Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues, Demand VA Improves Care for Victims of Sexual Assault
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), led by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT), joined her colleagues to send a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) urging the Department to take immediate steps to improve the readiness of VA facilities and staff to address the needs of veterans after experiencing a sexual assault. The letter comes as a result of a concerning VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report finding significant shortfalls in care provided by VA to veterans who seek care after sexual assault. The letter was also signed by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Patty Murray (D-WA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) Angus King (I-ME), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ). “We urge the Department to work expeditiously to implement the recommendations in the [OIG] report and take a more proactive stance towards preparing facilities, both emergent and non-emergent, and staff for how to respond to encounters related to sexual assault,” wrote the Senators to VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “Despite the low volume of emergent acute sexual assault victims presenting in VA emergency departments and urgent care centers, we expect the Department to ensure our veterans receive the best possible health care and services, either onsite or via a warm handoff to a community provider.” The Senators highlighted VA’s “unacceptable” shortfalls in providing
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Federal Grant to Build New Child Care Facility in Ely
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $1,200,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant to remodel an existing building into a child care facility. The newly renovated facility will house the Ely Area Community Foundation Happy Days Childcare Inc. and provide residents with expanded child care services. “Finding child care is a challenge for far too many parents,” said Klobuchar. “We secured this significant federal grant to expand child care services and give parents in Ely more options.” “Access to affordable child care is essential, both for the safe and healthy development of our kids, and because it allows parents the freedom to pursue their careers and contribute to the economy,” said Smith. “This investment in Ely that I helped secure will create a new child care facility that will help hundreds of families get much needed child care services.” 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. Senator Tina Smith Says Farmers, Businesses, Consumers to be Helped When U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement Takes Effect Wednesday
WASHINGTON, D.C. [07/01/20]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said that she expects the U.S-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA) going into effect today to add much-needed trade certainty for Minnesota farmers, businesses, and consumers who have weathered years of uncertain trade policies and are facing a challenging coronavirus pandemic. Sen. Smith., a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, who helped secure key improvements to the bipartisan agreement, including strengthened protections for workers and improved access to affordable medicines, also pushed to ensure it will open new markets for U.S. dairy exports and will end unfair Canadian milk pricing rules that hurt farmers in
Thune, Smith Introduce Bill to Ease Application Process for the Impact Aid Program During COVID-19 Pandemic
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) today introduced the Impact Aid Coronavirus Relief Act, legislation that would allow school districts participating in the Impact Aid Program to use their student headcount from the 2020-2021 school year, which have already been calculated, on their Impact Aid applications for the 2021-2022 school year. School districts will begin to complete their Impact Aid applications for the 2021-2022 school year this fall, and this bill would ensure that schools do not need to recalculate federally connected students during the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Impact Aid is a program that reimburses school
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, U.S. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester Introduce Plan to Make Public Facility Infrastructure Better Prepared for Public Health Emergencies
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/24/20]—As the country continues to confront the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and U.S. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) introduced legislation to make public facilities both more energy efficient and better prepared for future public health emergencies. The Open Back Better Act would provide stimulus funding for energy efficiency and resiliency retrofit projects in schools, medical facilities, government buildings, education institutions, libraries, and more. Sen. Smith and Rep. Rochester said their legislation promotes environmental justice by prioritizing low-income, COVID-19 impacted communities. Funded energy efficiency and resiliency retrofits could include project components designed to improve safety and indoor air quality. This is particularly important for facilities re-opening before there is a vaccine for COVID-19. “Now, more than
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Leads Push on USDA to More Quickly Allocate COVID-19 Relief Funds to Bolster Rural Broadband Access
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/23/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) led her Senate colleagues in calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to speed up spending the resources allocated within COVID-19 relief legislation to expand broadband access for Minnesota families and people across the country. In her letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue this week, Sen. Smith and her colleagues point out that Congress recognized the urgent need for broadband access in rural communities, and made sure the CARES Act included $100 million for the ReConnect Program. However, much of the allocated funds are still unspent. Sen. Smith’s letter was also signed by
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