Press Releases

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, issued the following statement after the Senate failed to override President Biden’s veto of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) which would overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) heavy-duty vehicle emissions regulations. “Despite being given multiple chances to prove otherwise, the Biden administration and Democrats have made it clear they simply... CONTINUE READING

***Click here for photos.*** WASHINGTON –U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Angus King (I-ME), northern border senators and members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), announced they will be leading the American Canadian Economy and Security (ACES) Caucus, a bipartisan, bicameral caucus dedicated to strengthening the economic and national security relationship between the United States and Canada. “As anyone in North Dakota knows, our relationship with our neighbors to... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), joined his Senate colleagues in writing a letter to President Biden calling out a constant lack of transparency related to the takedown of a Chinese spy balloon in February. In it, they expressed their growing frustration with the administration for failing to confront China’s ongoing threat. “In your State of the Union address this year, you promised the American people... 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... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded $299,581 to North Dakota State University to facilitate breeding research and develop new genetic and genomic resources for a variety of wheat species. These funds are distributed through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), the nation’s leading competitive grants program for agricultural... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON –U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), members of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced the Payment Choice Act to prohibit retail businesses from refusing to accept cash as a form of payment and prevent them from charging a higher price for using cash instead of other forms of payment. The bill will ensure customers have the freedom to choose how they pay for goods and services. “Cold hard cash is still legal tender in the United States, despite... CONTINUE READING

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) at a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, questioned Federal Highway Administrator (FHWA) Shailen Bhatt on the agency’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Performance Measure Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which imposes GHG performance measures on state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations without any new authority from Congress. Click... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reintroduced the Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) Protection Act of 2023. This legislation aims to combat the rapid increase in the number of “smash-and-grab” thefts targeted at federally licensed gun dealers by enhancing penalties for violations, particularly in cases of burglaries or robberies of firearms from FFLs. “Recent increases of smash-and-grab robberies and burglaries at federally... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) joined 12 of their colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) in sending a letter to Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro demanding he uphold his commitment to provide an updated 30-year shipbuilding plan to the committee and abide by the Navy’s statutory requirement to maintain a minimum of 31 amphibious warfare ships.  “At this time, you have not yet contacted the Committee to... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $8,334,907 to the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS). The funds will be used for the Money Follows the Person Demonstration Program, which supports community inclusion of individuals with disabilities. CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) led 34 of their Senate colleagues on a bipartisan letter requesting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to modify the proposed payment update in the final inpatient prospective payment system rule through the use of special exceptions and adjustments authority.   “We write today to express our concern regarding the proposed payment updates included in the... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Department of the Treasury has approved North Dakota’s application for more than $68 million in funding for Career and Technical Education (CTE) Centers. This funding will address the state’s workforce challenges and provide more opportunities for students to receive cost-effective education and training in high-demand careers. “Our economy is only as strong as our workforce,” said Senator... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to provide a “clear and swift change in administrative direction” on Waters of the United States (WOTUS) to prevent further delay of determining jurisdiction. In addition, the letter asks the agencies to provide more information regarding the associated cost savings and... 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... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK– U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Chris Coons (D-DE), penned an op-ed in The Hill on how their bill, the Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency (PROVE IT) Act is the first step in reducing reliance on other countries’ inflaming geopolitical tensions and the need to reward American manufacturers who uphold cleaner production standards. “For too long, the United States and its allies have relied on bad... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced members of his staff will hold mobile office hours in Jamestown and Valley City on Thursday, June 22. “Since it’s not always possible for people to travel to my in-state offices, these mobile office opportunities help bring the services we offer closer to the constituents who need them,” said Senator Cramer. “Having members of my staff in Jamestown and Valley City will give North Dakotans... CONTINUE READING

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) at a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC) hearing questioned representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the availability of long-term care services for veterans. He also dismissed a one-size-fits-all approach to improving staffing shortages. Click Here to Watch Senator... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven and Congressman Kelly Armstrong called on President Biden to approve a major disaster declaration request submitted by Governor Doug Burgum for spring flooding which occurred April 10-May 6, 2023. The request would provide federal resources to support recovery in Barnes, Burke, Dickey, Dunn, Golden Valley, Grand Forks, Hettinger, LaMoure, McHenry, Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Nelson, Pembina, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Steele, Towner,... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and James Risch (R-ID) joined their Senate colleagues in requesting the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Executive Assistant Commissioner Pete Flores to expand hours of operation at ports of entry in North Dakota and other northern states to, at a minimum, match the operating hours with their adjacent Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) ports. The senators also asked CBP to provide a response within 30 days from receiving the... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency (PROVE IT) Act. This bipartisan legislation would direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct a comprehensive study comparing the emissions intensity of certain goods produced in the United States to the emissions of those same goods produced in the other countries. Comprehensive data on product emissions intensity is an... CONTINUE READING