By Senators Tina Smith (D-MN and )Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

The coronavirus pandemic is causing a crisis for the nation’s child care providers and working families. Following the advice of public health experts and government officials, businesses have shuttered and families across the country are staying home to stay safe and to mitigate the spread of the virus. But this has pushed child care providers to the absolute brink: forced to either close their doors to stop the spread of the virus, or stay open around the clock to provide emergency care for children of essential workers.

Meanwhile, as unemployment claims have skyrocketed to historic levels and incomes have dropped, many families with children at home can no longer pay the tuition fees necessary to keep child care providers in business. …

I rise today to express my strong concern about Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. In particular, I want to discuss his troubling record on the environment and what that means for people’s health.

Judge Kavanaugh has demonstrated that he simply doesn’t believe that existing law allows new environmental threats to be addressed via any sort of regulation.

I am talking about an existing law that was designed to protect human health and our environment.

When you take a look at Judge Kavanaugh’s record, one thing becomes abundantly clear: Judge Kavanaugh has tried to weaken Clean Air Act protections, even though the Act controls things like smog, and carbon monoxide. …

I rise today to talk about my strong opposition to Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Today I want to specifically focus on what his confirmation could mean for the future of voting rights in this country.

The right to vote is our most sacred right and responsibility as citizens of this great nation. Martin Luther King Jr. called voting, “the foundation stone for political action.”

That’s because when the right to vote is restricted, it undermines the very foundation of our democracy. …

Senator Tina Smith’s First Floor Speech

M. President:

I am so proud to be here. This is my first time speaking here on the Senate floor. And because I represent the great state of Minnesota, I thought I’d do the polite thing and start by properly introducing myself.

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I came to Minnesota right after business school, just married, with my husband, Archie; our beat-up orange car; and a ton of student loans.

You know, most people who’ve never been to Minnesota know us for our weather, but we have a thriving business community with a number of Fortune 500 companies. …

May 11, 2018

Thank you, Dr. Irving, for the honor of inviting me to be part of this ceremony, and for your leadership here at Hennepin Tech.

To the faculty and staff of this wonderful place, to the family and friends who have joined us here today, and, most of all, to the Class of 2018: Congratulations. No matter what path you took to get here, and no matter where your journey takes you from here, today is a day to celebrate.

But it’s also a day to be a little anxious. After years of hard work to get to this point in your lives, today you have very little to do other than clap and cheer, take lots of pictures with your diploma — and start to worry about what comes next. …