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. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Press Postmaster General Louis DeJoy About Minnesota Mail Delays
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN) sent a letter pressing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for answers on recent mail delays across Minnesota, particularly in the Rochester area. The follow-up comes after both Senators led the entire Minnesota and North Dakota Congressional delegations in a bipartisan letter pressing the Postmaster General to improve service following an Inspector General report. That report found nearly 130,858 missing or delayed pieces of mail at six post offices over the course of only two days. “Letter carriers, especially in rural areas, work extremely hard to make deliveries on time, especially around the holidays. But without support from district management and the Postmaster General in Washington, their jobs go from difficult to nearly impossible,” said Senator Smith. “These new reports only confirm what we’ve already been hearing, which is that USPS leadership is not doing enough to support their workers and deliver mail on time. The Postmaster General needs to take accountability for service issues and do something about it.” “Minnesotans rely on the Postal Service to deliver their prescriptions, Social Security checks, and more, and they need and deserve timely service,” said Senator Klobuchar. “We have heard reports of mail being delayed for four days or more in Rochester. That’s why Sen. Smith and I are calling on Postmaster General Dejoy to address these issues, ensuring that Rochester and the rest of Minnesota’s residents receive reliable service.” You can read the full letter to the Postmaster General here. Senators Smith and Klobuchar requested the audit of the Minnesota-North
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Significant Federal Resources for Key Workforce, Infrastructure, and Public Safety Priorities for Minnesota
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the Omnibus Appropriations bill, which funds the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, includes major federal funding for local projects to strengthen communities in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas. Over $130 million will be designated for Minnesota projects, including efforts to improve the state’s infrastructure, increase access to workforce development programs, provide resources and training for law enforcement, and support affordable, quality healthcare. “This federal funding will make a real difference in Minnesota communities. From strengthening transportation, water, and broadband infrastructure to increasing
Sen. Smith Praises Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Improve U.S. Postal Service
WASHINGTON [3.8.22] – Today, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) said that the passage of the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act–which she cosponsored–will ensure postal delivery standards are not cut and will help stabilize the long-troubled USPS budget, which in turn will mean reliable service for customers nationwide. The new law will ensure that six day delivery remains the nationwide standard. “The U.S. Postal Service is a vital public service, connecting Americans across the country no matter where they live,” said Sen. Smith. “People don’t just rely on the postal service for letters and catalogues; it’s how people get their medications, ballots,
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Major Federal Funding to Boost Duluth Tourism Industry, Strengthen Shoreline Resiliency
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the Economic Development Association (EDA) has awarded $5 million in CARES Act recovery assistance funding to boost the Duluth tourism industry by strengthening shoreline infrastructure. This funding will make shoreline infrastructure more resilient to storms and other weather disasters while allowing for greater access to waterfront services. The investment will specifically enable the reconstruction of a seawall behind the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (DECC). “This investment is a win-win — helping boost the tourism industry integral to Duluth’s economy while bolstering critical shoreline infrastructure,” said Klobuchar.
Sen. Smith Applauds Passage of Emmett Till Antilynching Act
WASHINGTON [3.8.22] – Last night, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined her Senate colleagues to unanimously pass the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. The legislation, which Senator Smith co-sponsored in the Senate, will designate lynching as a federal hate crime. “It is deeply shameful that it has taken over 100 years and 200 attempts to finally criminalize lynching in this country,” said Sen. Smith. “There is nothing we can do to erase the pain inflicted on thousands of African American men, women, and children who were victims of this shameful instrument of terror. Yet this bill is an important step in our
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