WASHINGTON – The Senate Finance Committee approves USMCA. Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith says she will vote in favor of the trade deal with Canada and Mexico. The bill includes provisions she fought for like strengthening protections for workers and improving access to affordable medicines. Smith says it’s important to open new markets for agriculture and end unfair Canadian milk pricing…
WASHINGTON – Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith will release a bipartisan bill on Thursday on Rural Health Day to recruit and keep doctors in rural areas. She says many med students don’t learn or train in rural areas, so the idea in working in one may not occur to them. Smith believes if they can train in non-metro areas, they’ll stay…
WASHINGTON – Senators Tina Smith and Kevin Cramer announce a bill that would conduct a study examining insulin affordability. The Insulin Affordability Data Collection Act would investigate the impact of the cost of insulin on the rates of diabetic ketoacidosis, dialysis treatment and Medicare and Medicaid spending. Minnesotan Alec Smith is in Senator Smith’s thoughts during her push for the…
MINNESOTA – Chairman of the Minnesota DFL Party Ken Martin says President Trump hasn’t made Minnesota great in his first term. He lost the state by 1.5% in 2016. His campaign spent only $40,000 in the state. President Trump held rallies in Minneapolis, Duluth, Rochester and Fargo since taking office. Vice President Mike Pence stopped by a farm near Glyndon…
WASHINGTON – Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith hopes to hear how the farm bill is being implemented in an Agriculture Committee hearing on Thursday, October 17th. She says she wants to know how the safety net and dairy margin protection programs are helping farmers. They give producers subsidies when they experience a substantial drop in revenue or prices. Smith says producers…
WASHINGTON – Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith and North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer push the Senate Finance Committee to hold a hearing on their bill to make insulin affordable. The senators say seven-and-a-half million Americans rely on insulin and the price has nearly doubled between 2012 and 2016. Smith and Cramer’s Emergency Access to Insulin Act would allow states to set…
WASHINGTON – Sen. Tina Smith is forming a bipartisan Senate group to strengthen rural communities. One thing she says she’s hearing from people in our area that would help is, “trade, not aid.” The Rural Economic Working Group and Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds hopes to connect people and organizations to take on challenges hitting rural areas hard. Sen….
MOORHEAD, Minn. — Staff members for Minnesota Senator Tina Smith are traveling around the state to figure out how to address a housing crisis. They stopped in Moorhead to hear how our area has been impacted over the years. Clay County Housing Redevelopment Authority officials say since 2000, rent has increased 28 percent but wages have not. The executive director…
WASHINGTON – Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith introduces a bill for a one health approach. It’s an idea that human and animal health are linked and should be studied together to prevent disease outbreaks. Smith says the Department of Agriculture has a group that has already taken a one health approach. She wants them to combine its efforts with the Centers…
UNITED STATES – Some farmers are feeling uneasy with the talk of tariffs with Mexico. Others, are happy the Trump Administration approved year-round sales of E-15 gas. That’s fuel with 15% ethanol. It used to be banned in the Summer. President Donald Trump has announced a 5% tariff on goods imported from Mexico. His administration threatens to bring the taxes up…
