Latest Releases
Senator Smith Reintroduces Bill to Address America’s Maternal Mortality Crisis
WASHINGTON – This week, U.S. Senator Tina Smith introduced legislation to address America’s worsening maternal mortality crisis, which has a disproportionate impact on Black, Brown, Indigenous and all People of Color. The Data to Save Moms Act seeks to understand the root causes of this emergency by improving data collection on maternal mortality and morbidity. From 2018 to 2021, the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. increased by 89%. The crisis is even more acute for Black, Native and Indigenous women, who are more than twice as likely to die due to a pregnancy-related complication as white women. “I do not think it’s radical to believe that everyone who gives birth should be able to access high-quality health care,” said Sen. Smith. “America’s increasing maternal mortality rate, and the disparities in maternal health outcomes for People of Color, is a national emergency. My legislation will identify the root causes of this problem so we can tackle them head on. This is about establishing maternal health justice—especially for People of Color.” “We are committed to addressing the underlying root causes of maternal mortality and morbidity and applaud Senator Tina Smith and Representative Sharice Davids for introducing the Data to Save Moms Act, which will improve data collection to advance equitable responses to the ongoing maternal health crisis,” said March of Dimes Sr. Vice President, Public Policy & Government Affairs, Stacey Y. Brayboy. “The staggering maternal mortality rates women, particularly for Black and Indigenous women of color, face in the nation is
Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect U.S. Agricultural Exports
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined Senators John Thune (R-SD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) in introducing bipartisan legislation to protect American food products from unfair trade practices by foreign countries. Common food and drink names such as parmesan, asiago, romano, and bologna are used around the world to describe products to consumers. However, due to geographic indication to European locations, the European Union has begun using economic and political influence to implement unfair trade practices under the guise of protecting geographic indicators. These unfair trade practices have the potential to block United States agricultural products from being sold in international markets. The Safeguarding American Value-Added Exports (SAVE) Act would amend the Agriculture Trade Act of 1978 to include and define a list of common names for ag commodities, food products, and terms used in marketing and packaging of products. The bill would also direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative to negotiate with our foreign trading partners to defend the right to use common names for ag commodities in those same foreign markets. “Agriculture is the backbone of Minnesota’s diverse economy and international markets are vital to the economic success of our farmers,” said Senator Smith. “Unfair trade policies from the European Union forcing American producers to change the name of their product will hurt our farmers and their ability to sell products overseas. This legislation would ensure they are able to continue selling their products in foreign markets and
Sen. Tina Smith’s Measure to Support Military Readiness and Conservation Becomes Law
WASHINGTON, D.C [08/16/18]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s (D-Minn.) bipartisan effort to fund military readiness and environmental conservation—also supported by her Minnesota colleague Sen. Amy Klobuchar—was recently signed into law by the President. The Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program helps military facilities across the country, including Minnesota’s Camp Ripley, manage and protect surrounding land to ensure community development does not impede our nation’s military training. Earlier this year, the Army considered reinterpreting the statute that defines a military installation to remove state-owned military facilities, meaning that state-owned National Guard facilities like Camp Ripley would have been unable to receive REPI
Sens. Smith, Warren Raise Questions about Accuracy of Secretary Azar’s Testimony Blaming Pharmacy Benefit Managers for High Drug Prices
WASHINGTON, DC [08/17/18]—Today, U.S. Sens. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar about his potentially misleading statements during his Senate testimony in which he blamed pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and drug distributors for drug manufacturers’ ongoing refusal to meaningfully reduce drug prices. The senators’ letter follows new information obtained from PBMs and drug distributors that directly contradicts the allegations made by Secretary Azar and raises questions about the accuracy of his testimony to Congress. Despite President Trump’s promises that drug companies would voluntarily enact “massive” price cuts, there have been no significant drug price
U.S. Sens. Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Honor the Storied Life of Minnesota’s First Female Member of Congress, Coya Knutson, with Senate Resolution
MINNESOTA [08/22/18]— Today, Minnesota’s U.S. Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar honored the storied life of Minnesota’s first female member Congress, Coya Knutson, with a Senate Resolution heralding her life as a trailblazer who, despite great obstacles when she served in the 1950s, succeeded in making a difference for the families and communities in her state. You can read a copy of the Resolution here. The resolution, offered Wednesday on what would have been Knutson’s 106th birthday, notes that after arriving in Washington, D.C in 1954, she convinced Speaker Sam Rayburn to appoint her to be the first woman ever to serve on the House
Klobuchar, Smith, Reed Call on Administration to Protect U.S. Troops and Families from Financial Fraud
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith joined Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and 46 other senators in calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to maintain financial protections for servicemembers and their families under the Military Lending Act (MLA). Recent reports have indicated that the Administration is planning to stop examining lenders for violations of the MLA. In their letter, the senators urged CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney not to end its examinations of payday lenders and other financial institutions for MLA compliance, and to not undertake measures that risk leaving U.S. troops and their families vulnerable to exploitation.
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