Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Kevin Cramer, John Fetterman and Katie Britt Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Domestic Bus Manufacturing Market
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) led her colleagues Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Fetterman (D-PA) and Katie Britt (R-AL) in introducing bipartisan legislation to cut red tape and reform the domestic bus manufacturing industry by providing more flexibility for local transit systems when purchasing buses. Current U.S. standards impose outdated, 40-year-old payment practices on our bus manufacturers and purchasers, which result in unnecessarily high costs. Many domestic bus manufacturers have gone bankrupt or left the market, despite high demand for new vehicles. The Bus Rolling Stock Modernization Act would help fix this problem.The legislation allows bus manufacturers to apply for advanced payments up to 20%, enabling them to invest in the labor and machinery needed to meet demand of transit agencies and keep production costs down. “Each day, transit systems connect Minnesotans to their jobs, schools, grocery stores and countless other opportunities – all while reducing traffic congestion and pollution,” said Senator Smith. “This bill makes a straightforward and commonsense update to the current FTA regulations that would cut unnecessary red tape and strengthen the domestic bus manufacturing market. This small change will also support U.S. bus manufacturing jobs, get more buses into service, and help Americans get to their work, school, and health care appointments more easily.” “This legislation represents a bipartisan effort to revitalize the bus manufacturing industry across America. This simple change will have the dual benefit of much-needed flexibility for local transit agencies and contracting stability for manufacturers like Motor Coach Industries in Pembina North Dakota. This helps pave the way for further investment and job
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Federal Funding to Improve Osakis’s Water Treatment Plant and Water Tower
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $497,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant and a $651,000 loan to make improvements to the water treatment plant and water tower in Osakis. Specifically, the funding supports a project that will convert the iron filter to a biological ammonia-removal filter to allow chlorine to better clean the lines during water treatment which will help protect the distribution system. The project will also renovate Osakis’s water tower, which hasn’t been repaired since its construction in 1997. “The water treatment plant and water tower in Osakis require major repairs to ensure residents have access to quality water,” said Klobuchar. “This federal funding will advance the Osakis treatment plant and water tower modernization project and strengthen the city’s water infrastructure.” “Keeping our water clean and safe is important for safeguarding public health,” said Smith. “Securing this loan will benefit the residents of Osakis by better filtering their water of contaminants and updating their 15-year-old water tower.” Senators Klobuchar and Smith are members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, which oversees theUSDA. 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,
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
U.S. Senators Tina Smith & Mike Crapo Make Bipartisan Push to Enforce USMCA Dairy Provisions
WASHINGTON, D.C. [08/26/2020]—Yesterday U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) led a bipartisan group of 23 Senators in calling for the enforcement of United States-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA) dairy provisions. In a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, the Senators said that holding trade partners accountable to their trade commitments is critical to supporting dairy farmers and American dairy exports. “Fair market access for American dairy farmers was a key pillar of the USMCA’s agriculture section,” the Senators wrote. “USMCA is poised to create new export opportunities for America’s
Smith, Klobuchar Statements on Detention of Misha Chiri and Jawar Mohammed in Ethiopia
MINNEAPOLIS — U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) released the following statements on the detention of two members of the Oromo community from Minnesota, Misha Chiri and Jawar Mohammed, who are still in police custody as part of the government’s response to protests in Ethiopia: “Misha Chiri’s ongoing detention and treatment, along with that of Jawar Mohammed’s, are unacceptable and I will continue to fight for justice on their behalf,” said Smith. “Minnesota is home to one of the largest Ethiopian Diaspora groups in the world and the reports of violence, suspension of the rule of law, and restrictions on free expression in
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Emergency Grant Program to Help College Students Without Financial Safety Net Cover Unanticipated Events
WASHINGTON, D.C. [08/25/2020]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) recently introduced legislation to help college students without a financial safety net get through unanticipated emergencies that too often cause students to drop out of college. Under The Emergency Grant Aid for College Students Act, students could receive emergency grants through their campus. Unlike a student loan, these grants would not need to be repaid. Sen. Smith says that when millions of college students faced unexpected costs caused by the pandemic, Congress provided funding for emergency grants to make sure students had the resources they needed to stay enrolled and continue their studies. But the fact of the matter is that students
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