Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Banking Committee, issued the below statement on the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and subsequent reactions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (DOT), the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): “The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have led to needless stress in the banking system. This situation demands... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, joined Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in reintroducing the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2023. The legislation would permit the year-round, nationwide sale of ethanol blends higher than 10%, ending years of regulatory uncertainty and preventing a patchwork of uneven state regulations. “North Dakota consumers and producers deserve... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reintroduced the Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act, which would expand Medicare coverage of chiropractic services to ensure patients enrolled in the program can access chiropractic care as a non-drug alternative for pain management. “Current Medicare restrictions prevent chiropractors from offering a full scope of treatments or ordering diagnostic services for... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, announced the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Cemetery Administration (NCA) awarded the state $1,860,775 to expand the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Mandan. These resources will be administered through the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program (VGCP) to support landscaping projects, infrastructure improvements, and the construction of 1,440 columbarium... CONTINUE READING

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Chuck Todd on Meet the Press to discuss the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, budget and debt limit negotiations, and the release of Capitol surveillance from January 6, 2021. Excerpts and full video are below.  On Silicon Valley Bank, Financial Regulations: “There are so many unique things about Silicon Valley [Bank] that aren't necessarily applicable... 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), ahead of a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing, met with Air Force General Anthony Cotton, U.S. Strategic Command, regarding the nuclear triad, radar modernization, and opportunities at Grand Forks and Minot Air Force Bases. At SASC, Senator Cramer discussed maintaining B-52-capable runways and bolstering deterrence programs to protect our nation against near-peer... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) issued the following statement on President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget request: “President Biden finally announced his unserious budget request. Instead of exercising fiscal discipline and reducing the inflationary pressures families are feeling, he is focused on penalizing energy producers while insisting on more taxes to recklessly fund his failed Build Back Broke agenda. This is a purely political proposal when we... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) issued the below statement on voting to strike Washington, D.C. legislation which changed definitions for criminal offenses and lowered certain penalties. The U.S. Constitution places D.C. within federal jurisdiction and gives Congress ultimate authority over its laws. “Our nation’s capital should be safe for residents and visitors. At a time when violent crime and carjackings are alarmingly high, the D.C. Council overhauled... 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 Federal Reserve’s Semiannual Report to Congress, discussed the consequences of conducting climate stress tests and discouraged Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from wading into fiscal policy matters. Excerpts and full video are below. Senator Cramer first responded to Chairman Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) opening statement, which... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), John Barrasso (R-WY), and Joe Manchin (D-WV) reintroduced the Biking on Long-Distance Trails (BOLT) Act to bolster opportunities for biking on federal lands, particularly as the outdoor recreation economy grows. “As a former Tourism Director for the State of North Dakota, I know the important role outdoor recreation plays in providing enriching experiences, generating economic opportunity, and seeing more of... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ranking Member of Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, announced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded a total of $1,450,000 to Ashley and Rugby Municipal Airports. The resources will be administered through the FAA’s Airport Terminal Program (ATP), a grant established in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), for allocation as follows. Ashley... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Jim Risch (R-ID) introduced a resolution to ensure the President does not cede U.S. sovereignty to entities like the World Health Organization (WHO) by ratifying global pandemic agreements without Senate approval. “Any binding agreement with the World Health Organization should require Senate ratification as a treaty,” said Senator Cramer. “The World Health Organization has proven itself incapable of holding the Chinese... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of Senate Banking Committee, joined Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC) in urging Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell to ensure the central bank reviews capital in a risk-based manner specific to institutions’ activity, size, and complexity. Their concerns are in reaction to comments by Michael Barr, Vice Chair for Supervision, who suggested the Fed would take a “holistic” review of capital... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services and Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committees, announced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) work plan allocated $22,838,000 to support North Dakota water resource initiatives, environmental projects, and operations and maintenance (O&M).  Senator Cramer helped craft the Water Resources Development Act of 2022, which was signed into law on... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Banking Committee, penned an op-ed in the National Review on his Fair Access to Banking Act. In an effort to advance their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, too many financial institutions are categorically excluding constitutionally-protected industries from accessing services. Senator Cramer’s legislation does not require anything of banks, but rather prohibits them from discriminating against... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced $3,347,586 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funding to be awarded to North Dakota for childhood programs.   The HHS Administration for Children and Families awarded $3,156,936 for Head Start programs, which provide services for low-income families with young children and encourage communities to support the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development of infants and toddlers. The funding was dispersed... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK — U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and his Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Republican colleagues sent a letter to U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Lloyd Austin urging him to rescind a new agency policy facilitating abortions. Specifically, DOD will cover travel expenses, including transportation, lodging, and meal costs, for military personnel seeking abortions within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. “The policies the Department of Defense announced on... 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), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, joined Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) in urging President Biden to permit the year-round sale of E15 fuel, which would provide consumers and petroleum marketers greater regulatory consistency. The senators emphasized American biofuels are a clean, reliable energy solution and can help lower costs for consumers. “Uniformity across the nation's... CONTINUE READING