Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), joined his colleagues in introducing the Pay Our Military Act of 2023, which would appropriate funds to pay U.S. military servicemembers in the event of a government shutdown in Fiscal Year 2024. Additionally, the legislation would fund the civilian personnel at the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.  “Servicemembers answered the call and faithfully protect our country... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded a total of $1,033,356 to North Dakota State University (NDSU) for the following programs and initiatives:  $684,338 for the North Dakota Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, which coordinates IPM education for agronomic crops, promotes pollinator health, and provides IPM education through the NDSU Extension Pesticide Applicator Training and Certification Program. $349,018 for a program... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, announced the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $430,000 to the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and Tri-County Water District to implement a program to provide drinking water assistance to underserved, small, and disadvantaged communities. These funds will be distributed through the Assistance for Small and... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) issued the following statement after the passing of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). She was the longest-serving female senator in history.  “Kris and I offer our sincerest condolences to Senator Feinstein’s family, friends, and staff. She was a lifelong public servant and an intelligent and influential legislator. Dianne was a truly genuine person and a giant of the Senate.” CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced BNSF Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) publicly filed weekly grain backlog status updates as required by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB). A summary of the reporting data specific to North Dakota from the last 10 weeks is below. Following STB’s April 2022 hearing on “Urgent Issues in Freight Rail Service,” BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Union Pacific submitted service recovery plans, which... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, announced the Department of Labor (DOL) awarded $1,996,246 to Bismarck State College to provide workforce development training programs to address our nation’s labor shortage. These funds will be disbursed through DOL’s Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program, which prepares job seekers for high-demand, high-quality career... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded a total of $37,635,223 from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance development of a large-scale commercial geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) storage hub through site characterization and permitting of a geologic storage complex in central North Dakota. The storage hub will store up to 200 million metric tons (Mt) of CO2 and fulfill the goals of the DOE’s CarbonSAFE (Carbon Storage Assurance... CONTINUE READING

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Banking Committee, joined Brian Sullivan on CNBC’s Last Call to discuss why he voted in favor of the SAFER Banking Act, which passed the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday by a vote of 14 to 9. This bipartisan legislation will secure protections for legal industries such as energy companies, gun manufacturers, and state-sanctioned marijuana companies so they have... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded a total of $200,000 to the University of North Dakota (UND) to support the implementation of the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) patient safety bundles and expand the reach, depth, and quality of AIM implementation. UND is one of 28 recipients to receive funding for the AIM program, which is designed to promote safe care for every birth in the United States and... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Banking Committee, joined Ryan Nobles on NBC’s Meet the Press NOW to discuss the SAFER Banking Act, a product of bipartisan negotiation which will secure protections for legal industries such as energy companies, gun manufacturers, and state-sanctioned marijuana companies so they have access to banking services. The legislation, which passed the Senate Banking Committee today with a vote of 14 to 9, is strongly supported by the... CONTINUE READING

***Click here for media resources. *** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined his colleagues on the Senate Banking Committee in passing the Safe and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act with a vote of 14 to 9. This bipartisan legislation provides legal protection to banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions that offer services to state-legal marijuana businesses, making those businesses and our communities safer. The bill also includes protections... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the National Telecommunications and Information Administration  (NTIA) awarded a total of $500,000 through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) to the Three Affiliated Tribes.  This grant will go towards a planning, engineering, feasibility, and sustainability studies project to complete the design of a future wireless network with two Radio Access Network sites. Additionally, this project will complete an Infrastructure Survey,... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Chris Coons (D-DE), penned an op-ed in the Washington Times on how their bill, the Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency (PROVE IT) Act, proves America’s environmental performance is cleaner than our foreign competitors. Passing the legislation will provide the data needed to protect and reward American workers for their contributions to our economic, environmental, and national security strengths. “Over... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, joined U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) in introducing the Water Infrastructure Subcontractor and Taxpayer Protection Act. This bipartisan legislation would require all primary contractors working on water infrastructure projects financed by federally guaranteed loans to hold a surety bond, guaranteeing the compensation of local sponsors and... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined his colleagues in introducing the Advancing Research for Chronic Pain Act, which directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to utilize available research to clarify the prevalence and characteristics of chronic pain, identify gaps in available research data, and develop standardized definitions for research. Additionally, the legislation will create a centralized Chronic Pain Information Hub to aggregate and summarize data,... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK—U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven and Congressman Kelly Armstrong announced a nearly $12 million federal grant to develop and construct safe and efficient freight rail service to help with expected growth from the new soybean crushing facility in Casselton. The federal funding will enable Red River Valley and Western Railroad Company (RRVW) to develop, design, and construct track improvements to help accommodate the expected growth in carloads of agriculture products in the... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the National Park Service (NPS), through the North Dakota Department of Parks and Recreation, awarded a total of $2,000,000 to the Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). These funds will support campground construction, including grading for the site, park road, visitor parking, water and electrical service, dump station, comfort station, vault toilet, campground pads, cabins, maintenance... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, joined his colleagues in introducing the Protecting Access to Recreation with Cash (PARC) Act, which would require all national parks to accept cash as a form of payment for entrance fees. “I may be biased, but one of the nation’s best opportunities to get outside and enjoy natural beauty is Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. Our national parks belong to the American... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC), joined his colleagues in introducing the TAP Promotion Act, which would provide accredited members of Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs), including other organizations, to participate in the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) classes to help servicemembers file Benefits Delivery at Discharge claims.  Legally, TAP classroom instructors are not... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced BNSF Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) publicly filed weekly grain backlog status updates as required by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB). A summary of the reporting data specific to North Dakota from the last 10 weeks is below. Following STB’s April 2022 hearing on “Urgent Issues in Freight Rail Service,” BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Union Pacific submitted service recovery plans, which... CONTINUE READING