Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues Seek Answers on Elon Musk and DOGE’s Access to Federal Student Loan Data
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith, alongside 15 of her colleagues, sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Department of Education Denise Carter, seeking answers after reports that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has infiltrated the Department of Education (ED) and students’ personal, private data. There are over 40 million federal student loan borrowers in the United States, and the student loan database infiltrated by Musk contains millions of borrowers’ highly sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, marital status, and income data. “This deeply troubling report raises questions about potential exposures of Americans’ private data, the abuse of this data by the Trump Administration, and whether officials who have access to the data may have violated the law or the federal government’s procedures for handling sensitive information,” wrote the senators. According to public reporting, “a handful of 19-to-24-year-old engineers linked to Musk’s companies, with unclear titles, could be bypassing regular security protocols” during DOGE’s infiltration of federal agencies. The senators also raised concerns that the access provided to DOGE-affiliated staff by the Department may violate the Privacy Act, which generally prohibits the disclosure of such information. “We are especially troubled by this reporting given President Trump’s stated pledge to abolish the Department,” concluded the lawmakers. “The millions of families who rely on ED to help them achieve the American Dream deserve answers about reports that an unelected billionaire and his team now have access to some of their most sensitive personal information.” Additional reporting suggests that DOGE has “fed sensitive data from across the Education Department into artificial intelligence software
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues to Introduce Bipartisan Legislation Expanding Pell Grant Use to Job Training Programs
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined her colleagues Susan Collins (R-ME), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) to introduce the bipartisan Jumpstarting Our Businesses by Supporting Students (JOBS) Act, legislation allowing Americans to use federal Pell Grants—need-based education grants for lower-income individuals—to pay for shorter-term job training programs. Currently, Pell Grants can only be used for two- and four-year colleges and universities. The JOBS Act expands their applicability, allowing Pell Grants to be used for shorter-term, high-skill job training. “Some of the most in-demand, high-paying jobs don’t require a four-year college degree – jobs like welders, machine operators and medical technicians. We need to make it easier to get people into these careers, and letting students use Pell Grants to help make it happen just makes sense,” said Senator Smith. “This bill will open up more career opportunities for people and will help boost our economy.” Senator Smith regularly hears from students who are interested in technical education, but who face real financial barriers to paying for high-quality job training programs. And she also regularly hears from employers who have trouble finding qualified workers for available positions. Minnesota has five Metropolitan Statistical Areas with 3.2 percent unemployment rates or lower. Over the past four years, almost 15 million jobs were added to the American economy thanks to landmark legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Despite this, the United States is experiencing a skilled labor shortage, which is only expected to grow in the next few years. The JOBS Act will help to close that
Klobuchar, Smith Secure Significant Federal Funding to Expand Broadband Access in Minnesota
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the Department of the Treasury has awarded $68.4 million in federal funding to expand broadband access in Minnesota. The funding, enabled by the Treasury Department’s Capital Projects Fund created through the American Rescue Plan, will provide $68.4 million in federal funding to Minnesota’s Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program (B2B Grant Program), allowing broadband providers to service more than 23,000 homes and businesses across the state that lack high-speed internet. “We’re really, really excited about this Capital Fund award…This funding is expected to help us with an estimated
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Hearing Aimed at Addressing Homelessness
WASHINGTON, D.C. [07/14/22]—Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) – Chair of the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development (HTCD) – announced she will be leading a hearing on homelessness and opportunities to support veterans and others who face challenges with housing. Members of the subcommittee will hear from Ms. Ann Oliva, Chief Executive Officer, National Alliance to End Homelessness; Ms. Kathryn Monet, Chief Executive Officer, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans; Ms. Cathy ten Broeke, Assistant Commissioner and Executive Director, Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness (MICH); Ms. Isabel McDevitt, Co-Founder and Board President Work Works America; and Ms. Jamie Kirsch, Board Member,
Sen. Smith Announces USDA Funding to Bolster Food Supply Chain Resilience
WASHINGTON, D.C. [07/13/22] – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing over $14 million to support agricultural workforce training in historically underserved communities across the country. This investment is a result of funding in the American Rescue Plan to strengthen the nation’s food supply chain by promoting fair and competitive agricultural markets. “Underserved communities in Minnesota and across the country, often those in rural areas, are most severely impacted by interruptions in the food supply chain,” said Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate Agricultural Committee. “Investing in agricultural education is key
Sen. Smith Cosponsors Legislation to Protect the Right of Women to Cross State Lines to Seek Abortion Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. [07/12/22] – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) joined a group of her Democratic colleagues, including Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), in introducing the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act of 2022. This legislation would make it crystal clear that it is illegal for anti-choice states to limit travel for abortion services and would empower the Attorney General and impacted individuals to bring civil action against those who restrict a woman’s right to cross state lines to receive legal reproductive care. “After successfully overturning Roe and gutting 50
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