Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Increase Oversight of the For-Profit College Industry
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined her colleagues Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to reintroduce legislation to establish an interagency committee tasked with improving coordination of federal oversight of for-profit colleges, so that students are not scammed out of an education and into a mountain of debt. The bill, called the Proprietary Education Oversight Task Force Act, would improve enforcement of existing laws and make it easier for students to voice concerns about their experiences with for-profit colleges. “Students should be protected from predatory institutions that will leave them with thousands of dollars of debt and limited job prospects,” said Smith, a member of the Senate Education Committee. “This bill will protect students and taxpayers alike by improving the oversight of for-profit colleges.” “Predatory for-profit colleges rake in billions in federal student aid rather than to provide a quality education to students, who are often drowning in debt with a near-meaningless degree. We must step in to provide the proper federal oversight to stop this industry from continuing to take advantage of students,” said Durbin. “The Proprietary Education Oversight Task Force Act will give the power back to students. With readily available information about which colleges are known to take financial advantage of students, students will have the tools to make the best decision for the future of their education.” “For-profit colleges all too often put profit and enrollment over education by luring students into insufficient academic opportunities and leaving them with insurmountable debt,” said Blumenthal. “With the Proprietary Education Oversight Task Force Act, we
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins Senators Murphy, Coons, Merkley, 20 Colleagues Urging Biden Administration to Work with Israel to Take 5 Steps to Get More Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza
WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and 20 colleagues in a letter to President Biden urging the administration to encourage Israeli officials to take five specific steps to significantly increase urgently needed humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. “The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is dire and the civilian suffering is at an unacceptable and staggering level. Ninety-three percent of Palestinians in Gaza are facing crisis levels of hunger. Eighty-five percent of the population is displaced. Seventy percent of those killed are women and children,” the senators wrote. “While the scale of the crisis is massive, the humanitarian assistance that is entering Gaza is just a fraction of what is needed to save lives. Since aid operations resumed on October 21, delivery of lifesaving assistance to Gaza continues to be hampered, despite no evidence of Hamas theft or diversion of humanitarian assistance provided via the United Nations or international non-governmental organizations (INGOs).” In order to significantly increase the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, the senators recommended the administration work with Israeli officials to take five specific steps: “The largest daily amount of humanitarian aid entered Gaza on November 28th, during the seven-day humanitarian pause. Additional and longer humanitarian pauses are needed to enable a surge of assistance to enter Gaza and the safe movement of goods and people within Gaza. A humanitarian pause will
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Leads 45 Colleagues in Push for More Information, Transparency on Coronavirus Testing Across Country
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/10/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) led a large group of her fellow Senate Democrats—45 members—in calling on Vice President Mike Pence and the Coronavirus Task Force, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to conduct a national inventory of the coronavirus (COVID-19) diagnostic testing supply, publicly release data on testing results, and provide a detailed plan and timeline for addressing future shortages and gaps in the testing supply chain. “Over three weeks after President Trump declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency, we continue to hear from our states and Tribal Nations about the lack of supplies and testing
U.S. Senator Tina Smith to Financial Regulators: Follow the Law, Stop Attempts to Weaken the Community Reinvestment Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/10/20] U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—a member of the Senate Housing and Banking Committee—joined 42 Senate Democrats in calling on federal financial regulators to rescind a proposed rule that would seriously hurt communities of color getting access to credit. More than 40 years ago, Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act to address the problem of government-enabled disinvestment in communities of color through redlining; the geographic disparity in branching and the provision of credit; and the resulting lack of credit available in rural and urban areas. The new proposed rule would undermine those protections. “This proposal threatens to undermine more than 40 years of access
Amid Economic Fallout from Pandemic, U.S. Senator Tina Smith Backs $75 Billion Housing Assistance Fund
WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/09/20]—In an effort to prevent the coronavirus pandemic from sparking a full-blown housing, eviction, and foreclosure crisis, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—a member of the Senate Housing and Banking Committee—is backing legislation led by U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) that would provide a new $75 billion Housing Assistance Fund to help households struggling to make ends meet. “Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, I traveled across our big, diverse state, and saw that virtually every community in Minnesota is experiencing a serious housing shortage. In some communities, it was already a crisis,” said Sen. Smith. “And now, given the
Klobuchar, Smith Announce over $47.5 Million for Housing in Minnesota in Response to Coronavirus
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith announced that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded Minnesota $47,520,331 in grants to meet the housing needs of Minnesotans impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. These funds, which Congress made available through the CARES Act, will help low-income families and Minnesota’s most vulnerable citizens, including the homeless. These relief funds will be awarded by using existing grant formulas so grantees can quickly help their communities. “As Minnesotans continue to deal with the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, it is more important than ever to ensure that all residents
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