Press Releases

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

***Click here for media resources.*** GRAND FORKS – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, joined Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg in announcing a $30,000,000 grant to the City of Grand Forks to build an underpass at the intersection of 42nd Street and Demers Avenue. The funds will be distributed under the Fiscal Year 2022 Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE)... CONTINUE READING

***Click here for photos.*** MINOT – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), attended a Change of Command ceremony at Minot Air Force Base, where Major Chase Shields formally relinquished command of the 891st Missile Security Forces Squadron to Major Moses Lee. “Thank you to Major Chase Shields for his dedicated service to our state and nation, and to his wife, Lauren, for her commitment to enriching the lives of... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, joined Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and 45 of his colleagues on a bipartisan letter urging the Department of Energy (DOE) to refrain from finalizing a proposed rule which would require all distribution transformers to shift from the current industry standard to amorphous steel cores. This would significantly add to the cost of distribution transformers and increase grid instability by... 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 for audio.*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Banking Committee, issued the following statement after voting for the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act, a bill to suspend the debt limit until January 1, 2025, while cutting discretionary spending and enacting substantive permitting reforms: “As our country’s national debt approaches nearly $32 trillion, North Dakotans want a change from the... CONTINUE READING

WASHIGNTON—U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) released the following statement after voting for a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn President Biden’s unconstitutional loan forgiveness plan. He cosponsored the resolution, and it passed with bipartisan support. “The Biden administration’s carte blanche loan forgiveness scheme is fundamentally unfair, inflationary, and a gross misinterpretation of its legal authority. This attempt at wiping out... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $1,714,080 to North Dakota’s Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) to strengthen public health infrastructure, workforce, and data systems. These funds were administered through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services. CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded over $6 million combined to Bismarck Public Schools and Minot Public Schools. The resources will be administered through the Head Start and Early Head Start Programs which promote school readiness and early childhood learning, health, and development initiatives for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The funds are distributed as follows: $1,965,732 for Bismarck... CONTINUE READING