Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Patty Murray Introduce Bill to Protect Federal Funding for Birth Control, Reproductive Health Care Services
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act, a bill that would safeguard funding for Title X – the country’s only federal program dedicated to providing family planning and preventive health services, including birth control, cancer screenings, testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and reproductive health care – following attacks on the program by the Trump Administration last week. Title X clinics serve 4 million people annually, and in 2023 alone, more than 1.5 million visits to Planned Parenthood health centers were made possible by the program. The bill is co-led in the House of Representatives by Representative Sharice Davids (KS-03), Judy Chu (CA-28) and Dina Titus (NV-01). “We are at a time when Americans’ reproductive freedoms are under attack from extremist Republicans – which makes the Title X Family Planning Program more important than ever,” said Senator Smith. “Title X funding provides American women with access to critical reproductive health services. I invite my Republican colleagues who claim to champion family planning services to join us in supporting this commonsense legislation that will protect women’s access to life-saving services and birth control, pregnancy counseling, infertility services, and more.” “For more than 50 years, Title X funding has helped women across the U.S. get cancer screenings, contraception, pregnancy tests, STI treatment, and so many other services that are critical to helping women—especially women with the tightest budgets—stay healthy and plan their futures,” said Senator Murray. “I’m proud to co-lead the Expanding Access to
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Legislation to Protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from Sulfide Mining
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced legislation that would protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) from the threat posed by sulfide mining in the surrounding watershed. The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection Act would permanently prohibit new sulfide ore mining on 225,504 acres of federal forest land in the Rainy River watershed, which drains into the BWCAW. “The Boundary Waters must be protected for today, and future generations. The impartial science and data show unequivocally that copper-nickel sulfide mining poses an unacceptable risk to the Boundary Waters. “Mining is an important driver of Minnesota’s economy and the pride of every Iron Ranger. I support mining, but not this mine in this precious place. Majorities of Minnesotans oppose mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters. I am prepared to fight with every tool I have to protect one of America’s greatest wilderness areas,” said Senator Smith. “The Boundary Waters is a symbol of the very best of what America’s public lands have to offer — natural beauty, economic stability, recreation, expansive habitat, accessibility, clean air and water, and much more,” said Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters. “Senator Smith has shown unwavering leadership and commitment to the interests of Minnesotans by introducing The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection Act. This bill is the first in nearly half a century in the U.S. Senate that broadly protects the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. With this historic legislation, Senator Smith is standing on the shoulders of giants and following in the footsteps of
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, Minnesota Fire Chiefs Celebrate Passage of the Fire Grants and Safety Act
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) issued the statements below after the Senate passed the Fire Grants and Safety Act, bipartisan legislation to continue providing federal funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant programs. This bill now goes to the President’s desk to be signed into law. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program helps firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources. The SAFER Grants program provides direct funding to fire departments and volunteer firefighter organizations to
U.S. SENATOR TINA SMITH’S STATEMENT ON NOMINATION OF CHRISTY GOLDSMITH ROMERO TO CHAIR THE FDIC
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) , a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, applauded President Biden’s decision to nominate Christy Goldsmith Romero to be Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): “Christy Goldsmith Romero is a widely respected, principled financial regulator with extensive federal experience, and I applaud President Biden’s decision to nominate her as Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). This nomination comes at a pivotal time at the FDIC, and Goldsmith Romero’s track record of holding bad actors accountable at the Troubled Asset Relief Program and advancing consumer interests at the CFTC is exactly
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan Celebrate First-Ever Trade Mission Focused on Indigenous Products
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan (DFL) announced the first-ever trade mission by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) focused solely on Indigenous products. Lieutenant Governor Flanagan will join Red Lake, Inc. in representing Native producers from Minnesota on this historic trade mission to Canada from June 17-20 alongside 15 Tribal agribusinesses and 13 Native agricultural leaders from across the country. “This is a historic opportunity for Native farmers and producers and Tribal businesses to access a new market for their goods. Native farmers and producers face unique and challenging barriers, and this market
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Applauds Biden Admin Move to Eliminate Medical Debt from Credit Reports
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) celebrated a new proposed rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) shielding consumers’ credit scores from being impacted by medical debt. Today’s announcement came after Senator Smith, along with 9 of her colleagues, urged the agency to take action. According to the CFPB’s own report, there is over $88 billion in medical debt on consumer credit records. “You can’t choose when you get sick – it happens whether we like it or not. You shouldn’t be punished with a lower credit score just because you needed medical care,” said Senator Smith.“This move by the Biden
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