Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Presses Multi-Billion Dollar Corporation on Predatory Practices That Are Pricing Out Lake Elmo, Minnesota Residents
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Chair of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, sent a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELP), an Illinois-based corporation, expressing deep concern over the company’s mistreatment of residents in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. Her letter comes following extensive reporting that residents of Cimarron Park, which is owned by ELP, are being priced out by egregious rent increases, dealing with hostile management and suffering under unfair rules that make selling or moving into a new home more difficult. “This corporation’s well-documented practices of hiking rents and making it more difficult to find other housing options only serves to boost shareholder profits while hanging Minnesotans out to dry,” said Senator Smith. “Residents have been pleading for help for nearly four years, and Equity LifeStyle Properties has failed to show they are even listening to concerns. I want them to meaningfully engage with residents instead of putting their shareholders ahead of hardworking Minnesotans.” Cimarron Park is home to roughly 500 Minnesota families. Their conflict with ELP was first reported by WCCO News in December 2020, when residents decried a rent increase at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that initial report, residents said the situation had only worsened, with the Minnesota Star Tribune reporting declining services and poor management earlier this year. Most recently, residents reported unfair rules that make selling or moving into a new home unnecessarily expensive, trapping households into a cycle of ever-increasing rent, now totaling a 30% increase over the last five years. Equity LifeStyle Properties owns roughly 72,0000 homes and operates
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Presses Multi-Billion Dollar Corporation on Predatory Practices That Are Pricing Out Lake Elmo, Minnesota Residents
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Chair of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, sent a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELP), an Illinois-based corporation, expressing deep concern over the company’s mistreatment of residents in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. Her letter comes following extensive reporting that residents of Cimarron Park, which is owned by ELP, are being priced out by egregious rent increases, dealing with hostile management and suffering under unfair rules that make selling or moving into a new home more difficult. “This corporation’s well-documented practices of hiking rents and making it more difficult to find other housing options only serves to boost shareholder profits while hanging Minnesotans out to dry,” said Senator Smith. “Residents have been pleading for help for nearly four years, and Equity LifeStyle Properties has failed to show they are even listening to concerns. I want them to meaningfully engage with residents instead of putting their shareholders ahead of hardworking Minnesotans.” Cimarron Park is home to roughly 500 Minnesota families. Their conflict with ELP was first reported by WCCO News in December 2020, when residents decried a rent increase at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that initial report, residents said the situation had only worsened, with the Minnesota Star Tribune reporting declining services and poor management earlier this year. Most recently, residents reported unfair rules that make selling or moving into a new home unnecessarily expensive, trapping households into a cycle of ever-increasing rent, now totaling a 30% increase over the last five years. Equity LifeStyle Properties owns roughly 72,0000 homes and operates
Sen. Smith’s Bipartisan Bill to Reduce Unacceptably High Maternal Mortality Passed Into Law
WASHINGTON [3.11.22] – Today, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that her bipartisan bill to reduce America’s uniquely high maternal mortality rate has been passed into law as part of the omnibus bill. While pregnancy-related deaths are declining around the world, the United States stands out as the only industrialized country with an increasing maternal mortality rate. The problem is particularly acute in rural areas and communities of color, with Black and Native women more than two and a half times more likely to die from pregnancy–related complications. The Rural Maternal and Obstetric Modernization of Services (MOMS) Act takes important steps
Sen. Smith Introduces Bill to Provide Financial Stability for College Students Faced with Unexpected Emergencies
WASHINGTON [3.11.22] – Yesterday, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) reintroduced legislation to ensure college students are able to stay enrolled in school in the face of unexpected emergencies. For many students, paying for college requires carefully balancing student loan debts, jobs, and studies, which can be easily derailed by an unexpected costly event. The Emergency Grant Aid for College Students Act would provide financial stability for students struggling to manage a sudden death in the family, car repair, medical bill or any number of financial emergencies that too often force students to drop out of school. The bill is co-sponsored by
U.S. Sens. Smith, Durbin, King, Sinema, Rep. Neguse Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Help Make College Textbooks More Affordable
WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/10/22]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senators Angus King (I-ME), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), along with U.S. Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO-02), introduced bicameral legislation designed to help students manage costs by making high quality textbooks easily accessible to students, professors, and the public for free. The legislation, known as the Affordable College Textbook Act, would authorize a competitive grant program to support the creation of and expand the use of open college textbooks—textbooks that are available under an open license, allowing professors, students, researchers, and others to freely access the materials. Textbook costs are
Sen. Klobuchar and Sen. Smith Help Secure Major Grant for Rochester Bus Infrastructure Improvements
WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/10/22]—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) helped secure $4,339,344 in funding to improve Rochester bus stops by adding shelters and benches, and to build a new park and ride featuring a new bus passenger platform. The upgrades will enhance safety for riders, better accommodate transfers between buses and attract new riders. “Investing in public transit infrastructure reduces traffic and makes it easier for Minnesotans to get to school, work, and other destinations,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “This critical funding will expand public transit service and boost efficiency in one of Minnesota’s fastest growing cities. I’ll keep
English