Tag: Sen. Klobuchar

Today: Rep. Phillips, Senators Klobuchar and Smith to Urge Legislative Fix to DED Expiration

WASHINGTON, DC – Today at 4 PM EST, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03), Senator Jack Reed (RI) and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (MN) will join a group of Liberians from the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA) on the House Triangle to urge Congress to take legislative action to prevent the expiration of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) on March 31.

The group of Liberians from ULAA will be led by Imam Mohammed Dukuly, a Liberia native and Imam of the Mosque of the Helpers in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The United States has been home to thousands of law-abiding, taxpaying Liberians for more than a quarter of a century, after Liberian families sought refuge in the United States following deadly civil wars in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the lethal Ebola virus outbreak in 2014-2016. They were first granted Temporary Protected Status in 1991, and since that time, subsequent Democratic and Republican Administrations have extended DED status for Liberians in recognition of the danger and instability in the region. Continue reading “Today: Rep. Phillips, Senators Klobuchar and Smith to Urge Legislative Fix to DED Expiration”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar announces presidential bid: ‘I am running for every American, I’m running for you’

Sen. Amy Klobuchar wiped snow from her hair after announcing she is running for President of the United States Sunday afternoon. Credit: Anthony Souffle, Star Tribune

Senator will test her hometown brand on the national stage

Against a wintry Minneapolis backdrop, Amy Klobuchar announced her run for President on Sunday with a vow to “heal the heart of our democracy” and an emphasis on her Minnesota roots.

“As president, I will look you in the eye,” Klobuchar said, her hair thick with falling snow by the end of her speech at Boom Island Park. “I will tell you what I think. I will focus on getting things done. That’s what I’ve done my whole life.”

By officially joining the fray, Klobuchar enters into competition with a growing roster of Democrats who want to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020. Her speech alternated between personal biography and statements of principle. She argued that her own life and political experience put her in the best position to tackle an ambitious agenda from the White House.

View the complete February 11 article by Patrick Condon, Torey Van Oot and Jessie Van Berkel on The Star Tribune website here.

One eye on possible presidential bid, Sen. Amy Klobuchar shapes D.C. agenda

Reporters followed Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

The Minnesota senator, considering a national campaign, is pushing affordable prescriptions, social media privacy in Congress.

WASHINGTON – Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s early focus in Congress this year is on the kind of popular, consumer-oriented measures that have been a foundation of her Senate career.

At the start of her third term in office and weighing a run for president, Klobuchar in recent weeks has emphasized her renewed push for cheaper prescription drugs, and for tighter privacy laws for social media users. With both, she’s touting collaboration with Republican colleagues in hopes of progress despite a divided Congress.

“Let’s get this done,” Klobuchar says in a video posted on her Twitter account this week, where she argues for three measures she’s sponsored intended to lower prescription prices. “We should be governing from opportunity for the people of America. Not a crisis.”

View the complete January 31 by Patrick Condon on The Star Tribune website here.

Sen. Klobuchar says William Barr refused to meet with her ‘because of the shutdown’

GOP senators shared images with William Barr on social media.

William Barr, President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general who has a history of echoing Trump’s rhetoric, is scheduled for a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

Cabinet nominees typically meet with senators from both parties who will be part of their confirmation process.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will oversee Barr’s attempt to become attorney general for the second time, said on Wednesday that Democrats are being prevented from meeting with the nominee in advance of his confirmation hearing.

View the complete January 10 article by Frank Dale on the ThinkProgress website here.

Sen. Klobuchar and Sen. Sullivan Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Election Security with International Allies

The Global Electoral Exchange Act would establish an international information sharing program on election security at the State Department

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) introduced bipartisan legislation to share election security information with our international allies. The Global Electoral Exchange Act would establish an international information sharing program on election security at the State Department. The program would allow for the U.S. and our international allies to exchange ideas related to best practices on issues like audits, disinformation campaigns, voter database protections and other issues critical to election administration. The bill also authorizes the State Department to provide grants to U.S. nonprofit organizations that specialize in election security and election administration for the purpose of exchanging information with similar organizations in partner countries.

“Election security is national security. Our intelligence community continues to warn that our elections—and those of our allies—are a target for adversaries,” Klobuchar said. “This bipartisan legislation will allow the State Department to work with our allies abroad to share information, discuss best practices, and combat the growing threat of election interference to democracies around the world.”

“The threats to our democratic electoral process and those of other democracies across the globe should not be taken lightly,” Sullivan said. “This legislation takes important steps to enhance collaboration between the United States and our allies to examine best practices and ensure future elections remain fair, free and absent of foreign interference.”

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Sen. Klobuchar Statement on EPA Release of Renewable Fuel Standard Requirements

Proposal ignores small refinery waiver misuse that undermines RFS 

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement on the release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2018 and 2019 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume requirements:

“The renewable fuel industry supports hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout the country and cuts our reliance on foreign oil which is why we need the Renewable Fuel Standard to remain strong. The RFS requirements announced today by the Environmental Protection Agency maintain the ethanol volume requirements for 2019 and modestly increase the blend targets of advanced biofuels that will create jobs and strengthen rural communities.

“However, while these numbers are in line with proposed targets, increasing the volume requirements is meaningless if the EPA continues to undermine the RFS by granting small refinery waivers to multi-billion-dollar oil companies—reducing incentives for blending, slashing demand for biofuels and feedstocks, and hurting farmers and biofuels companies. This misguided overuse of the waivers by the EPA could cripple the homegrown biofuels market for years to come. I am disappointed that the EPA refused to address the misuse of small refinery waivers and restore the gallons of biofuels that have been lost due to these exemptions.”

Continue reading “Sen. Klobuchar Statement on EPA Release of Renewable Fuel Standard Requirements”

Klobuchar, Wicker Call for Examination of Increased Number of Chronic Wasting Disease Cases by U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior

In a bipartisan letter, the senators ask Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, and Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, to conduct an extensive examination of Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic Wasting Disease is a contagious neurological disorder that affects deer and elk, posing a serious threat to deer populations across the country

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue and Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, urging the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior to conduct an extensive examination of chronic wasting disease (CWD). CWD is a contagious neurological disorder that affects deer, elk, and other cervids and already poses a serious threat to deer populations across the country. The frequency of CWD has grown and now been identified in as many as 25 states and three Canadian provinces.

“We suggest that your two departments assign senior staff to expand the examination of CWD, particularly as an issue for deliberation with the Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation Council (HSSCC),” the senators wrote.

“The HSSCC is co-chartered by U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. It is an ideal venue to assess current efforts at the Department of the Interior with respect to surveillance mapping and at the Department of Agriculture for developing standards for interstate transport of deer and elk. We believe your agency experts, representatives from states and tribes, and the HSSCC can identify needs for national policy on this matter.”

Continue reading “Klobuchar, Wicker Call for Examination of Increased Number of Chronic Wasting Disease Cases by U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior”

Klobuchar, Smith Announce More Than $46 Million for Minnesota’s Basic Health Program, MinnesotaCare

The Basic Health Program (BHP), known as MinnesotaCare in Minnesota, is a health benefits program for low-income citizens who would otherwise be ineligible to purchase coverage through the health insurance marketplace

WASHINGTON– U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded $46,276,090 in additional payments to Minnesota for their Basic Health Program (BHP). Established by the Affordable Care Act, states have the option to create a BHP for low-income citizens, providing healthcare coverage to those who do not qualify for programs like Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CMS estimates that qualified health plan premiums in Minnesota would have been 18.8 percent higher if it was not operating their BHP, MinnesotaCare.

“Minnesota has a long, bipartisan history of innovation and efficiency in health care. MinnesotaCare has helped to bring down healthcare costs for the most vulnerable in our state who need affordable, comprehensive coverage,” Klobuchar said. “This funding helps in that effort and I will continue to fight for lower healthcare costs.”

“MinnesotaCare is a critical program that furthers our goal of making sure everyone has access to affordable, high-quality health care,” Smith said. “By investing in MinnesotaCare, we’re investing in people across the state and in the shared belief that we can all work collectively to lower the cost of health care.”

Continue reading “Klobuchar, Smith Announce More Than $46 Million for Minnesota’s Basic Health Program, MinnesotaCare”