Latest Releases
The Affordable Housing and Homeownership Protection Act Would Tackle Housing Crisis by Creating Millions More Homes and Helping Main Street Compete with Wall Street
WASHINGTON, DC – As the nation’s housing shortage pushes home prices and rents to historic levels, a new Senate bill would provide tens of billions of dollars to help create millions of new homes for low-income Americans. U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI)and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) are teaming up with several colleagues to introduce the Affordable Housing and Homeownership Protection Act (S. 3673). This bill would generate up to $50 billion over ten years to help build and preserve approximately 3 million affordable housing units nationwide. The bill would be fully paid for through a transfer tax on large investors who profit by purchasing sixteen single-family homes or more. Driven by a shortage of as many as 6.8 million homes nationwide, homes prices have surged 39% and rents 31% over the last four years, according to the National Association of Realtors and Zillow. Higher rents and fewer opportunities for homeownership are devastating for millions of families. As housing costs skyrocket, more households are priced out of homeownership, while renters have less to spend on food, clothing, and other everyday necessities. Low-income Americans are particularly strained – the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates 73% of extremely low-income households spend more than half their income on housing. Unsurprisingly, homelessness has risen in line with housing prices and is up 15% since 2019. Unfortunately, federal investments in low-income housing are insufficient to solve this affordability crisis. Indeed, researchers at Harvard University found that the three largest federal housing programs serve nearly
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. Senator Tina Smith, U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján Introduce Legislation to Establish Federal Clean Energy Standard
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/08/19]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), the U.S. House Assistant Speaker, introduced the Clean Energy Standard of Act of 2019, which would establish a federal Clean Energy Standard (CES), to put our nation on course to achieve net-zero emissions from the electric sector by midcentury to fight climate change. Sen. Smith and Rep. Luján said the science is clear—tackling the climate crisis requires serious and quick action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One of the immediate actions necessary to reduce emissions produced when we generate electricity, and the measures they introduced
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith Says EPA Plan to Hide Which Refineries Are Allowed to Stop Blending Renewable Fuels Would Hurt Farmers, Rural Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/02/19]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said today the Trump Administration’s plan to go back on its promise to name which U.S. oil refineries are allowed to avoid requirements to blend renewable fuels into the nation’s fuel supply could ultimately contribute to job losses across rural America and strike another blow to the nation’s struggling farm economy. Sen. Smith, who has been an outspoken advocate to expand the use of renewable fuels, said hiding the identity of refineries that receive special Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waivers to the nation’s biofuels laws will help big oil companies at the expense
U.S. Sens. Smith, Udall, Cortez Masto Reintroduce Legislation to Increase Access to Nutritious Meals for Native Students
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/02/2019]—Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) reintroduced a bill to give Tribes the authority to directly provide Child Nutrition Programs. The legislation—the Tribal Nutrition Improvement Act of 2019—recognizes that Tribes understand the needs of their communities best, especially when it comes to ensuring children have consistent, healthy, and nutritious meals all year long. Limited access to affordable and nutritious food in Indian Country puts Native children at a high risk of hunger and nutrition-related diseases like diabetes and obesity. The Tribal Nutrition Improvement Act of 2019 would help reduce this risk by allowing federally recognized Tribes to directly administer programs like the National School Lunch Program,
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips Introduce Legislation to Support Family Mental Health Services
WASHINGTON, D.C. [05/02/19]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and U.S. Representative Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) have teamed up to introduce companion bills that would update landmark legislation to prioritize making sure the child welfare system supports and connects families to needed mental health services. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was enacted 45 years ago and governs important child protection programs and services to prevent, assess, and identify child abuse and neglect—and it is the only federal program exclusively dedicated to these aims. Sen. Smith and Rep. Phillips’s bill—the Supporting Family Mental Health in CAPTA Act—would update CAPTA to improve
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