Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Federal Grant for New School Equipment for Nicollet Independent School District
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $32,300 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant to purchase school equipment for the Nicollet Independent School District. Nicollet Public Schools is a K-12 public school district that also owns and operates an Early Childhood center, which has old playground equipment. The federal funding will help replace outdated equipment to ensure children have a safe space to play. “Kids need up-to-date playground equipment to play safely,” said Klobuchar. “With this federal funding, Nicollet Public Schools will be able to make needed replacements at the Early Childhood center playground so kids can keep having fun.” “Everyone should have access to outdoor spaces and recreational opportunities,” said Smith. “This investment in Nicollet will replace outdated and aged playground equipment to ensure families and children have a new, safe place to play.” Senators Klobuchar and Smith are members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, which oversees the USDA. This federal funding was secured through the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. Program grants can be used by communities across the country to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community in a primarily rural area, such as health care facilities, public safety services, educational services, and more. ###
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Federal Grant to Purchase Public Safety Security Equipment in Mahnomen
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $50,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant to purchase public safety security cameras and related equipment for the city of Mahnomen. This funding will help replace outdated and inoperable cameras, allowing for effective and efficient safety monitoring and providing law enforcement with direct access to footage for future use. “Investing in public safety equipment is crucial to keeping our communities safe,” said Klobuchar. “This federal grant will upgrade the City of Mahnoman’s security camera system and provide law enforcement with the tools they need to do their job.” “Improving public safety infrastructure is critical to ensuring the safety of our communities,” said Smith. “This project will replace public safety and security cameras in Mahnomen to effectively monitor public safety, directly benefitting the community.” Senators Klobuchar and Smith are members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, which oversees the USDA. This federal funding was secured through the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. Program grants can be used by communities across the country to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community in a primarily rural area, such as health care facilities, public safety services, educational services, and more. ###
U.S. Senators Tina Smith & Lisa Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Tribes Combat COVID-19, Other Public Health Crises
WASHINGTON, D.C. [09/10/2020]—Today U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced bipartisan legislation to help Tribes access public health data and address health disparities that hit American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities especially hard. The Tribal Health Data Improvement Act would strengthen data sharing between Tribes, Tribal Epidemiology Centers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) so Tribes can more effectively address public health challenges. Tribes and Tribal Epidemiology Centers are routinely denied access to important health data systems, despite having clearance to do so. Accessing federal and state public health data is critical for engaging in preventative public health work and combatting current health crises. Structural barriers to accessing data have been especially problematic during COVID-19, which has disproportionately
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren to President Trump: Your Executive Order to End U.S. Overreliance on Foreign Nations for Key Pharmaceutical Products is Far Too Weak
Washington, DC [09/4/2020] – This week United States Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told President Trump that his recent Executive Order to address the nation’s overreliance on foreign nations for key drug products is far too weak, and pressed him to support their legislation, which would arm the United States with the tools needed to adequately address this serious health and national security problem. In a letter to Trump Wednesday, the two Senators said that while his Executive Order directs several federal agencies to prioritize the procurement of adequate supplies of U.S.-produced essential medicines, it does not require those agencies to create a definitive list of essential medicines. It also fails to
Smith, Klobuchar Urge Administration to Support Wheat Farmers
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue requesting that funds in the CARES Act be help support wheat farmers who have experienced economic harm from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “As Members of Congress representing wheat-producing states, we write regarding the deteriorating economic conditions being experienced by wheat farmers across the country who are already nearly complete with this year’s harvest,” the senators wrote. “Whether it’s wheat farmers who wrapped up harvest in May, those in the field harvesting their crops now, or those looking ahead to harvest in
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, Gov. Walz, Lt. Gov. Flanagan Press to Expand Investment in Childcare, the Basic Infrastructure for Families, Economy
MINNESOTA [08/31/2020]— Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) was joined by Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan at a Minneapolis in-home childcare provider to discuss the growing importance of addressing the state’s critical childcare shortage that has worsened during the current coronavirus pandemic. The three were at the Minneapolis home of Luciana Carballo, an in-home childcare provider who has been forced by the pandemic to accept fewer children and make other changes to keep the children she cares for safe. The virus has put similar pressure on providers all across the state and it has hamstrung parents who
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