Sen. Al Franken introduced the energy legislation to be included in the 2013 Farm Bill, which includes several provisions expected to create jobs throughout Minnesota and the country. Click here to read more.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Rep. Tim Walz announced that the White House has approved federal assistance for southwest Minnesota communities impacted by the recent winter storm that caused extensive damage to homes, businesses and public infrastructure in the region. 

Key members of Sen. Franken's staff will be hosting "College Affordability Resource Nights" across Minnesota to help families understand their best options for paying for college. Click here for more information.

Click here to read Sen. Franken's statement on the ice and heavy snow storm in Southwest Minnesota.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) made the following statement today after union workers at American Crystal Sugar approved a new contract after a 20-month lockout.

Minnesota's Congressional Delegation came together for U.S. Sen. Al Franken's third annual hotdish competition. Rep. Walz's "Hermann the German Hotdish" took first place. Click here to see photos and get the recipes.

On January 12, Sen. Franken presented Chester Hoeft of Princeton, MN with the Knight of the Legion of Honor Medal from the nation of France for his service to help liberate France during WWII.

Click here to read Sen. Al Franken's statement in reaction to the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

Medicare open enrollment is a brief time during the year when Medicare and Medicare Advantage subscribers can switch their plans and make sure that the plan they are enrolled in is the best one available.

Sen. Franken recently joined children's education advocate Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, during a visit to the Northside Achievement Zone in Minneapolis. Click here to read about their visit and to see photos.

Click here to learn more about Sen. Franken's favorite things to do at the State Fair.

Click here to read about Sen. Franken's visit to Farmfest in Redwood County

Click here for resources for families and property owners affected by the flooding in Northeast Minnesota.

U.S. Senator Al Franken (right) listens as Charles Mooty, interim CEO of Fairview Health Services (left) and Greg Kazarian of Chicago-based Accretive Health, Inc. explain their debt collection and privacy policies.

Sen. Franken lauded the Postmaster General for abandoning his plan to close rural post offices in Minnesota.

Sen. Franken met with a group of Minnesota veterans on the National Mall to thank the group for their service to our country.

This week, Sen. Franken was proud to meet with officers from the Minneapolis police department who had driven to Washington DC to commemorate the death of Officer Richard Crittenden who was killed in the line of duty.

Sen. Franken and his staff have been traveling around Minnesota talking to students, community leaders, and parents about the cost of college.

Sen. Franken is working to make college more affordable and to make financial aid easier to understand for prospective students.

As the U.S. Senate begins work on the 2012 Farm Bill, Key members of Senator Al Franken's staff will hold a Farm Bill Outreach Tour in the metro area to update residents on the the impact of the Farm Bill and to hear their concerns.

Last week, Sen. Franken went to southwest Minnesota to the Southern Sioux Falls Water Tower that is part of the ongoing Lewis & Clark water project. Sen. Franken has been fighting for funding for the Lewis & Clark water project for years.

The Affordable Care Act gives hardworking families in Minnesota the security they deserve. The new health care law forces insurance companies to play by the rules, prohibiting them from dropping your coverage if you get sick, billing you into bankruptcy because of an annual or lifetime limit, or, soon, discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing condition.

The Second Annual Hotdish-Off. Recipes below.

It has been an especially dry year in Minnesota it is very important that farmers review and purchase crop insurance. For links to more resources click here.

Sen. Franken strongly supports a new tax credit is now available to Minnesota employers who hire veterans. The credit can be as high as $9,600 per veteran for for-profit employers or up to $6,240 for tax-exempt organizations.

Sen. Franken joined his colleagues at a press conference to support the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012.

As the Senate begins work on the 2012 Farm Bill, Key members of Sen. Franken's staff will hold a Farm Bill Outreach Tour in communities across Minnesota to update the farmers, ranchers, and agriculture officials on the status of the Farm Bill and to hear their concerns.

The Attorneys General of 49 states recently reached a $25 billion settlement deal with five of the largest banks to help homeowners and people who have lost their houses to foreclosure.

In response to the dramatic rise in local courthouse violence across the nation—including a shooting in December at the Cook County Courthouse in Grand Marais—U.S. Sen. Al Franken introduced the Local Courthouse Safety Act.

Sen. Al Franken pressed U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for federal funding to help manage the gray wolf population in Minnesota. (Photo by Diane Hammond)

On the first annual Gay Straight Alliance Day, Sen. Franken joined local GSA groups from accross the country to talk about his Student Non Discrimination Act.

Sen. Franken has been traveling around Minnesota on a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education tour, where he is visiting schools and businesses to emphasize the importance of STEM education as key to the state’s future competitiveness.

Minnesota recently received a $45 million Race to the Top Grant to increase the number of low-income and disadvantaged children enrolled in early learning programs. Minnesota was one of nine states chosen to receive the grants out of the thirty-five that applied.

Sen. Franken and Sen. Whitehouse engaged in a colloquy on the senate floor to talk about climate change and the overwhelming science behind the theory of anthropogenic global warming.

Sen. Franken and thirteen other U.S. Senators wrote to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, to express their disappointment with her recent decision not to make Plan B One-Step available over the counter, contrary to the recommendation  of the Federal Drug Administration's (FDA) recommendation.

Sen. Franken recently released a report showing the impact of the 2011 payroll tax cut. Last year, Congress passed the President's payroll tax cut bill which put about $1,100 back in the pocket of the average Minnesota family.

People have recently been receiving messages claiming to be from the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility that instructing them to acquire a new Employer Identification Number (EIN), do not be fooled.

Sen. Franken scored a big win for teachers and students in Minnesota when he successfully incorporated four key provisions into the Senate bill to reform the federal "No Child Left Behind" law.

Sen. Franken recently visited the Iron Range to meet with officals and workers from Polymet, Mesabi Nugget, and Essar Steel to talk about thier plans for the future and to understand the current state of the Industry.

Sen. Al Franken and Chuck Grassley led a bipartisan group of Senators in calling on key federal agencies for an investigation into mobile phone “stalking apps.” 

Sen. Franken brought together Minnesota energy businesses, researchers and advocates to meet with a top U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) official to discuss the state’s leadership on renewable energy and explore its potential to create jobs and affect national energy policy.

Medicare open enrollment is a brief time during the year when Medicare and Medicare Advantage subscribers can switch their plans and make sure that the plan they are enrolled in is the best one available.

Sen. Franken met with Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal, and Sarah Shourd the American hikers who were jailed in Iran for two years. Shourd was released in 2010 and Bauer and Fattal were finally released last month.

If you, or someone you know, had their military deployment involuntarily extended under the Stop Loss program between September 2001 and September 2011 then you are eligible for $500/month you were stop lossed.

After learning that OnStar was changing their privacy policy to allow them to track people in their cars and sell people's information even after that person had canceled their subscription, Sens. Franken and Coons contacted OnStar to ask them to chance their position.

Last week, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) met with Efe Agbamu and Jeff Scherber to congratulate them on receiving the Minnesota Principal of the Year award.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) released a report showing that more than one thousand Minnesota bridges - nearly one in ten across the state – are structurally deficient.

Sen. Franken's statement on the long overdue release of the two U.S. hikers, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who had been jailed in Iran on espionage charges for two years.

For the second year in a row the National Farmers Union has honored Sen. Franken with their Golden Triangle award for his work on behalf of Minnesota farmers.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has annouced that this week is Lifeline Awareness Week.

The economic security of the middle class has been under attack for decades. That’s why President Obama believes we need to do more than just recover from this economic crisis – we need to rebuild the economy the American way, based on balance, fairness, and the same set of rules for everyone from Wall Street to Main Street.

On the tenth anniversary of September 11th Sen. Franken attended the Minnesota Remembers Memorial in Eden Prairie with firemen and other public safety repsponders.

The 2011 Minnesota State Fair has come and gone. Sen. Franken was proud to participate, manning his booth and eating roast corn.

The Emergency Homeowners Loan Program (EHLP) was set up under the Wall Street Reform bill. In the WSR bill $1 billion was set aside to help people who are in danger of losing their homes because they have lost their job or had a prohibitively expensive medical emergency.

We're proud to announce a new feature here on our website: Consumer Alerts.  Every so often something comes up that affects Minnesota consumers, and we want to provide additional information and tips so the public has the tools it needs to deal with these issues.

Many Minnesota families are struggling with mortgage payments and worrying about the prospect of losing their homes. Unfortunately, scam artists are taking advantage of these fears and preying on anxious homeowners.

Recently, at an Energy Committee hearing on Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s bill to construct a new Stillwater bridge, Sen. Franken said it’s time for the legislation to move forward.

"I will vote for this package, because defaulting would have grave economic consequences for my Minnesota constituents."

Sen. Franken recently urged federal regulators to deny the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger because the deal would drive up prices for wireless customers and likely cost thousands of jobs.

Sen. Franken released the following statement on the attacks in Norway:

Earlier this week the Surface Transportation Board (STB) cut the cost of filing a formal complaint against unfair anti-competitive railroad industry practices.

Sen. Franken says he will work to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law that prevents federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to refuse to acknowledge a same-sex marriage from another state.

On Monday, Sen. Franken announced his support of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Today, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers earn more than their non-STEM counterparts, have more job security, and are growing the American economy.

This week, thanks to Sen. Franken, the Minnesota-based exhibit "Homeless is My Address, Not My Name" will be on display in the Russell Senate Office Building's Rotunda.

Recenlty, Minnesota received a the official disaster declaration from the Small Business Administration.

On Saturday, Sen. Franken visited and toured the Minneapolis Children's Hospital where he met with patients, doctors, and administrators.

This past weekend Sen. Franken joined Meals on Wheels in Minneapolis to make deliveries to homebound individuals who cannot make it out of their houses.

Sen. Franken recently joined 12 of his Senate colleagues in a video for the It Gets Better Project, an internet campaign to reach out to LGBT youth to let them know that there are people who are fighting for them and that life gets better after high school.

Sen. Franken joined the Chairman of Families USA, Ron Pollack, and Reps. Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison to talk about the new Families USA report that illustrates the devastating economic effect of the House Republicans Budget.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken, chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, introduced legislation that would require companies to receive express consent from users of mobile devices  before sharing information about those users’ location with third parties.

Sen. Franken joined a bipartisan group of senators to successfully stop an effort to abruptly end federal support for ethanol production.

In response to a request from Governor Dayton and urging by Sens. Franken and Klobuchar, and Rep. Ellison, the U.S. Government issued a disaster declaration for Hennepin and Anoka Counties.

Sen. Franken hosted Education Secretary Arne Duncan at Dayton's Bluff Elementary School in St. Paul.

The recent tornado that swept through Minneapolis has damaged thousands of homes and businesses in the city.  Below are some resources for families and property owners affected by the storm.

Recently, Sen. Franken met with the victims of the tornadoes that stuck Minneapolis last month.

This weekend, after surveying the damage done by the tornadoes, Sens. Klobuchar and Franken as well as Representative Ellison urged President  Obama to expedite the disaster designation for the storm-damaged area.

A new report shows that if Sen. Franken's Medical Loss Ratio, which was included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) last year, had been in effect in 2010 consumers would have received $2 billion in rebates from health insurance companies.

Sen. Franken's work with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on retroactive benefits has resulted in faster processing times and an improved "Fast Track" system.

Yesterday, Sen. Franken went to the floor to speak in support of Professor Godwin Liu.

While the economy has begun to recover, unemployment is still far too high in Minnesota and across the country. Unfortunately, many Minnesotans don't know what resources are available to help them find jobs and rejoin the workforce, but they exist.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created in the Wall Street Reform Act, is redesigning the Mortgage Disclosure Forms, and they need your help.

The major disaster declaration issued this week by President Obama will trigger federal resources to help 20 Minnesota counties recover from major spring flooding.

Chairman Franken's opening statement and witness testimony from the Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee

Over the recent April recess Sen. Franken visited several Minnesota Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) schools.

More than 100 high school robotics teams from Minnesota and surrounding states gathered at the University of Minnesota to compete against each other in the FIRST Robotics Competition.

Last week, Sen. Franken met with David Lawrence, the Assistant Principal of Moorhead High School.

This resolution would change the way we pay for war spending, and it would change the way we deliberate about going to war.

Yesterday, after his weekly constituent breakfast, Sen. Franken met with 120 high school students visiting Washington DC through the Close Up Program.

Families who face foreclosure but believe their mortgage services are breaking the rules could have a new place to turn for help, thanks to legislation reintroduced today by U.S. Sen. Al Franken.

Minnesota's families, retirees and seniors would suffer under the plan to privatize and make severe cuts to the Social Security administration.

Today, we mark one year since the passage of the nation's new health reform law. Minnesotans can be proud that our state's model of delivering "high-value, low-cost" care has begun to be used across the country to make Americans healthier and to slow skyrocketing costs for families.

On Saturday, February 26 and Saturday, March 26, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m CT, The IRS will provide free assistance to taxpayers who need help resolving their tax problems. The Open House will be held in Minneapolis at 250 Marquette Ave. 55401.

As of March 25th, you can find us in our new location in room 309 in the Hart Senate Office Building.

On Monday, March 14, Sen. Franken spoke on the importance of net neutrality at this year's South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. 

"We have a strong, proud tradition in Minnesota of being a national leader in responsible environmental stewardship and clean energy development."

Yesterday, Sen. Franken presented several long-overdue medals to Army Staff Sgt. Walter King, a veteran of the Second World War.

Sen. Franken joined Planned Parenthood in opposing attacks on family planning and preventive care funding. Watch Sen. Franken's remarks here.