***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.***
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the Senate Budget Committee and the Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, spoke to Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business this morning about the April jobs report, the President’s upcoming budget proposal, and ongoing infrastructure negotiations. Excerpts and a link to watch the full interview are below.
On the April Unemployment Rate:
“We could see this coming. We predicted this would happen. It’s a perverse incentive when you pay people to not work. That becomes an incentive to not work. I've heard from multiple employers in North Dakota last week during the state work week –as well as financial institutions – that the workforce is the biggest issue right now. They are getting hundreds of applicants for jobs, most whom don't show up for the interviews because they just are checking the box to get unemployment benefits. That is just not appropriate in this economy.”
On North Dakota Ending Enhanced Unemployment Benefits:
“Unemployment benefits are largely run by the states, traditionally that’s the way it’s designed to be. I am very pleased that Governor Doug Burgum from North Dakota, and Greg Gianforte next door in Montana, and others are pushing back now saying ‘no, we need to get our economy going, we need people to work, that is the way that our system is built.’ Plus it’s just healthier. It’s healthier for everybody's mental psyche, for our bodies, for the economy. It sends the right signals into the marketplace.”
On Energy Security:
“The private sector is prepared to make investments, particularly in the energy infrastructure that makes America more energy secure, that make the world more energy secure, and – quite honestly – help starve places like Russia. We have just in the last couple months increased our oil imports from Russia into the United States as a result of Biden policies. What we ought to be doing is shoring up the cyber security of this infrastructure as well as releasing some of these regulations that make it difficult for investors to invest in our own infrastructure. By doing all of that, you are going to see capital flow. You are going to see the United States become the investment choice again, and you are going to see our allies rely on the United States for energy resources.”
On Infrastructure:
“It all depends on which Joe Biden shows up. If the former Senator and former Vice President deal maker who wants to reach across the aisle and gain consensus shows up, I think there is hope. … There is a history of bipartisanship with infrastructure. I am willing to look beyond the ‘norms’, if you will, of financing a lot of this. But remember, there is a lot of unspent American Rescue Plan dollars and CARES Act dollars that if we could repurpose, I think we could go bigger than what the Highway Trust Fund and some of the more traditional trillion sources of revenue provide. I would like to have that discussion.”
