Latest Releases
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Significant Federal Infrastructure Grant to Improve Highway 169
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $24.7 million federal grant for the US 169 Rural Safety and Mobility Interchange Project in Sherburne County, which will eliminate the signal-controlled intersection at County Road 4 and replace it with a grade-separated, hybrid diamond interchange. The current intersection has crash rates at nearly five times the state average and has been ranked the second most dangerous intersection in central Minnesota. This project will also reduce traffic congestion and accommodate anticipated growth on this important regional highway. In addition, the new interchange will have a multi-use trail for pedestrian and bike access. Funding for this project comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s INFRA (Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects) grant program. “Highway 169’s signal-controlled intersection has been ranked as one of the most dangerous intersections in central Minnesota. Drivers who use this intersection every day deserve a safer alternative,” said Klobuchar. “This federal grant will make much-needed improvements to make the interchange secure for drivers and pedestrians.” “Revitalizing our infrastructure is about more than just fixing roadways and bridges; it’s about improving people’s lives, which is precisely what this project will do,” said Smith. “This intersection on Highway 169 is dangerous in its current form. Now, Minnesota has the federal investment to make this vital corridor safer for everyone.” INFRA grants can be used by communities across the country for multimodal freight and highway projects of national or regional significance to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of freight
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Cassidy, Cardin, Thune Reintroduce Bill to Remove Barriers to Telemental Health Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined her colleagues Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), John Thune (R-SD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) to reintroduce the bipartisan Telemental Health Care Access Act to remove barriers to telemental health services for Medicare beneficiaries. Specifically, the bill removes the requirement that Medicare beneficiaries be seen in person within six months of being treated for mental health services through telehealth. In 2020, Congress permanently expanded access for Medicare patients to be treated virtually for mental health services. Unfortunately, it also included an arbitrary requirement that would require the patient to be seen in-person before they could receive telemental services. The Telemental Health Care Access Act eliminates this in-person requirement so that patients can directly access mental health services via telehealth. “Telehealth has proved to be an important lifeline and tool to close some of the most significant gaps in patients’ access to health care services,” said Senator Smith. “Especially for Minnesotans in small towns and rural places suffering from mental health challenges, long commutes to the nearest provider can mean virtual care is the only feasible option. This bill is an important step in making it easier for mental health patients on Medicare to ask for help and get the care they need, without having to jump through administrative hoops.” “Since the pandemic, we have seen how telehealth expanded health care access for those with substance use disorders, physical ailments, and mental health conditions. It has been an important lifeline for rural communities,” said Dr. Cassidy. “This bill removes barriers to allow Medicare patients to
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Nearly $600,000 in Federal Investments to Help Minnesota Families Reach Self-Sufficiency
WASHINGTON D.C. [1/6/2020]–U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced that 12 public housing authorities and cities across Minnesota will receive a total investment of $593,683 from the U.S. Department of Housing (HUD) Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS). The FSS Program is an asset building program for low-income families across the country. This investment will help HUD-assisted families reach self-sufficiency by providing them with stable affordable housing, individualized financial coaching and a rent incentive in the form of an escrowed savings account that grows as families’ earnings increase. “Minnesotans enrolled in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program receive vital support that helps them build
Smith, Klobuchar: Senate Passes Legislation to Give Eligible Liberians Permanent Residency Status and Pathway to Citizenship, Heads to President’s Desk
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that following years of advocacy and leadership to extend permanent residency status to Liberians, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a provision to allow eligible Liberians living in the United States currently on the temporary immigration status of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to continue living legally in the U.S. and get on a pathway to earning U.S. citizenship, has passed the Senate. The legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week and after Senate passage now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Legislation to Help Tribal Communities Address Opioid Epidemic, Mental and Behavioral Health
WASHINGTON, D.C. [12/19/19]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced a bill—along with U.S. Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.)—to help Tribal communities in Minnesota and across the country access the resources they need to support people who are struggling with mental health issues or substance use disorders. Tribal communities have been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. According to a leading health agency, American Indians and Alaska Natives experience some of the highest drug overdose death rates. However, many tribal communities don’t have the resources they need to tackle this public
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith: Administration’s Renewable Fuel Standard Policy is “Bait and Switch” and Falls Short of What Minnesotans, Americans Deserve
WASHINGTON, D.C. [12/19/19]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee—released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced final biofuel-blending quotas that fall short of accounting for the harmful abuse of small refinery waivers granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending targets. President Trump announced in early October that he would take steps to make up for the abuse of small refinery waivers, which have allowed oil refineries to avoid using four billion gallons of biofuels. But the Administration’s plan released mid-October accounted for a fraction—less than half—of the gallons of
English