Keflavík Air Base. “Climate change is no longer a future threat – we’re seeing the impact every day in the form of record-shattering heatwaves, floods, wildfires and more,” said Senator Smith. “We need all hands on deck if we’re serious about addressing this crisis, which is why working with our allies in Iceland and around the world is so important. I was encouraged to hear about the progress they have made leveraging geothermal resources for electricity and heating
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Say Minnesota Dairy Producers Can Sign up for Improved Dairy Margin Coverage Starting June 17
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/17/2019]—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—both members of the Senate Agriculture Committee—said starting June 17, Minnesota dairy producers are eligible to sign up for the new Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program, which helps dairy producers more affordably manage the volatility of milk and feed prices. The senators encouraged producers to sign up at their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. Sens. Klobuchar and Smith said the new DMC program replaces the old Margin Protection Program (MPP), and offers higher coverage levels at more affordable rates for small and medium-sized dairy farms, along with greater flexibility in
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Bipartisan Group of Indian Affairs Committee Senators Introduce Bill to Address Law Enforcement, Public Safety Needs in Native Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/14/2019]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and a bipartisan group of her colleagues on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee—led by Vice Chairman Tom Udall (N.M)—this week introduced the Bridging Agency Data Gaps & Ensuring Safety (BADGES) for Native Communities Act, which would address critical public safety needs in Indian Country. The bill aims to address federal inefficiencies that hurt Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement recruitment and retention, increase the effectiveness of federal missing persons resources, and give Tribes and States resources to coordinate responses to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis. In addition to Sens. Smith
U.S. Senator Tina Smith: Nation’s Top Trade and Economic Officials Forced to Work with “One Hand Tied Behind Back”
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/13/2019]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) told a Senate Agriculture Committee panel that the Trump Administration’s lack of a clear trade strategy is forcing the nation’s top trade and economic officials to work with one hand tied behind their back, and causing market uncertainty that is driving thousands of already-struggling farmers in Minnesota and across the country into deeper financial distress. At the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on global market certainty Thursday, Sen. Smith shared stories from Minnesota producers to illustrate how trade uncertainty in the markets is hurting their ability to make decisions, and cutting into
U.S. Senators Smith, Cortez Masto, Scott, Cramer, Young Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Promote Manufactured Housing as Part of Solution to Affordable Housing Crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/12/2019]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith, (D-Minn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) introduced bipartisan legislation promoting manufactured housing as part of the solution to America’s affordable housing crisis. The HUD Manufactured Housing Modernization Act of 2019 would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to issue guidelines for including manufactured housing in state and local governments’ Consolidated Plans, which outline their housing and community development priorities, when applying for HUD funding. This legislation will ensure that manufactured housing, a significant source of affordable housing, is considered when jurisdictions
English