Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Legislation to Help Child Care Providers Serve Nutritious Meals
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced legislation to help ease the financial stress on child care providers across the country. Providers such as family child care homes, child care centers, Head Start programs, and after-school programs provide meals to more than 4.2 million children each day with the support of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The Child Care Nutrition Enhancement Act would increase the reimbursement rates child care providers receive for these meals. Not only would this help ensure millions of children receive nutritious meals, it would also ease the significant financial burdens for both child care providers and parents struggling to afford child care. Companion legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Greg Landsman (D-OH-1). “I have heard from too many childcare providers in Minnesota who have to dip into their own pockets to feed the kids in their care because of insufficient federal reimbursements. Investing more in childcare will help both families who are struggling to afford care and providers who are having trouble breaking even,” said Senator Smith. “This legislation would improve an effective, but under-resourced, existing program to ensure our kids are receiving nutritious meals and help ease the financial burden on childcare providers and parents.” “Every child deserves access to nutritious meals, especially during their formative years,” said Senator Bob Casey. “The research is clear: the CACFP improves the quality of meals in child care settings. By easing the
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins Elizabeth Warren, Banking Committee Democrats in Pressing SEC Chair to Require Disclosure of Corporate Lobbying Expenditures
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D – Minn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) signed onto a letter led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D – Mass.) urging Gary Gensler, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to create new rules requiring public companies to disclose their spending on lobbying efforts. Public companies are not currently required to report information on the details of their lobbying to the SEC even as corporate lobbying expenditures reach record highs. “In 2022, total federal lobbying expenditures reached $4.1 billion – the highest since 2010. Amazon and Meta spent almost $20 million each to influence decision-making in Congress and across government agencies, while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – which counts companies like JPMorgan Chase, Alphabet, and Chevron among its members – spent $79.4 million,” wrote the senators. “While these figures are staggering, they provide little insight into the interests that companies spend millions each year to advance. This lack of transparency erodes the ability of everyday investors to make informed decisions about where to invest their money – and where their money goes once they have invested.” Specifically, the senators are requesting that such rules require disclosure of lobbying strategy, the total amount of direct or indirect contributions to registered state and federal lobbyists and any material risks related to or arising from lobbying strategies and expenditures. The senators requested the SEC provide them with details on their plans to develop and issue such rules no later than
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Pushes for Prescription Drug Pricing Transparency
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/09/19]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) helped introduce bipartisan legislation to combat skyrocketing prescription drug prices. The Fair Accountability and Innovative Research (FAIR) Drug Pricing Act would require drug manufacturers to disclose and provide more information about planned drug price increases, including research and development costs. Increased transparency will help provide much-needed context for taxpayers, consumers, and policymakers about the costs and value of medications, and may also incentivize companies to reassess the long-standing practice of relentless drug price increases. The bill was led by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is a cosponsor. I’ve traveled around Minnesota to talk
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján Introduce Legislation to Establish Federal Clean Energy Standard
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/08/19]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), the U.S. House Assistant Speaker, introduced the Clean Energy Standard of Act of 2019, which would establish a federal Clean Energy Standard (CES), to put our nation on course to achieve net-zero emissions from the electric sector by midcentury to fight climate change. Sen. Smith and Rep. Luján said the science is clear—tackling the climate crisis requires serious and quick action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One of the immediate actions necessary to reduce emissions produced when we generate electricity, and the measures they introduced
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith Says EPA Plan to Hide Which Refineries Are Allowed to Stop Blending Renewable Fuels Would Hurt Farmers, Rural Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/02/19]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said today the Trump Administration’s plan to go back on its promise to name which U.S. oil refineries are allowed to avoid requirements to blend renewable fuels into the nation’s fuel supply could ultimately contribute to job losses across rural America and strike another blow to the nation’s struggling farm economy. Sen. Smith, who has been an outspoken advocate to expand the use of renewable fuels, said hiding the identity of refineries that receive special Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waivers to the nation’s biofuels laws will help big oil companies at the expense
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,
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