Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Reintroduces Bill to Help New, Beginning Farmers Grow a Successful Business
WASHINGTON, D.C. – [6/25/2026] U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) reintroduced the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach Program Reauthorization Act, a bill that helps new farmers and producers successfully grow their budding operations. Beginning farmers are forced to literally bet the farm, and then some, to pay for record-high land, fertilizer, equipment and other input costs necessary for farming. This grant program offers those farmers access to the knowledge, skills and tools needed to make informed decisions for their operations today and in the future. “Farmers strengthen Minnesota’s economy and keep food on the table, simple as that,” said Sen. Tina Smith. “That’s why we need to support the next generation of independent farmers before the industry is eaten up by billion-dollar corporations, foreign companies and tech CEOs who see farming as another investment instead of a time-honored way of life. This program works to keep local farms locally owned and operated.” The ag industry will soon see major shifts in farm ownership with more than one-third of American farmers being 65 years old or older. A seamless transition to the next generation is vital for small towns and rural communities to thrive, and to keep the United States as a leader in producing high-quality food and ag products. This bill offers grants to organizations and non-profits that provide programs to support new farmers. One program is called Land Link, and it connects retiring farmers with new farmers, ensuring generational knowledge is passed down. The bill also supports business training, mentoring, apprenticeships, ag rehab programs for veterans, production practices, conservation planning, risk management, diversification and marketing strategies, food safety, recordkeeping, credit management and farm safety training. “We applaud Senator Smith’s reintroduction of the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach Grant Program,” said Theresa Schneider,
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Shelley Moore Capito’s Bipartisan Women’s Lung Cancer Prevention Legislation Unanimously Passes Senate
WASHINGTON – United States Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) announced their bipartisan legislation, the Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act, unanimously passed the Senate. The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate with the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans’ Affairs to conduct a comprehensive review across departments of ongoing research that could help us better understand and respond to the increasing number of women being diagnosed with lung cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death for women in America. The disease claims more women’s lives each year than breast, ovarian and cervical cancers combined. While lung cancer rates are generally declining, cases among non-smoking women are on the rise, troubling researchers. “Cancer has touched each and every one of our lives in some way. Many of us remember a loved one fighting this horrible disease and doing everything we can to prevent ourselves from developing cancer. But for women, even if we never smoke, we’re increasingly more likely than men to develop lung cancer. It’s a deeply troubling trend that we need to better understand if we hope to combat the disease,” said Senator Smith. “This legislation is a good first step for us to take to better understand what we do and don’t know about why lung cancer rates seem to be moving in the wrong direction, particularly for one half of our population.” “West Virginia has long been deeply impacted by lung cancer, and
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
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Todd Young Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Farmers, Analyze Long-Term Soil Health
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Todd Young (R-IN) reintroduced bipartisan legislation that will help bolster soil research and improve agricultural resilience and productivity in the Midwest and across the country. Experts estimate that American farmers could store up to 220 billion pounds of carbon annually across all US croplands. However, current technology cannot accurately measure soil carbon levels, impacting our ability to track soil health improvements, correlate those improvements with on-farm benefits, and reward farmers for their contributions to environmental health and resilience. “Farmers in Minnesota understand the importance of having reliably healthy, productive soil,” said
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Bipartisan Housing Legislation Unanimously Passes Key Senate Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), the top Democrat on the Senate Housing Subcommittee, announced that two of her major bipartisan bills aimed at combatting America’s housing crisis were included in a package that passed unanimously (24 – 0) out of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee. Smith’s bills were focused on rural housing and combatting homelessness. The package of bills that passed the committee earlier today, the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act of 2025, represents the first comprehensive national legislation on housing since the 2008 financial crisis. “The lack of
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Patty Murray, Representatives Friedman, Williams and Pappas Introduce New Legislation to Restore Federal Funding to Planned Parenthood
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced the Restoring Essential Healthcare Act, a bicameral bill that repeals President Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB) provision that bans Medicaid reimbursements for health services provided at Planned Parenthood clinics. The OBBB provision has already put nearly 200 Planned Parenthood clinics at risk of closure, endangering access to health care for more than two million patients across the country. Identical legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Laura Friedman (CA-30), Chris Pappas (NH-1) and Nikema Williams (GA-5). “I worked at Planned Parenthood. I
English