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
U.S. Sens. Smith, Udall, Cortez Masto Reintroduce Legislation to Increase Access to Nutritious Meals for Native Students
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/02/2019]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) reintroduced a bill to give Tribes the authority to directly provide Child Nutrition Programs. The legislation—the Tribal Nutrition Improvement Act of 2019—recognizes that Tribes understand the needs of their communities best, especially when it comes to ensuring children have consistent, healthy, and nutritious meals all year long. Limited access to affordable and nutritious food in Indian Country puts Native children at a high risk of hunger and nutrition-related diseases like diabetes and obesity. The Tribal Nutrition Improvement Act of 2019 would help reduce this risk by allowing federally recognized Tribes to directly administer programs like the National School Lunch Program,
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips Introduce Legislation to Support Family Mental Health Services
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/02/19]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and U.S. Representative Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) have teamed up to introduce companion bills that would update landmark legislation to prioritize making sure the child welfare system supports and connects families to needed mental health services. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was enacted 45 years ago and governs important child protection programs and services to prevent, assess, and identify child abuse and neglect—and it is the only federal program exclusively dedicated to these aims. Sen. Smith and Rep. Phillips’s bill—the Supporting Family Mental Health in CAPTA Act—would update CAPTA to improve
U.S. Sens. Tina Smith and Bill Cassidy Lead Bipartisan Push to Lower Wasteful Health Care Spending
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/01/19]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) introduced bipartisan legislation to help develop innovative ways to reduce unnecessary administrative costs in health care spending. Estimates suggest that while administrative costs could account for over one quarter of total health care spending in the United States, much of it is not directly related to delivering patient care. Sens. Smith and Cassidy’s bill—the Reducing Administrative Costs and Burdens in Health Care Act, which was first introduced last Congress—would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take steps toward reducing unnecessary administrative costs across the
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Highlights Bill to Boost Mental Health Services for Students While Visiting Minnesota Elementary School
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/25/19]—Today, U.S Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced she’s reintroduced her legislation to make sure students in schools across the nation are able to access the mental health services they need, where they are, while visiting Franklin Elementary School in Rochester. While hearing from Rochester area educators and mental health professionals, Sen. Smith discussed her Mental Health Services for Students Act, which would provide funding for comprehensive mental health services in schools. Young people experience mental health conditions about as often as adults—about 1 in 5 struggle with severe mental health problems—but they often have a hard time getting
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