Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Delivers Floor Speech Remembering Annunciation School Shooting Victims, Pushes for Congress to Pass Gun Safety Legislation
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Tina Smith delivered a speech on the floor of the United States Senate after the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic School last week. You can watch Sen. Smith’s floor speech here. You can read Sen. Smith’s remarks as delivered below: Mr. President, I stand before this body trying to make sense of the terrible shooting at Annunciation Catholic School just a couple of miles from where Archie and I live in Minneapolis. And I can’t. I can’t make it make sense. You know, I know this neighborhood really well. I’ve lived in and around it for many, many years. And I also know Annunciation School. Mr. President, Annunciation School is one of those places where, whether your kids go there or not, it’s two degrees of separation from everybody that you would know. If it’s not your child, it’s someone you know — their niece, their nephew, their grandchild, their child. And here in Annunciation Catholic School on a fall morning, sweet children were gunned down when they went to mass to celebrate the beginning of the school year, and their sense of peace and safety was shattered like the church windows that the bullets flew through. Fletcher Merkel was eight years old. His dad said that Fletcher had an infectious smile, and he danced with every touchdown he scored in flag football. He loved his family and his friends, and he loved fishing and cooking. Harper Moyski was ten. Her parents say that she was
ICYMI: U.S. Senator Tina Smith Blasts Wrongful Firing of Duluth EPA Scientists by the Trump Administration
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) blasted the news that scientists at the Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division Laboratory were fired for signing onto a letter expressing concerns over cuts and changes at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that they argued would endanger the health and safety of Minnesotans. In a statement to the Duluth News Tribune, Smith decried the firings and expressed pride in the workers who had the guts to sign onto the Declaration of Dissent warning about the impacts of EPA cuts. “How is firing the people who keep Lake Superior and Minnesota’s waters clean and safe a good idea? How does that benefit anyone? The sole reason they got fired is because they exercised their freedom of speech and dared to disagree with the Trump administration. I’m proud they had the guts to do it, to warn all of us. I don’t care who you voted for, you didn’t vote to fire scientists who keep our waters safe.” Senator Smith has been vocally critical of the recent attacks on the Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division Laboratory in Duluth. She and Senator Klobuchar (D-MN) pressed the EPA for answers after reports of staff layoffs at the lab in April and pressed for answers from EPA Administrator Zeldin. After employees were placed on leave for signing onto the Declaration of Dissent, Smith pressed the EPA to reinstate the workers, calling any threat of retaliation a violation of workers’ First Amendment rights as affirmed by the Supreme Court. ###
Klobuchar, Smith, Stauber, and Entire Minnesota Congressional Delegation Introduce Bill Naming Pengilly Post Office in Honor of First Lieutenant Richard A. Koski
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN-08) announced new legislation to rename the Pengilly Post Office after First Lieutenant Richard A. Koski, a Pengilly resident who was killed in action at age 25 during the Vietnam War. First Lieutenant Koski was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star, Silver Star, and First Oak Leaf Cluster for battlefield valor. Pengilly resident Brian Walker, who was saved from drowning when he was a child by First Lieutenant Koski, worked with Klobuchar on the naming effort. Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN-08), along with Representatives Brad
Following Efforts from Klobuchar, Smith, and the Entire Minnesota Delegation, FEMA to Issue Additional Disaster Assistance for Individuals Impacted by Recent Flooding
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved the delivery of Individual Assistance for Minnesotans affected by severe storms and flooding across 19 counties: Blue Earth, Cook, Cottonwood, Faribault, Freeborn, Goodhue, Itasca, Jackson, Lake, Le Sueur, Mower, Nicollet, Nobles, Rice, Rock, St. Louis, Steele, Waseca, and Watonwan Counties. The Individual Assistance programs provide disaster survivors with access to a range of programs and services to aid in the recovery process, including financial assistance to eligible individuals and households. Damage assessments by federal, state, and local emergency management
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Funding for Meat and Poultry Processing in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced funding for two Minnesota-based agricultural projects through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). The grants, totaling $2 million, will increase meat processing capacity, help Minnesota farmers access new markets, and create dozens of new jobs. “Minnesota’s meat and poultry products help feed the nation and the world,” said Klobuchar. “This new funding will make it easier for our processors to bolster their capacity and get their high quality meats to new markets.” “Minnesota has long been a linchpin in America’s agricultural market, and I’m proud to advocate
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith Announce Two USDA Farm to School Grants to Support Agricultural Education and Local Food Access in Minnesota Schools
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced funding from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm to School Grant program for two projects in Minnesota. The projects will expand agricultural education, support local producers, and incorporate local foods into child nutrition programs in Minnesota. Two projects in Minnesota will each receive $100,000 in funding for agricultural education and child nutrition programs: 1. The Boys and Girls Club of Detroit Lakes: Funding will be used to purchase a “flex connect” farm system, 12 hydroponic towers used for crop growth, from Fork Farms. By purchasing the system, the
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