Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins Colleagues to Introduce Resolution to Make Sure Every Woman Can Access Emergency Health Care
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined her colleagues to introduce a resolution to ensure that every patient has the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care, regardless of where they live. The introduction comes as new reporting from ProPublica states that Republican abortion bans are preventing women from receiving lifesaving emergency health care and resulting in preventable deaths. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade over two years ago, nearly two dozen US states led by Republicans have banned or severely restricted access to abortion. These strict laws have created confusion around the treatment doctors can provide even when a pregnant patient’s life is in danger, as physicians fear that they may lose their medical license, be sued, or even charged with a felony if they perform life-saving emergency care. Despite the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act’s (EMTALA) requirements that Medicare-participating hospitals treat and stabilize pregnant patients in need of emergency medical care, women are being turned away from emergency rooms. “Patients will suffer while lawsuits and litigation move forward. There should be no legal question when medicine is clear: Abortion is health care,” said Senator Tina Smith. “Pregnant women deserve access to emergency medical care. Doctors should be free to provide that care without interference from right-wing, anti-choice politicians.” In Moyle v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court had the opportunity to reaffirm that federal law requires pregnant patients to have access to life-saving emergency care in every state, but instead, the Court dismissed the case and sent it back to the lower
Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Expansion of Meat Processing Facility in Perham, MN
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, announced funding to double the capacity of a meat processing facility in Perham, MN. The $530,000 grant will go to Lakes Community Cooperative, a processing facility that provides its member owners with multi-species livestock processing services. Helping smaller, locally owned processing facilities like Lakes Community Cooperative to be competitive in today’s market will help lower costs for consumers by spurring competition in an already consolidated meat industry. “Minnesota’s meat and poultry products help feed the nation and the world,” said Klobuchar. “This new funding will make it easier for the Lakes Community Cooperative to bolster their capacity and get their high quality meats to new markets.” “A strong meat processing industry is critical to maintaining a stable economy in Minnesota, especially for Minnesota’s farmers,” said Smith. “By doubling the capacity of coops like Lakes Community Cooperative, producers will have another processing option. This helps farmers get a fair value for animals and also helps keep prices down for consumers at the grocery story.” Four large meat-packing companies control 85 percent of the beef market. In poultry, the top four processing firms control 54 percent of the market. And in pork, the top four processing firms control about 70 percent of the market. Klobuchar and Smith have long worked to spur competition in America’s meat processing industry. They secured funding to increase meat cutting and butchery career pathways for students by enabling the Minnesota State Northern Agricultural Center to expand its training facilities and
Klobuchar, Smith Secure Federal Funding to Boost Tribal Entrepreneurship at Mille Lacs Band
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded $3.1 million in federal funding for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Onamia, Minnesota to boost tribal entrepreneurship. Specifically, the funding, provided through the American Rescue Plan’s Indigenous Communities program, will enable the construction of a tribal business incubator to help small businesses and start-ups access technical assistance they need to increase and expand their operations. “This federal funding will make a real difference for the Mille Lacs Band Reservation, helping establish a business incubator that will boost small
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Responds to the Supreme Court Overturning Roe
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade: “This is a terrible day for America. Roe v. Wade has been overturned. “For almost 50 years, American women have had the freedom and constitutional right to make their own decisions about abortion. This right respected individual autonomy and the capacity of people to make good, moral decisions about abortion. This activist Supreme Court—and the Republican Senators and President who put them there—have gutted that right, because they think they know better than American women,
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on the Passage of the Bipartisan Gun Safety Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) issued the following statement in response to the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: “This is the most important step Congress has taken in nearly three decades to curb gun violence and I was proud to vote for it. This legislation will reduce gun violence, improve our mental health systems, and while we need to do much more, these reforms will save lives and improve public safety. I am especially grateful to Senator Chris Murphy for his tireless work on this issue since the tragedy at Sandy Hook, and to
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith Announce Extended Postpartum Health Coverage for Minnesotans
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced that Minnesota has received approval to extend postpartum coverage for 12 months to individuals enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The extended coverage is made possible by the American Rescue Plan, which Senators Klobuchar and Smith helped pass last year. “We must address our nation’s unacceptably high maternal mortality rates. Having long fought to improve care for new mothers and babies, this issue is personal to me, and it’s personal to moms across our state,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “I pushed for this funding to
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