Press Releases

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, joined his colleagues in reintroducing the Real Emergencies Act. This legislation would clarify the president does not have the authority to declare a national emergency on the premise of climate change. “The Biden administration has frequently used executive overreach to bypass congressional authority and advance their agenda of climate hysteria,” said... 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 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded $9,850,000 to the North Dakota Department of Transportation for the North Dakota Tribal Trail Connections Project. These funds will be distributed through Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant... CONTINUE READING

***Click here for photos.*** GRAND FORKS– U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), attended a Change of Command ceremony at Grand Forks Air Force Base as Colonel Timothy Curry formally relinquished command of the 319th Reconaissance Wing to Colonel Timothy Monroe. “A Change of Command ceremony is one of the richest traditions in the military, and I am always inspired when I attend them. Whether leading a squadron, a battalion, a wing,... 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 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded $18,572,895 to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. This funding was made available through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program and will be used to support the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Route 6... CONTINUE READING

***Click here for audio.*** BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) issued the following statement today after he and his Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) colleagues voted to advance the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) out of committee.  “The National Defense Authorization Act is a critical part of Congress’ first Constitutional duty to protect and defend the nation. This year’s bill provides critical funding for the... 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

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), during a Banking Committee hearing on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress, questioned Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on increasing capital and reevaluating existing liquidity requirements should another bank failure occur. Click Here to Watch “I can't fathom why the Fed would want to raise capital requirements when we... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the National Telecommunications and Information Administration awarded Dakota Carrier Network (DCN) $19,710,574 through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program. This funding will add middle mile fiber routes to facilitate additional redundancy, resiliency, and network survivability. It will also upgrade electronics to support the increased network demand. “Enhancing... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) issued the following statement after voting for a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to block the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from reclassifying pistols with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles. Under the Biden administration’s new rule, law-abiding gun owners could face up to 10 years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines for failing to register pistols with stabilizing braces with the... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON –U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, penned an op-ed in the Washington Times outlining a comprehensive America First production and manufacturing policy to counter Chinese economic aggression. “Enhancing our economic security is necessary to deter any aggression from Beijing, and achieving this goal will require a comprehensive America First strategy. First, we must do no harm to ourselves. American... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the Exposing China’s Belt and Road Investment in America Act to put Chinese greenfield initiatives within the purview of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). China routinely makes “greenfield” investments while buying land, building factories, and taking advantage of state and local tax breaks in America to expand China’s influence. “Every... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC), joined his Senate colleagues in introducing the Service Dogs Assisting Veterans (SAVES) Act. This bipartisan legislation would establish a program to award grants to nonprofit organizations and assist them in providing service dogs to eligible veterans. “From mobility to mental health, I’ve seen firsthand the meaningful change service dogs can have for veterans,” said... CONTINUE READING

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