Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Lead Push to Reinstate Energy Projects for Farmers, Small Businesses
Sixteen Senators are demanding the Trump Administration reverse canceling the bipartisan Rural Energy for America Program WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) led fourteen colleagues in demanding the Trump Administration re-commit to funding energy projects across rural America through the bipartisan Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). In 2022 alone, REAP projects saved enough energy and generated enough energy to power over 250,000 homes. Roughly 70% of those projects could be deemed ineligible under the Administration’s new arbitrary restrictions. “Unleashing American energy and supporting American farmers are stated priorities of the Trump Administration. But this change would stifle American energy and hurt our farmers, who are already dealing with increasing costs of operation and uncertain access to markets. At a time like this, it is unconscionable to discourage the use of cost- and energy-saving wind and solar technologies that help to keep their businesses afloat” wrote the Senators. “A REAP program that helps rural Americans invest in the best energy solution for them is a win for farmers’ bottom line and for the lands that they steward. We urge you to remove these new restrictions on REAP,” Senators concluded. On August 18th, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced they will be restricting assistance for wind and solar projects previously authorized under REAP. The move will hurt the deployment of cheaper, cleaner energy projects at a time when rural energy costs continue to rise. The REAP program was authorized in
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
Klobuchar, Smith Statements on the Bipartisan Senate Confirmation of Laura Provinzino to be U.S. District Court Judge
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Laura Provinzino to serve as United States District Court Judge for the District of Minnesota. Currently serving as an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, Provinzino was one of the candidates sent to President Biden by Senators Klobuchar and Smith following the recommendation from a judicial selection committee. “As a federal prosecutor, Laura Provinzino has dedicated her career to upholding the rule of law and
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Applauds Biden-Harris Administration’s New Rule to Strengthen Mental Health Parity
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Tuesday released the following statement on the Biden-Harris administration’s recent actions to boost private insurance coverage for mental health care for 175 million Americans. Even though it’s already law that insurance companies must cover mental health as they do physical health, many don’t comply, and insured Americans are nearly four times as likely go out-of-network and pay higher fees for mental health care than for physical health care. “We need to treat mental health with the same urgency we treat
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Announce Historic Expansions of Clean Energy Across Rural Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-Minn.), announced historic funding for clean, reliable and low-cost energy across rural Minnesota. Three rural electric cooperatives with operations in the state will receive funding to deploy clean energy or make energy efficiency improvements. More cooperatives are expected to receive funding in the coming months. Minnesota’s electric cooperatives provide electricity to nearly one-third of the state. Senator Smith was instrumental in securing this funding for rural electric co-ops through her work on the clean energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. The three cooperatives selected that operate in Minnesota are:
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins Bipartisan Letter Pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to Urgently Address Tribal Food Delivery Delays Nationwide
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined a bipartisan group of senators pushing the USDA to fix problems with Tribal federal food aid programs, which have caused widespread disruptions in food distribution to more than 100 Tribal organizations and some 50,000 people who rely on the program nationwide. The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) provides food to income-eligible households living on reservations, and to American Indian households residing in approved areas near reservations or in Oklahoma. Trust relationships between the federal government and Tribal Nations require the federal government to provide food security to Tribal members. Since April, Tribal
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