Latest Releases
Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect U.S. Agricultural Exports
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined Senators John Thune (R-SD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) in introducing bipartisan legislation to protect American food products from unfair trade practices by foreign countries. Common food and drink names such as parmesan, asiago, romano, and bologna are used around the world to describe products to consumers. However, due to geographic indication to European locations, the European Union has begun using economic and political influence to implement unfair trade practices under the guise of protecting geographic indicators. These unfair trade practices have the potential to block United States agricultural products from being sold in international markets. The Safeguarding American Value-Added Exports (SAVE) Act would amend the Agriculture Trade Act of 1978 to include and define a list of common names for ag commodities, food products, and terms used in marketing and packaging of products. The bill would also direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative to negotiate with our foreign trading partners to defend the right to use common names for ag commodities in those same foreign markets. “Agriculture is the backbone of Minnesota’s diverse economy and international markets are vital to the economic success of our farmers,” said Senator Smith. “Unfair trade policies from the European Union forcing American producers to change the name of their product will hurt our farmers and their ability to sell products overseas. This legislation would ensure they are able to continue selling their products in foreign markets and
Senator Smith, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Address Teacher Shortages in Low-Income Areas and Communities of Color
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and U.S. Representatives Brad Schneider (D-IL-10) and Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), introduced a bicameral bill that would address severe nationwide shortages of early childhood and K-12 teachers that disproportionately impact students from low-income backgrounds and students of color. Exacerbated by low pay, school leadership instability, and poor teaching conditions, schools in low-income communities struggle to retain experienced, qualified education professionals. On average, teachers are paid 23.5 percent less than other college graduates working in nonteaching fields, and teachers in low-income schools are more underpaid than teachers in more affluent schools. The Retaining Educators Takes Added Investment Now (RETAIN) Act creates a fully refundable tax credit for teachers, paraprofessionals, mental health providers, and school leaders in Title I schools and for educators, program providers, and program directors in Head Start, Early Head Start, and Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funded early childhood education programs. The tax credit increases as these professionals become more experienced to incentivize retention. “Public school teachers work every day to meet the academic and emotional needs of their students,” said Smith. “And yet they remain largely underpaid. This is contributing to teacher shortages, which disproportionately affect students from low-income backgrounds and students of color. That’s just wrong. The RETAIN Act will help raise teacher pay, address teacher shortages and ultimately help students get the best education possible.” “We have a teaching shortage in communities across Illinois and the country because we pay our
Klobuchar, Smith Introduce Legislation to Develop More Effective, Universal Flu Vaccine
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith today introduced the Flu Vaccine Act with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) to encourage additional National Institutes of Health (NIH) research to develop a more effective flu vaccine. The United States has already seen 63 pediatric deaths and high levels of illness and hospitalizations related to the flu this season. One-in-10 Americans who died the week ending on January 20th died from the flu or pneumonia. The flu costs the nation $10.4 billion in direct medical costs annually and $87 billion in total economic burden. The current flu vaccine is only 60 percent effective at best,
Sen. Tina Smith’s Statement on Commerce Dept. Recommendation for Steep New Tariffs on Foreign Steel
Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith released the following statement on an announcement that the Department of Commerce will recommend heavy new tariffs on foreign steel imports. “One of my first stops as Senator was in Eveleth, home to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, as well as many of the hardest-working men and women in the country,” said Sen. Smith. “When I was there, I talked with local steelworkers about the biggest challenges facing Northern Minnesota. They told me their jobs are at risk if we don’t continue to crack down on steel dumping from countries like China. Since then, I pressed
Sen. Tina Smith Named to Bipartisan Select Committee to Solve Pensions Crisis Facing 22,000 Minnesotans
Sen. Tina Smith was appointed to a newly formed bipartisan panel tasked with finding solutions to a financial crisis that’s threatening the hard-earned pensions of 22,000 retired Minnesotans. The Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans, established as part of the bipartisan budget agreement reached earlier this month, will provide recommendations and legislative language to significantly improve the solvency of multiemployer pension plans and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Without reforms, as many as 100 pension plans across the country—including the troubled Central States Pension Fund, which covers those 22,000 Minnesotans—are on track to become insolvent. “There are
Sen. Tina Smith’s First Bill Would Address Unscrupulous Big Pharma Tactic That Prevents Minnesotans from Accessing Affordable Rx Drugs
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s first standalone piece of legislation—the Expanding Access to Low Cost Generic Drugs Act—takes aim at a big pharma tactic that keeps affordable generic drugs out of the hands of Minnesota families and seniors. Sen. Smith’s bill, which she introduced today and is similar to a policy endorsed by the Trump Administration, gets at the heart of a major concern facing Minnesota families and seniors right now: prescription drug prices. We’re at the point now where around 25 percent of Americans who take prescription drugs report difficulty affording them. And while generic drugs are often a much less
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