Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Colleagues Push Administration to Reinstate Duluth EPA Lab Workers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), joined by 16 of her Senate colleagues, called on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin to reinstate workers placed on administrative leave for expressing concern with the agency’s direction under the Trump Administration. Senator Smith is standing up for EPA employees in Duluth, Minnesota. These employees faced disciplinary action for signing a “Declaration of Dissent” about the agency’s leadership. In the letter to Administrator Zeldin, the Senators emphasize that public employees have the right to speak their views on issues that matter to them in their personal lives under the First Amendment, as affirmed by the Supreme Court. “The Trump Administration is creating totally unnecessary chaos for the office that is supposed to protect Lake Superior. It has been months since I started asking them questions which they refuse to answer, and they continue to threaten the livelihoods and critical work of the dedicated public servants in the Duluth lab,” said Senator Smith. “These are real people and communities who continue to wonder if their jobs are truly safe. It’s just not the right way to do business or treat people.” Senator Tina Smith was joined in sending this letter by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Minnesota Housing Organizations Celebrate Smith’s Bipartisan Rural Housing, Homelessness Bills Advancing in U.S. Senate
ST. PAUL, MN – Minnesota housing organizations from across the state are celebrating legislation by U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), top Democrat on the Senate Housing Subcommittee, advancing to the Senate floor. Smith’s bills were included in the first comprehensive, national housing reform legislative package in over a decade, dubbed the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, which passed the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee unanimously (24-0). “The lack of safe, decent, affordable housing in this country is a choice that we’re making, but with this new legislative package, we’re choosing a different path. For the first time in over a decade, this committee is taking bipartisan action to cut red tape, boost the supply of housing, lower housing costs, and improve how we tackle homelessness in ways that best work for individual communities,” said Senator Smith. “The biggest share of the average Minnesotan’s monthly budget is their rent or their mortgage. Taking action on the housing crisis is one of the best ways we can make life more affordable and better for families, because if you don’t have a safe, decent, affordable place to live, nothing else in your life works.” Smith’s legislation included: “We all need a safe, stable place to call home. The ROAD to Housing Act of 2025 brings together real, workable solutions that will help more families put down roots and thrive. From making it easier to build high-quality homes using modern methods like modular construction, to expanding access to small-dollar mortgages and
Minnesota, North Dakota Delegations Respond to Inspector General’s Audit of Postal Service, Press Postmaster General for Better Service
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) led the entire Minnesota and North Dakota congressional delegations in sending a bipartisan letter pressing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to improve postal services in the Minnesota-North Dakota District. The letter comes after the Postal Service’s Inspector General audited the District and found 130,858 missing or delayed pieces of mail at six post offices over the course of only two days. The lawmakers also requested regular updates from the Postal Service on their progress in implementing these recommendations. “It has long been clear that postal operations in the District are in trouble, and the investigation confirms this,” wrote lawmakers.“We need to ensure
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on SCOTUS Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) Decision
Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s Decision on Moyle v. United States: “The Supreme Court ruled on process, not on policy. This is a reprieve, not a vindication. While Idaho can resume providing emergency reproductive care, this ruling does nothing to reassure women that their health and wellbeing is protected. “Let’s be clear: President Biden’s work to ensure access to emergency abortion care under EMTALA is not safe under this decision. There are other challenges to EMTALA pending in the ultra-conservative Fifth Circuit — challenges that could come before the Supreme Court
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith Announce Funding from U.S. Department of Agriculture to Help Expand High-Speed Internet Access in Rural Areas
WASHINGTON, June 27th, 2024 – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-Minn.) announced $25 million in funding availability from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase high-speed internet access in rural and Tribal communities. The funding is made available through the USDA’s Broadband Technical Assistance (BTA) Program, part of the Biden Administration’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to connect every community in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed internet. “We should be able to bring high-speed internet to every family in Minnesota— regardless of their zip code,” said Klobuchar. “This funding will ensure that the broadband upgrades going on across our state also
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Federal Investment to Foster Local Zoning Reform in Twin Cities
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chair of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, announced $4 million in funding to assist localities around the Twin Cities trying to update local ordinances to build more affordable housing. The award will provide technical support to cities and towns already in the process of updating their zoning codes to incentivize more housing construction. The announcement comes on the heels of a visit from the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, who was in Minneapolis for a roundtable discussion on housing and a tour of a federally-funded affordable housing apartment made possible thanks
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