Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Denounce Trump Administration’s Withholding of $20 Million in Head Start Funding for Minnesota Preschools, Early Childhood Education Centers
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) denounced the Trump Administration for withholding nearly $20 million dollars in Head Start funding from Minnesota and vowed to push back against any attempt to shutter the program. Over 10,000 children in Minnesota access early childhood education and preschool with support from Head Start. Head Start programs serve all geographic regions of the state, but predominantly serve children in Greater Minnesota. The funding is being withheld as the Administration moves to close five Head Start regional offices, including the office that serves Minnesota. Reports indicate the Trump Administration hopes to shutter the Head Start program in their upcoming budget. “The Administration is doubling down on threats to eliminate Head Start, which provides more than 10,000 kids in Minnesota with pre-school and child care. After the Administration withheld nearly $20 million in federal funds and closed Head Start regional offices, pre-schools across the country have already been forced to shutter – hurting our children, working parents, and local economies,” said Senator Klobuchar. “We need to invest in our kids, and we will continue to fight back against this effort to take away child care.” “In the hierarchy of terrible ideas, this one is pretty high up there. Whenever I’m travelling the state, whether it be the Northland, Greater Minnesota or the Metro, nowhere do I hear that we have too much funding for early childhood education. In fact, I hear the exact opposite. And withholding Head Start funding only makes the situation worse,” said Senator Smith. “These are 10,000 children and their families that rely on Head Start to care
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Press Trump Administration Not to Close Baudette Agricultural Field Office
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Tina Smith (D-MN) pressed the Trump Administration not to close the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Field Office in Baudette, MN. The Baudette field office serves Lake of the Woods and Koochiching Counties, totaling nearly 5,000 square miles. Should the Baudette office close, the nearest field office would be located one hundred miles away in Bemidji. Bemidji field office staff would be forced to take on service for two additional counties on top of the five they already serve without additional resources or staff. Baudette’s closure comes during one of the worst farm economies in nearly 25 years – exacerbated by recent tariffs. “The local USDA field office also is a place where producers can speak directly and face-to-face with a person that understands what it takes to run a farming operation. For instance, one farmer in Koochiching told us that he drives 70 miles to the Baudette office in order to have an in-person discussion about his on-farm conservation projects. The institutional knowledge of the staff in the Baudetteoffice are vital to farmers as they discuss their conservation projects and apply for USDA programs,” wrote the Senators. “The closest USDA field office to Baudette is 100 miles away in Beltrami County. Closing the Baudette Office will put even more strain on the staff in a region serving five very large counties in North Central Minnesota,” the Senators continued. “Again, we urge you not to close the USDA field office in Baudette.” According to USDA’s website, field offices are “where
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Celebrate Historic Investment in State’s Largest Electric Co-Op for Affordable, Clean Energy
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN), celebrated historic funding for clean, reliable and low-cost energy for rural Minnesotans. Connexus Energy will use funding secured by Senators Smith and Klobuchar to produce over 280 megawatts of clean energy through hydro, solar and wind energy that will lower costs for its 146,000 members in rural Minnesota while supporting 400 jobs. With $170 million in funding, these projects will reduce climate pollution by more than 1.1 million tons of harmful, climate-warming emissions each year. Minnesota’s electric cooperatives provide electricity to nearly one-third of the state. Connexus is based in
U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar Announce Over $20 Million in Federal Funding to Preserve Affordable Housing
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Chair of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, and Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN) announced over $20 million in federal funding for the Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP) to preserve affordable housing in manufactured housing communities and support Tribal communities across the Upper Midwest. This funding, awarded through the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) grants, will ensure long-term housing affordability, infrastructure improvements, and community redevelopment for residents in historically underserved areas. The funding will support MHP’s D.R.E.A.M. Initiative (Driving Resilience, Equity, and Affordability through Manufactured Housing), benefiting six Resident-Owned Communities of manufactured housing in Minnesota
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Provision Reconnecting Community to Area Around Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock to Be Signed into Law
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced her provision, written along with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN05) to expand community access to land around the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock, passed the Senate as part of the Water Resources Development Act and is expected to be signed into law. The provision directs the Army Corps of Engineers to minimize the space they use around the lock and dam as much as possible, while maintaining access for safety and maintenance purposes, to make room for the development of a public recreation space. Redevelopment for a recreational space is being led
In Big Win for Minnesotans in Lake, St. Louis and Cook Counties, U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Bill to Support Counties Passes Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement after her bill to provide critical federal funding for hosting federal wilderness lands passed the Senate: “Thye-Blatnik payments have been a vital source of revenue for Cook, St. Louis and Lake Counties in northeastern Minnesota since 1948. But in 2018, a suspect and likely wrong reappraisal led to massive potential cuts in county revenue, which would have devastating impacts for communities in Northern Minnesota,” said Sen. Smith. “Today, after years of work with the Trump and Biden Administrations to reappraise and correctly uphold the value of this one-of-a-kind wilderness, I am pleased that
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