Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), issued the following statement after two amendments he cosponsored were included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024. Both passed the Senate with broad, bipartisan support. “China has become the United States’ greatest geopolitical competitor. Whether it is their purchase of our farmland or America’s critical supply chains being... CONTINUE READING

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) delivered remarks on the Senate floor in remembrance of Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin, who was killed in the line of duty on July 14, 2023. “While we are slowly learning the details of this senseless and tragic day, we know Officer Wallin is a hero who died serving his community. Heroes like Jake bravely... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded a total of $4,297,639 to the following programs and initiatives: $734,528 to the University of North Dakota (UND)for the North Dakota Rural and Tribal Suicide Care Project. $3,563,111 to Mayville State University for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. CONTINUE READING

***Click here for media resources.*** DURBIN – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, joined Polar Communications and several other broadband partners to highlight $122 million of fiber broadband projects granted throughout eastern North Dakota. Red River Communications, MLGC, BEK Communications Cooperative, Halstad Telephone, Broadband Association of North Dakota, Governor... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), joined Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in introducing the Keeping Military Families Together Act of 2023. The bipartisan legislation would grant the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) permanent authority to bury spouses and dependent children of members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty at... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) met with Commissioner Brendan Carr from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to discuss extending the life of North Dakota’s 701 area code, reforming the Universal Service Fund, and restoring spectrum authority. “North Dakota is one of only a dozen states with a single area code, and 701 is part of our identity as North Dakotans. Only a small number of the 300 service areas use all of their assigned numbers yet an outdated... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK—U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and John Hoeven (R-ND) and Congressman Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) called on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to withdraw the agency’s proposed rule imposing burdensome and duplicative methane emission regulations on energy producers. The delegation pushed back on the rule’s one-size-fits-all approach and outlined how it would force energy producers to shut down operations due to unworkable mandates, harming... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined his Senate colleagues in introducing the Driving for Opportunity Act, bipartisan legislation which will provide incentives to states choosing to end debt-based driver’s license suspensions. Millions of Americans have had their driver’s licenses suspended simply because they did not have the money to pay fines or fees, and not for public safety reasons. These debt-based driver’s license suspensions make it harder for... 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 Labor (DOL) awarded the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) a total of $4,031,338 in State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula (SAEF) grants. The state received $311,338 in base formula funding and was additionally selected for a $3,720,000 million competitive funding grant. These funds will support NDDPI’s Para to Teacher Program, which provides an accessible pathway for special education... 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 onshore oil leasing rule which will hike up the bonding requirements and fees for oil and gas companies, raise royalty rates, and tighten permitting regulations on federal lands.  “The Biden administration’s backwards, twisted policy only makes sense to their radical... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined his Senate colleagues introducing the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Flexibility Act. This bipartisan legislation will allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to approve expedited emergency haying of CRP acres in response to drought and other weather-related disaster events.  “In years of significant drought, not only must North Dakota producers contend with poor drought conditions, they are also forced... CONTINUE READING

***Click here to download video. Click here to download audio*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) invited and introduced Metro Flood Diversion Authority Executive Director Joel Paulsen at an Environment and Public Works (EPW) hearing. In his role, Mr. Paulsen oversees the delivery, operations, and maintenance of the non-federal portions of the Fargo-Moorhead Area Flood Diversion Project, the Army Corps of Engineer’s (Corps) first public-private partnership (P3) project... CONTINUE READING

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Greta Van Susteren on Newsmax to discuss the Biden administration’s decision to stop funding China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Biden administration will impose a 10-year ban on funding for the Chinese research laboratory over failures to provide appropriate documentation regarding research protocols.  On Biden... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding the unclassified FBI-generated 1023 document on the alleged bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and a foreign national. The DOJ and FBI have refused to produce a fully unredacted version of the FD-1023 to the Senate or House of... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Congressman Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee with jurisdiction over the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan requesting the withdrawal or significant revision of the proposed regulation rule known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). The letter follows the release of... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK—U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded North Dakota State Univeristy (NDSU) $586,462 to support the Advanced Nursing Education-Nurse Practitioner Residency Fellowship Program. These funds will help prepare Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to effectively provide primary care by supporting the establishment, expansion, and enhancement of existing community-based Nurse Practitioner (NP) residency... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK– U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $298,345 to North Dakota State University (NDSU) to support its biomaterials program. Specifically, these funds will go toward the design and mechanistic studies of microenvironment-sensitive polymeric nanoparticles for simultaneous contents release and ultrasound imaging. CONTINUE READING

FARGO—U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) released the following statement after the Fargo Police Department confirmed one of its officers has died as a result of a shooting in Fargo. Two other officers remain in critical condition. “Kris and I send our deepest condolences to the Fargo Police Department, its family members, and the entire Fargo community. Our law enforcement bravely run toward the danger and make unbelievable sacrifices so we can live in a safer world. It’s... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK—U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $1,156,685 combined to support the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance Program. The funds will be distributed as follows: $406,685 to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) Nation for mental health and substance abuse prevention. $750,000 to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe for tribal opioid treatment and prevention programs. CONTINUE READING