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U.S. Senator Smith and Rep. Emmer Introduce Legislation Investing in Ag’s Next Generation

WASHINGTON, D.C. [07/26/22] — U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, introduced legislation investing in agriculture’s next generation. The Agriculture Skills Preparation for Industry Recruitment Efforts (ASPIRE) Act, which was introduced in the House by Representatives Tom Emmer (R-Minn.-06) and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine-01), supports workforce development in the agriculture and farming sector.  Specifically, the ASPIRE Act establishes a work-based agriculture training program within the USDA’s existing Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program to fund participation in apprenticeship and internship programs with local agriculture businesses. “Agriculture is the backbone of Minnesota’s diverse economy,” said Sen. Smith. “With food shortages, supply chain snags and a tight labor market around the world, it’s vital we support and grow our farming sector here at home. This legislation will provide work-based training programs to support a new generation of farmers and ranchers in Minnesota and around the country.” “The strength of our nation’s food security rests on the shoulders of the hardworking men and women of our ag community. Unfortunately, this industry faces an aging workforce coupled with endemic labor shortages,” said Rep. Emmer. “We are proud to lead this effort, which will provide hands-on experience and invest existing funds in our next generation of producers.” “As the average age of U.S. farmers continues to rise, and more of our nation’s farmers near retirement, it is crucial that Congress work to support a new generation of farmers and ranchers,” said Rep. Pingree. “That’s why I am co-leading the bipartisan ASPIRE Act

U.S. Senator Tina Smith, U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar Reintroduce No Shame at School Act

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) announced they will reintroduce the No Shame at School Act, to prohibit public schools from shaming students who are unable to pay for school meals or who have outstanding debt. Additionally, the measure requires schools to certify a child’s unpaid meal fees and authorizes the federal government to reimburse the meals for up to 90 days. The legislation was introduced in the House today and will be reintroduced in the Senate in the coming days. “Everyone knows you can’t learn or perform well when you are hungry. We need to support students in Minnesota and across the country by ensuring that kids are not humiliated because of an inability to pay for lunch,” said Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate Education and Agriculture Committees. “Two years ago as part of our COVID relief bill, we ensured that every child would have access to school meals for free during the pandemic. Rather than extend the program, Republicans in Congress let it expire, making this legislation all the more urgent. Lunch shaming can stigmatize low-income students and hurt their ability to learn. Our bill would leave children out of it and focus on making sure school districts and the federal government work together to feed kids and set them for success.” “We are in the midst of a hunger crisis. Inflation and the rising cost of food mean more families than ever are worrying about where their next meal will

U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Bipartisan Bills to Invest in Rural Communities

WASHINGTON D.C. [04/04/2019]— This week, U.S. Senator Tina Smith helped introduce a pair of bipartisan bills to expand investments in rural communities: one designed to help improve rural broadband, and one to improve rural health care.  Sen. Smith has been contacted by several Minnesota cooperatives—which are a vital part of the effort to build out rural broadband in the state—that are at risk of losing their tax-exempt status due to a mistake in the 2017 tax law. The mistake in the 2017 law put the tax-exempt status of co-ops at risk if they receive government grants to expand broadband or

U.S. Sens. Smith, Durbin, King, Sinema Introduce Bill to Help Make College Textbooks More Affordable

WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/04/2019]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), introduced legislation that aims to make high-quality textbooks easily accessible and free of charge to students, professors, researchers, and the public. The bill, known as the Affordable College Textbook Act, would make it possible for colleges to create and expand the use of open college textbooks—textbooks that are free and available online. Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO 2) introduced a companion bill in the House. According to The College Board, the average student budget for college books and supplies during the 2017 2018

U.S. Senator Tina Smith Leads Senate Colleagues in Calling on Secretary DeVos to Further Improve Program that Unfairly Forced Teachers to Pay Thousands of Dollars in Promised Aid

 WASHINGTON, D.C. [04/02/19]—This week, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and her Senate colleagues—including fellow Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)—called on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to take additional action for teachers who erroneously or unfairly had Teacher Education Assistance for College Higher Education (TEACH) grants converted to loans. In December of last year, the Education Department announced it would be instituting a process to help teachers who have been unfairly forced to repay thousands of dollars in aid. Sen. Smith said this was a good first step, but that more action is needed to improve the program. This week, as the

U.S. Senator Tina Smith, in Bipartisan Effort, Urges Trump Administration to Keep SNAP Benefits for Families

WASHINGTON D.C. [03/29/19] – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) raised concerns about a proposed rule to make harmful changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—which would affect some 1.1 million people across the country—and urged the Trump Administration to withdraw the proposal.  In a bipartisan letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Sen. Smith emphasized the administration’s proposal is in direct contradiction to Congressional intent and would hurt many families struggling to find stable employment. The letter was led by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). “Congress recognizes that one-size-fits-all rules for SNAP and employment practices actually end up fitting

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