Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Celebrates Inclusion of C-130 Aircraft for Minnesota’s Air National Guard in National Defense Authorization Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith released the following statement on the inclusion of her bipartisan amendment to mandate the United States Air Force maintain a minimum 271 C-130 aircraft, which will ensure that the Minnesota National Guard’s 133rd Airlift Wing maintains its flying mission. “Our C-130s are essential to Minnesota’s 133rd Airlift Wing and the Air Force’s capability to carry out their missions,” said Senator Smith.“Ensuring they maintain enough of these aircraft means stability for the men and women of Minnesota’s National Guard as they carry out their duties at home and overseas.” The C-130 aircraft is essential to carry out missions at home and overseas and are essential to the operations of the Minnesota National Guard. The bipartisan amendment was co-led by Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). Senator Smith has repeatedly advocated for Minnesota’s 133rd Airlift Wing – in June she joined Senator Klobuchar and the entire Minnesota delegation from the House of Representatives in urging the Air Force to select the 133rd Airlift Wing to receive new C-130J Transport Planes. In September, the Air Force heeded their calls and announced that Minnesota will receive the new aircraft, pending an environmental review.
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Introduce Legislation to Hold Postal Service Accountable for Delayed and Undelivered Mail
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D – MN) introduced legislation to improve the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) delivery tracking and accountability systems following concerning reports of serious mail delays across Minnesota. Congresswoman Angie Craig (D – MN2) introduced the bill in the House of Representatives in October. This legislation would address a serious issue at USPS—that they cannot accurately track when mail routes do not receive deliveries. A 2022 USPS Inspector General report found that the data USPS collects is based on self-reporting, which the investigation found to be consistently inaccurate. As a result, USPS itself does not know which routes are undelivered or partially delivered or how many such routes exist. The Postal Delivery Accountability Act would require the USPS to address this systemic issue by implementing the Inspector General’s two recommendations: “When postal service is unreliable, Minnesotans can face serious consequences – from late payment fees and social security checks to days without critical prescription medications. Yet when I ask the Postal Service for information on these disruptions, they tell me everything is fine. The reality is that they don’t even know themselves,” said Senator Smith. “As an essential public service, USPS owes its customers transparency. The Postal Delivery Accountability Act is a step toward that goal.” “Minnesotans rely on the Postal Service to deliver their prescriptions, Social Security checks, and more. They deserve timely service, and when the Postal Service fails to meet the mark, at the very least customers should be notified. The Postal
Senator Tina Smith, Congressman Rick Nolan Introduce Legislation to Protect Minnesota Families in Rural Areas from Losing their Homes
U.S. Senator Tina Smith and Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) have teamed up to support affordable housing for Minnesotans who live in rural areas. The Rural Housing Preservation Act, which the two lawmakers introduced this week, would help families, seniors, and people with disabilities who are at risk of losing rental assistance through the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Housing Service. The bill also gives communities more flexibility to maintain their existing affordable housing options. “As a leader of the rural development caucus, a top priority of mine is to help communities with issues like housing access,” said Senator Smith.“I’ve had
Sens. Tina Smith, Todd Young Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Shore up Public Health Emergency Prevention & Response
U.S. Senator Tina Smith and Todd Young (R-Ind.) have introduced their bipartisan Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act, which would improve public health preparedness by ensuring federal agencies advance a “One Health” approach—the idea that human and animal health are linked, and that they should be studied together to prevent and respond to disease outbreaks. The bill would improve coordination among those studying animal and human health by requiring the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Agriculture Department (USDA) to adopt a One Health framework with other agencies. “Minnesota was hit by an avian flu outbreak a
Sen. Tina Smith Introduces Legislative Roadmap for Next Farm Bill Energy Section
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, a member of the Senate Ag Committee, has laid out a legislative roadmap for the energy section of next federal Farm Bill, which is being written in Congress this year. Sen. Smith’s Agricultural Energy Programs Reauthorization Act is a strong marker for the future of our federal ag energy policies. It would significantly strengthen energy programs that have seen success in the current Farm Bill, including the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), the biorefinery loan guarantee program, and the Biomass Crop Assistance Program. Notably, REAP is the program that helps ag producers and local businesses
Sen. Tina Smith’s Statement on Trump Administration’s Decision to End Program Protecting Liberian-Americans from Deportation
Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith released the following statement about the Trump Administration’s announcement that it will be ending the Deferred Enforced Departure program for Liberian immigrants: “Minnesota is now home to one of the largest Liberian-American communities in the country, some 30,000 people strong. It’s their home. And today’s news that President Trump decided, effective March 31, 2019, to terminate Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberia—the program that allowed survivors of Liberia’s bloody civil war to stay in the U.S.— is shameful. “For the overwhelming majority of people this decision affects, there is nothing to go back to in
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