Tag: Sen. Smith

Republican Karin Housley won’t run for U.S. Senate in 2020

Republican state Sen. Karin Housley announced Tuesday that she won’t seek a rematch against Democrat Tina Smith for U.S. Senate in 2020.

Housley, who lost to Smith by double digits in 2018, has been publicly mulling another U.S. Senate bid for months. But on Tuesday, the St. Marys Point Republican said that she ultimately decided to run for re-election in the state Senate instead.

“I love our communities and I love Minnesota — and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished in the past seven years,” Housley tweeted. “I’m excited to continue that work.”

View the complete July 2 article by Torey Van Oot on The Star Tribune website here.

Minnesota Congressional delegation pens letter supporting homeless vet registry

The Minnesota Congressional delegation sent a letter Thursday, May 23, to Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie highlighting Minnesota’s efforts to address veteran homelessness and urging him to examine if the VA could benefit from implementing similar programs at the federal level.

The delegation includes Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Reps. Jim Hagedorn, R-Minn., Angie Craig, D-Minn., Dean Phillips, D-Minn., Betty McCollum, D-Minn., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Tom Emmer, R-Minn., Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and Pete Stauber, R-Minn.

According to a news release, the Minnesota Homeless Veteran Registry was created in 2014 to identify all known homeless veterans in an effort to ensure they have access to appropriate housing and social services. The registry helps to recognize the underlying factors contributing to veteran homelessness, including mental health issues, substance abuse and economic hardship. In the letter, the members asked Wilkie about the VA’s efforts to address veteran homelessness and urged him to consider implementing Minnesota’s registry program.

View the complete May 24 article from The Brainerd Dispatch on their website here.

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips Introduce Legislation to Support Family Mental Health Services

Minnesota Lawmakers Want to Ensure Updates to Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Better Address Mental Health Needs of Children and Families

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and U.S. Representative Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) teamed up to introduce companion bills that would update landmark legislation to prioritize making sure the child welfare system supports and connects families to needed mental health services.

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was enacted 45 years ago and governs important child protection programs and services to prevent, assess, and identify child abuse and neglect—and it is the only federal program exclusively dedicated to these aims.  Sen. Smith and Rep. Phillips’s bill—the Supporting Family Mental Health in CAPTA Act—would update CAPTA to improve the delivery of mental health services for children and families, improve access to important developmental screenings and early intervention services, and support research on effective practices to prevent child abuse and neglect.  CAPTA is due to be reauthorized this year.

You can access text of the bill here and a summary of the legislation here. Continue reading “U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips Introduce Legislation to Support Family Mental Health Services”

Federal workers in Minnesota describe pain from missed paychecks


Sen. Tina Smith, left, listened to TSA employee Celia Hahn, now working without pay. Credit: Leila Navidi, Star Tribune

A handful of federal employees joined Sen. Tina Smith at a news conference at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith sought to put a human face Friday on the effects of the partial shutdown of the federal government.

Flanked by a handful of federal employees, Smith held a news conference at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to denounce the political stalemate in Washington that has prevented passage of a federal budget for 21 days, causing many workers to miss their first paycheck this week.

“This shutdown is wasteful, it is unnecessary, and it is increasingly harmful to so many people,” said Smith, a Democrat. She said she’s heard from “dozens and dozens” of people whose lives have been disrupted by the shutdown.

View the complete January 11 article by Dan Browning on The Star Tribune website here.

U.S. Senator Tina Smith: We Must Ensure Veterans Receive Full Housing Benefits You are here Home

Senator Presses Department of Veterans Affairs to Launch Investigation, Provide Clear Answers To Guarantee Veterans are Paid in Full

U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is helping to lead a bipartisan push to get the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to quickly clarify how it intends to “make whole” the more than 360,000 veterans in Minnesota and across the country who are at risk of being denied the full housing benefits they’ve earned.

In response to recent reports that the VA plans to withhold retroactive payments for missed or underpaid monthly housing benefits from some veterans because it would create a backlog, Sen. Smith joined 12 of her Congressional colleagues in asking the VA’s Inspector General to investigate and clarify how it will ensure full benefits are paid.

Last week, a top VA benefits official told the House Veterans Affairs Committee that veterans still awaiting payments would be made whole, but he was unclear on whether the VA would pay the higher rates that went into effect in August, or the lower benefits provided previously.  Continue reading “U.S. Senator Tina Smith: We Must Ensure Veterans Receive Full Housing Benefits You are here Home”

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”

Sen. Tina Smith Victory Speech

Karin Housley twists Tina Smith’s finances to allege profits from big pharma

In a recent Minnesota Republican ad for U.S. Senate, a man and woman clink flutes of champagne on the beach as text rolls across the screen: “Tina Smith loves the good life.”

Smith is defending her U.S. Senate seat on Nov. 6. She was appointed to the position earlier this year after fellow Democrat Al Franken stepped down following sexual misconduct allegations.

The “good life” ad comes from Smith’s Republican challenger, state Sen. Karin Housley, and the text on screen quickly departs from the beach scene’s serenity.

View the complete October 31 article by Kyra Haas on the PolitiFact.com website here.

DEBATE: Housley Stands With Big Pharma, Not Minnesotans

Sen. Smith is taking on Big Pharma and getting things done for families affected by the opioid crisis

Karin Housley has repeatedly stood with Big Pharma over Minnesotans, whether it’s supporting tax cuts for big drug companies or voting to line the pockets of opioid manufacturers. Housley supported the Republican tax law that gave a trillion-dollar tax cut to big corporations, including prescription drug companies. And she was one of only six people to vote against overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation (60-6) to hold opioid manufacturers accountable and require them to help pay for treatment programs. During debate on the floor, GOP lawmakers urged their colleagues to “have a spine” and vote for the bill, and said the pharmaceutical companies had “lied to the public.” Housley remained unmoved.

In contrast, the first thing Sen. Smith did when she got to the Senate was take on Big Pharma. Her first bill helps to lower the cost of prescription medicines by closing a corporate loophole that giant drug companies use to game the system and keep affordable generic drugs off the market. She also introduced the Affordable Medications Act, which would make prescription drugs more affordable, penalize drug companies for hiking up drug prices, invest in research for better medications, and prevent companies from gaming the system to block competition and keep drug prices high.

And just last week, major bipartisan opioids legislation that Sen. Smith helped write—which will provide $1.5 billion in funding for states, tribes and communities to bolster their prevention, treatment and recovery efforts—was signed into law by the President.

FACT: HOUSLEY HAS REPEATEDLY STOOD WITH BIG PHARMA OVER MINNESOTANS

Housley Voted Against Imposing A Fee On Pharmaceutical Companies “To Fund Prevention And Treatment Programs And County Social Services To Address The Opioid Addiction Epidemic.” “The Minnesota Senate passed a bill Thursday that imposes $20 million in annual fees on pharmaceutical companies to fund prevention and treatment programs and county social services to address the opioid addiction epidemic.”  The bill passed 60-6. [SF730, SJ8829, 5/10/18; MPR, 5/10/18]

Star Tribune Headline: Tsunami Of Lobbying Greets Bipartisan Effort At Minnesota Capitol To Tax Opioids [Star Tribune,5/05/18]

Housley Said She Was For Repeal And Replace. “Housley: Saying she was for repeal and replace, which didn’t happen due to the slim Republican margin in the Senate — ‘Which is another reason I’m running.’” [Rochester Post Bulletin, 7/10/18]

Bill Cut Taxes Imposed On Drug Makers And Health Insurers. “Repeal the taxes on health insurers, prescription drug makers and medical devices. The bill seeks to lift the annual tax Obamacare imposed on drug makers and health insurers and It would also get rid of the 2.3% excise tax on the sale of certain medical devices that was put in place. The taxes would disappear in either 2017 or 2018, depending on the levy.” [CNN, 7/14/17]

Housley “Cheered The Tax Cut Bill[.]” “When it comes to policy, Housley is running more or less as a standard-issue Republican: She favors repealing the Affordable Care Act, has cheered the tax cut bill that was signed into law last year, and opposes abortion rights.” [Minnpost, 9/06/18]

Bloomberg: “U.S. Drugmakers Will Be One Of The Biggest Beneficiaries Of The Repatriation Portion Of The Bill.” “U.S. drugmakers will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the repatriation portion of the bill. They’ve been sitting on billions of dollars in overseas earnings and can now bring home that cash at a reduced rate. While the tax bill has been promoted by Republicans as a job creator, the reality is that drug companies are more likely to return the money to shareholders, or use it to make acquisitions.”  [Bloomberg, 12/15/17]

Fortune: Pfizer Is The Latest Drug Maker To Reap Billions From Trump’s Tax Cuts [Fortune, 1/30/18]

FACT: TINA SMITH IS TAKING ON BIG PHARMA AND GETTING THINGS DONE FOR MINNESOTA FAMILIES AFFECTED BY THE OPIOID CRISIS

KMSP Headline: Sen. Smith Taking On ‘Big Pharma’ [Fox9, 7/08/18]

“Smith Has Taken Aim At ‘Big Pharma’” With a Bill Which “Aims To Increase Access To More Affordable, Generic Drugs[.]”  “Smith has taken aim at ‘Big Pharma’ since being sworn in as a senator. She’s introduced two bills this year: one aims to increase access to more affordable, generic drugs, while the other would require the pharmaceutical companies to explain why drug prices are what they are.” [Fox9, 7/08/18]

WCCO Headline: Sen. Tina Smith Pushing Bill To Lower Prescription Drug Prices  [WCCO, 3/25/18]

Smith Introduced The “Affordable Medications Act” Aiming To Lower The Cost Of Prescription Drugs.  “Senator Tina Smith has introduced a bill aiming to lower the cost of prescription drugs, while making the marketplace more competitive to the benefit of the consumer.  It’s called the ‘Affordable Medications Act,’ and was introduced earlier this week.” [KBJR, 9/07/18]

Smith Wrote Part Of The Opioid Bill.  “The U.S. Senate this week passed new opioid legislation written in part by Senator Tina Smith. ‘It will support more medication assisted treatment and it gets targeted resources to states and tribes to expand treatment and recovery,’ said Sen. Smith. ‘All of these things will help stem the tide of this terrible epidemic which is killing thousands of Minnesotans and Americans every year.’” [Fox9, 9/18/18]

President Trump Signed The Opioid Bill, “A Rare Piece Of Legislation That Garnered Bipartisan Support. “President Trump signed a sweeping opioids bill into law Wednesday, a rare piece of legislation that garnered bipartisan support. The bill addresses numerous aspects of the opioid crisis, including prevention, treatment and recovery.” [10/24/18]