Press Releases

BISMARCK – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and John Hoeven (R-ND) and Congressman Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) reintroduced the North Dakota Trust Lands Completion Act. The bill would authorize North Dakota to relinquish its lands and minerals on Tribal Reservations to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) in exchange for those in the state which are federally-owned. North Dakota holds more than 130,000 acres of minerals and over 31,000 surface acres within Tribal Reservations, though... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Department of Education (ED) awarded the University of North Dakota (UND) $822,678 for projects to support school-based mental health needs in indigenous and rural communities. Click here to learn more. The resources will be administered through ED’s Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Program, which awards competitive grants to test and evaluate partnerships between institutions of higher education 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. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, announced the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) awarded North Dakota $80,235,800 for Fiscal Year 2023 to upgrade water systems on tribal lands. These resources were allocated in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). “From improving pipelines to installing generators and repairing roads, updating and replacing rural... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) in sending a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) calling for expedited rollout of the Next Generation Television standard, also known as ATSC 3.0. “The Next Gen TV standard is essential to the continued vitality and competitiveness of local television broadcasters’ free, local, and trusted service in our communities,” wrote the senators. “This... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded North Dakota $7,749,573.75 to upgrade the storm sewer system in Grand Forks. The resources will support the construction of a new parallel force main and pump station to mitigate runoff and flooding, particularly in the Vail Circle, Glen Circle, and Westward Acres neighborhoods. CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife Subcommittee, introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to preserve the regulatory definition of “habitat” within the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  “The Biden administration likes to talk about investing in America, yet every... CONTINUE READING

***Click here for photos.*** NEW YORK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) delivered remarks at a Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) conference hosted by Guggenheim Securities titled Investing in Advanced Nuclear Energy: Meeting Clean Energy Needs Across the Economy. He discussed positioning American nuclear energy suppliers for global leadership, an issue at the intersection of several committees on which the Senator serves, including Banking, Armed Services, and Environment and Public... 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 $62,283,000 to North Dakota’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program for Fiscal Year 2023. “Access to clean drinking water is essential for every community,” said Senator Cramer. “The bipartisan infrastructure law provides... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded North Dakota airports $964,500 for allocation as follows: $484,800 for the Adams County Airport Authority to repair Taxiway C and build a 490-foot taxi lane connecting a hangar area with a parking area.  $239,700 for the Tioga Municipal Airport Authority to improve its airfield guidance fixtures and the Taxiway A lighting system.  $150,000 for the Bowman... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, announced the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the University of North Dakota (UND) $7,999,999 to advance construction of an inaugural critical mineral extraction and separation facility. “Along with their industry partners and the U.S. Department of Energy, the University of North Dakota is on the cutting edge of our energy future,” said Senator Cramer.... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC), joined Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-KS) in introducing the Department of Veterans Affairs EHRM Standardization and Accountability Act, legislation to prevent VA facilities from further implementing the Oracle Cerner electronic health record (EHR) system until it undergoes significant improvements. “It’s time for the VA to enter the 21st century by... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, issued the following statement on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposed Public Lands Rule: “As we have seen in North Dakota, the Biden administration has a bad habit of violating the law and blatantly asserting power it does not have. Congress did not grant additional statutory authority to the Executive Branch, yet it is proposing a totally... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) cosponsored Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act. The legislation would ensure local law enforcement units are able to coordinate with federal immigration authorities, while restricting sanctuary cities’ eligibility for federal grants. A bipartisan majority of senators voted for this bill in 2018, but Senate Democrats filibustered its passage. “Sanctuary... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) introduced the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Recoupment Act to hold accountable individuals who improperly obtained federal COVID-19 unemployment insurance (UI). The legislation would extend the statute of limitations for overpayments to allow the government additional time to prosecute fraud cases. “In response to the economic impacts of COVID-19, the federal government authorized extraordinary... 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

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) issued the following statement after it was announced former President Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury:  “An indictment is a far cry from a conviction. Considering several prosecutors at both the federal and state level have passed on this case, it seems to be a bit of a stretch, to say the least. Let justice take its course and see how this turns out.” CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senator John Thune (R-SD) in introducing the Death Tax Repeal Act, legislation to eliminate the federal estate tax, otherwise known as the “death tax.”  “The last thing anyone needs after a loved one passes is a mammoth tax bill from Washington,” said Senator Cramer. “Getting rid of the death tax would give people peace of mind, protect small... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and JD Vance (R-OH) introduced the English Language Unity Act to establish English as the official language of the United States. “Our Founding Fathers used English to create the most precious and fundamental document of all time,” said Senator Cramer. “Whether we are writing our nation’s laws, government documents, or other programs and policies, English has always been... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, announced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded North Dakota airports $2,859,925 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). These funds will be administered through the FAA Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) Program as follows: $2,030,725 for the Dickinson Municipal Airport Authority to expand its runways... CONTINUE READING