Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Takes Action to Address the Childcare Funding Cliff
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to a fast approaching deadline for childcare funding, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) joined 33 fellow Senators and 78 colleagues in the House of Representatives led by Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in introducing the Child Care Stabilization Act this month. The crucial legislation aims to extend vital federal childcare stabilization funding – which is set to expire September 30th – and ensure that childcare providers can keep their doors open and continue serving children and families in every part of the country. Senator Smith also spoke about the urgent need to for greater childcare investments at a Senate hearing this week. Watch her full remarks and questions here. “Last month, I was visiting childcare providers in rural and small town Minnesota, and they shared with me the enormous impact the shortage of affordable childcare is having on families and local businesses. Everything that I have learned from talking to families and providers and local businesses in Minnesota is that this market for childcare is broken,” said Senator Smith. “When the pandemic hit, we acted to provide the childcare sector with relief funds, which was designed to save and stabilize the sector, increase compensation for workers, and make childcare more affordable and accessible for parents, all of which it did very successfully. But now we face the expiration of these Child Care Stabilization Grants. We must now extend this critical grant program, which is essential to keep families, providers and our economy
Senators Smith, Daines Renew Push to Permanently Expand Telehealth Services
Washington – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Steve Daines (R-MT) reintroduced their bipartisan Expanded Telehealth Access Act to make pandemic-driven expanded access to certain telehealth services under Medicare permanent. “The pandemic showed us that telehealth services are a lifeline for patients across Minnesota who may otherwise not be able to access the health care they need,” said Smith. “This legislation will ensure that patients who access physical and occupational therapists, audiologists, and speech language pathologists via telehealth can continue to get those services reimbursed permanently.” “In rural states like Montana, folks often have to drive long distances just to receive care,” said Daines. “Expanded telehealth services help relieve this burden and give folks increased access to quality, affordable care. Now is not the time to cut back on these critical services, and I’ll keep working to ensure Montanans are able to see the providers they need.” To help reduce risks associated with visiting medical providers during the pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded the types of health care providers who receive reimbursement for telehealth services. The Expanded Telehealth Access Act makes permanent the reimbursement eligibility for physical therapists, audiologists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists and permits the Secretary of Health and Human services to expand this list.
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
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