Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce New Childcare Facility in Luverne
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN), a member of the Senate Education Committee, announced federal funding they secured last year to renovate a vacant facility in Luverne, Minnesota into a childcare center has been disbursed. The project will help the city purchase and renovate a facility into a new center that will accommodate 186 infants, toddlers, preschool, and school-age children. The renovated space will also accommodate staff and administrative spaces, a gymnasium, and food preparation kitchen. “Too often I have heard that parents around the state, including in Rock County, have difficulty finding safe, reliable, and affordable child care in their communities,” said Senator Klobuchar. “We worked to secure a federal grant for Luverne to open a new child care center to serve hundreds of kids and expand options for parents.” “With few options for childcare in this area, working families are put in a serious bind. How can parents work without a safe, affordable place for their kids to go while they are at work?” said Senator Smith. “Luverne is leading the way in creating a community young families will want to live in, and this new facility is a testament to their hard work.” Rock County has over 350 kids below the age of five who need childcare, but capacity for just 240 of them, according to First Children’s Finance. Over the last ten years, almost half of the nearly 60 home child care providers in Rock County have left the field or retired. For some families, it makes more financial sense stay home rather
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 Klobuchar, Smith Help Introduce Legislation to Protect Community Television
WASHINGTON, D.C. [01/23/20]—This week, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) helped introduce the Protecting Community Television Act, which would ensure that community television operations continue to receive the resources they need to educate and inform viewers in the cities and towns where they operate. Currently, local governments are permitted to require—as part of cable franchise agreements—that cable companies meet demonstrated community needs by providing in-kind contributions that benefit schools, public safety buildings, as well as public, educational, and government (PEG) channels, also known as community television stations. However, last year the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to permit cable
Klobuchar, Smith, Hagedorn Announce $1 Million for Infrastructure Improvements in Winona
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith along with Representative Jim Hagedorn (MN-1) announced that the Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) $1,000,000 in grant funding to improve infrastructure in Winona. The award will allow MnDOT to complete a project on Broadway Street, including reducing the roadway from four lanes to three lanes over 1.9 miles and adding sidewalks and pedestrian ramps to improve safety. “This funding will help pave the way for improvements in Winona’s infrastructure and make our roads and pedestrian byways safer,” Klobuchar said. “I am pleased that we were able to secure
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Helps Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Chronic Disease Management Effort
WASHINGTON, D.C. [01/16/20]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith helped introduce bipartisan legislation—led by Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.)—to lower health care costs by allowing high-deductible health plans to provide chronic disease prevention services—including insulin for diabetes—to plan enrollees before they reach their plan deductible. The Chronic Disease Management Act builds on legislation introduced last year, and it follows updated guidance issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury last summer. In July of last year, the Internal Revenue Service issued a notice expanding its interpretation of what constitutes preventive care to include certain items and services that are prescribed to someone with certain
U.S. Senators Smith, Cardin, Van Hollen, Brown, Kaine, & Warner Successfully Fight to Make Protections for Federal Health Benefits During Government Shutdowns Law of the Land
WASHINGTON D.C. [01/14/20]—U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) fought to secure protections for federal healthcare benefits in the event of a government shutdown, and these measures were signed into law in December as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Similar bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who fought to include these measures in NDAA before his passing. The legislation ensures that workers who have qualifying life events are able to make the proper adjustments to their health insurance plans and continue dental and
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