Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Adam Schiff, and Colleagues Urge Housing and Urban Development Secretary to Fund Critical Homelessness Programs
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), top Democrat on the Senate Housing Subcommittee, and Adam Schiff (D-CA) led a letter to the Trump Administration demanding congressionally-appropriated funding for Continuum of Care (CoC) programs aimed at combatting homelessness is allowed to flow. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is required by law to obligate these funds no later than 45 days after the issuance of award letters, a deadline which passed on March 4, 2025. The Senators criticized the Trump administration for freezing this funding, creating unnecessary chaos amid a national housing crisis. There is a shortage of around 5 million housing units nationwide and nearly 43 million households pay for a rent or mortgage they cannot afford. HUD is the federal agency charged with combatting this crisis. The letter called out HUD for suddenly canceling technical assistance contracts and planning sweeping layoffs, actions which will exacerbate nationwide homelessness. “We urge you to take action to ensure the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will finish processing FY2024 funding and comply with the two-year funding cycle,” wrote the Senators, “We further urge you to restore HUD’s technical assistance contracts that are vital to CoC recipients in smaller communities.” “Most CoC awards are needed for existing projects rather than new projects, and hundreds of projects have already started their program years without any clarity on when and if HUD funds will be available,” the lawmakers continued. “To keep the lights on, providers are now being forced to draw on lines
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Helps Introduce Legislation to Restore National Park and Forest Service Staffing, Protect Public Lands
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) helped introduce two bills to address the consequences of recent federal staff cuts at the National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The Protect Our Parks Act of 2025 and the Save Our Forests Act of 2025 will fully restore staffing levels at both agencies, ensuring that America’s national parks and forests remain accessible, safe, and well-maintained. This comes on the heels of Senator Smith bringing a fired Park Ranger from Voyageurs National Park to President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress last week. The Trump administration’s mass firings have led to significant staffing reductions at national parks, including Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota, negatively impacting visitor experiences, safety and park maintenance efforts. They’ve also fired Forest Service workers charged with protecting like Chippewa National Forest and Superior National Forest, which is the largest forest in the country east of the Mississippi River, including workers charged with helping loggers sell timber in ways that protect the future health of our forests. “National Park Service workers like Park Rangers keep us safe in some of our country’s most wild and extreme areas, including places like Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota. U.S. Forest Service workers keep our forest areas healthy and productive, including the largest forest east of the Mississippi River, the Superior National Forest. I’ve met these fired workers, I’ve heard their stories and losing them makes our most cherished wild areas less safe and less cared for,” said Senator Smith. “Elon Musk indiscriminately
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Celebrate U.S. Trade Mission to Morocco
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) applauded that Minnesotan exporters are participating in a USDA agribusiness trade mission to Casablanca, Morocco, ending today. Morocco is the second-largest export market for U.S. agriculture in Africa. U.S. sales of farm and food products to the country topped $619 million last year. Representatives from the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, Lamex Foods of Bloomington, Merus LLC of Minneapolis, the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association of Mankato, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture are currently in Morocco to expand U.S. farm and food exports to their market and other West African markets. They are joined
U.S. Senators Smith, Daines Introduce Bill to Combat Drug Trafficking in Tribal Communities
WASHINGTON, DC– U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) today announced the bipartisan Protection for Reservation Occupants Against Trafficking and Evasive Communications Today (PROTECT) Act to combat drug trafficking in tribal communities. The PROTECT Act would expand the Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction (STCJ) program to allow tribal nations to prosecute non-Native offenders for drug crimes and gun crimes in furtherance of STCJ covered crimes. The PROTECT Act would also allow tribal courts to execute warrants for electronic material to better combat drug traffickers and other criminals. “For years, Tribal leaders in Minnesota have raised the alarm that drug traffickers are exploiting complex legal jurisdiction on Tribal land, making Native communities some
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce New Medicare-funded Residency Slots for Minnesota, Addressing Physician Workforce Shortage
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced additional medical residency slots in five Minnesota teaching hospitals. The slots were created in the 2022 budget law supported by both Senators. The law authorized funding 1,000 new residency slots across the country over a five-year period to combat the nation’s physician shortage by training new providers. 69 of Minnesota’s 87 counties are health professional shortage areas, and nearly 30% of Minnesota physicians are within retirement range. 200 additional slots are awarded funding every year, and these five Minnesota hospitals were selected for the most recent
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Helps Introduce Legislation to Clean Up Toxins Within Schools
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), a member of the Senate Health and Education Committee, introduced the Get Toxic Substances Out of Schools Act to remove toxic substances from school buildings across the country. The legislation, unveiled on World Children’s Day, comes on the heels of a report from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) that found less than half of public schools in the state were tested for radon between 2018 and 2022. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer and occurs more frequently in Minnesota due to the state’s geology. The bill was led by Senator
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