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U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Kevin Cramer, John Fetterman and Katie Britt Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Domestic Bus Manufacturing
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) led her colleagues Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Fetterman (D-PA) and Katie Britt (R-AL) in reintroducing bipartisan legislation to cut red tape and strengthen the domestic bus manufacturing industry by providing more flexibility for local transit systems when purchasing buses. Current U.S. standards impose outdated, 40-year-old payment practices on our bus manufacturers and purchasers, which result in unnecessarily high costs. Many domestic bus manufacturers have gone bankrupt or left the market, despite high demand for new vehicles. The Bus Rolling Stock Modernization Act would help fix this problem.The legislation allows bus purchasers to make advanced payments up to 20%, which will help manufacturers to keep costs down. “Each day, transit systems connect Minnesotans to their jobs, schools, and countless other opportunities – all while reducing traffic congestion,” said Senator Smith. “This bill makes a commonsense update to current practice by cutting unnecessary red tape and strengthen the domestic bus manufacturing market. This small change will also support U.S. bus manufacturing jobs, get more buses into service, and help Americans get to their work, school, and health care appointments more easily.” “Our legislation cuts unnecessary red tape, allowing bus manufacturers across America to invest in their production capacity,” said Senator Cramer. “This commonsense change provides greater flexibility for North Dakota’s local transit agencies and directly benefits manufacturers like Motor Coach Industries in Pembina.” “Our Alabama manufacturers provide the transit that connects our rural communities and our largest cities. I want to ensure people across our great state continue to have access to high-quality, American-made vehicles that allow them to travel safely and efficiently to work, school, the
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Reintroduce Bill to Secure Critical Federal Funding for Northeastern Minnesota Counties
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) reintroduced their bill to provide critical federal funding for northeastern Minnesota counties hosting federal wilderness lands. Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties benefit from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) as a world-renowned tourist destination, but they also forgo property taxes and other potential revenue streams. The bill would restore fairness to the longstanding Thye-Blatnik payment system and prevent massive cuts in county revenue now or in the future. “For decades, Thye-Blatnik payments have provided critical funding to northern Minnesota counties that host federal wilderness lands. This bill is necessary to prevent them from facing serious financial hardship,” said Senator Smith. “By setting a permanent floor for these payments, my bill ensures these counties have the resources they need for infrastructure, public safety, and other essential services for decades to come.” “Thye-Blatnik payments support law enforcement, firefighters, infrastructure improvements, and search-and-rescue operations within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness,” said Senator Klobuchar. “These services benefit not only the Minnesotans who live in the area, but also the visitors who travel there from around the state and nation to spend time in the federal forest and wilderness areas.” Congress passed the Thye-Blatnik Act over 70 years ago, which directed the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire lands within the future BWCAW and set up a system of annual compensation payments to the host counties. These funds go towards essential services like roadway infrastructure and public safety, and help the counties accurately plan their budgets. The most
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Cynthia Lummis Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Prospective Homebuyers from Predatory Financing Agreements
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Preserving Pathways to Homeownership Act, bipartisan legislation to establish basic protections for consumers who seek to purchase a home using a land contract, or contract for deed. Land contracts are an alternative form of seller financing for real estate transactions, often marketed as a way for people who can’t get a conventional mortgage to realize the dream of owning a home. However, land contracts can lack many of the consumer protections available in mortgage lending: full disclosure of costs and fees, protections if a homeowner misses payments or
The Affordable Housing and Homeownership Protection Act Would Tackle Housing Crisis by Creating Millions More Homes and Helping Main Street Compete with Wall Street
WASHINGTON, DC – As the nation’s housing shortage pushes home prices and rents to historic levels, a new Senate bill would provide tens of billions of dollars to help create millions of new homes for low-income Americans. U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI)and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) are teaming up with several colleagues to introduce the Affordable Housing and Homeownership Protection Act (S. 3673). This bill would generate up to $50 billion over ten years to help build and preserve approximately 3 million affordable housing units nationwide. The bill would be fully paid for through a transfer tax on large
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Significant Federal Infrastructure Grant to Improve Highway 169
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $24.7 million federal grant for the US 169 Rural Safety and Mobility Interchange Project in Sherburne County, which will eliminate the signal-controlled intersection at County Road 4 and replace it with a grade-separated, hybrid diamond interchange. The current intersection has crash rates at nearly five times the state average and has been ranked the second most dangerous intersection in central Minnesota. This project will also reduce traffic congestion and accommodate anticipated growth on this important regional highway. In addition, the new interchange will have a multi-use trail
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Cassidy, Cardin, Thune Reintroduce Bill to Remove Barriers to Telemental Health Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined her colleagues Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), John Thune (R-SD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) to reintroduce the bipartisan Telemental Health Care Access Act to remove barriers to telemental health services for Medicare beneficiaries. Specifically, the bill removes the requirement that Medicare beneficiaries be seen in person within six months of being treated for mental health services through telehealth. In 2020, Congress permanently expanded access for Medicare patients to be treated virtually for mental health services. Unfortunately, it also included an arbitrary requirement that would require the patient to be seen in-person before they could receive telemental services. The Telemental
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