Press Releases

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), during today’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee hearing, amplified a new bill to improve outdoor recreation opportunities for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)-managed facilities. He also underscored the importance of the Snake Creek Embankment to eastern North Dakota's economy and highlighted potential water projects at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation.... CONTINUE READING

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), founder and co-chair of the Senate Space Force Caucus, discussed prioritizing Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System (PARCS) modernization and rapid acquisition timeliness at a Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing. Excerpts and full video are below. Senator Cramer expressed further support for upgrading the PARCS Radar in Cavalier, particularly... CONTINUE READING

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) at a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing questioned General Charles Brown, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, about bomber agile combat employment (BACE) capabilities in North Dakota, as well as the delivery status of MH-139A helicopters to Minot Air Force Base. Excerpts and full video are below. Senator Cramer first highlighted the only two remaining BACE... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Angus King (I-ME), members of the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC) and Armed Services (SASC), sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Denis McDonough urging him to improve connections to local resources for service members as they transition to civilian life. Specifically, they emphasized importance of a “warm hand-off,” where the VA connects retiring service members with local networks during the... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) announced growing support for the Lake Access Keeping Economies Strong (LAKES) Act, legislation they introduced to improve outdoor recreation facilities in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)-managed areas by providing opportunities for public-private investments and giving local districts more flexibility to reinvest their resources.  Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), John Boozman (R-AR),... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and John Hoeven (R-ND) and Congressman Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) sent the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) a letter calling for the cancelation or delayed implementation of its new Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Bismarck. The delegation noted the proposed map would disproportionately impact low-income residents, particularly in the southern part of the city, where the region’s primary homeless shelter and a permanent supportive... CONTINUE READING

BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded $400,000 to the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT). The resources will support the development of a new shared use path along Highway 43, part of the Turtle Mountain State Scenic Byway near Lake Metigoshe. Proposed projects include: Trail bed preparation and signage updates Construction of a separate facility to enhance safety for pedestrians and bicyclists Improvements... CONTINUE READING

***Click here for audio.*** BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Banking Committee, reiterated his stance on the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse and the Federal Reserve System’s insufficient supervision of the company during a WZFG “What’s on Your Mind” radio segment this morning. The comments are in response to a newly published report which reviewed the events. “How do more regulations... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) in sending Sandra Thompson, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), a letter in fierce opposition to a policy which would penalize Americans who responsibly manage their money.  The proposal, slated to go into effect on May 1, would hike upfront fees for individuals with credit scores above 680 to subsidize high-risk borrowers. Senator Cramer... 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. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Servicemembers’ Credit Monitoring Enhancement Act, bipartisan legislation to expand free credit monitoring for all servicemembers and their families. Current eligibility is limited to active-duty servicemembers and National Guard members.   “Our service members and their families put so much on the line to protect us and our way of life, yet their sacrifices leave... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) issued the following statement after voting against a resolution to remove the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA): “The Constitution makes clear states have to ratify constitutional amendments. By every metric, states have not done so. The Democrats’ novel unconstitutional approach bypasses states’ rights and circumvents the process our Founders put in place. This is simply another liberal wish list... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) reintroduced the Military Families Mental Health Services Act. This bipartisan legislation would improve access to mental health care services for military families by waiving out-of-pocket costs on TRICARE for their first three outpatient mental health visits per year. “Ensuring our servicemembers in North Dakota and across the U.S. have access to... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), member of the Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, announced broad support for the Lake Access Keeping Economies Strong (LAKES) Act. Click here to learn more about the bill, which they introduced today to improve outdoor recreation facilities in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)-managed areas. The USACE is one of the largest federal... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), member of the Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, introduced the Lake Access Keeping Economies Strong (LAKES) Act. This bipartisan bill would improve outdoor recreation facilities in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)-managed areas, provide new opportunities for public-private investments, and give local districts more flexibility to... CONTINUE READING

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) at a Banking Committee hearing questioned Diane Yentel, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, about potential impacts of the Choice in Affordable Housing Act, legislation he introduced with Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) to improve the Housing Choice Voucher Program, the... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate and Environment Public Works (EPW) Committee, issued the below statement on voting for a resolution he and his colleagues introduced to overturn the Biden administration’s heavy-duty vehicle emissions regulations. “We should be setting up our trucking and manufacturing sectors for success, not making them pay more or jump through new regulatory hoops. This rule will only add fuel to the... CONTINUE READING

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.*** WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) at an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing cautioned against efforts to socialize the power grid and questioned witnesses about states’ permitting authorities, as well as the impacts of high energy costs on U.S. manufacturers. Excerpts and full video are below. Senator Cramer first discussed the need for transmission reforms to accompany... CONTINUE READING

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined his Senate colleagues in urging Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to impose sanctions and take decisive actions against Huawei Cloud and other People’s Republic of China (PRC) cloud service providers for the threat they pose to U.S. national and economic security.  Huawei Cloud recently “launched its ‘Sky Computing Constellation’... 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, cosponsored the bipartisan Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. This bill authorizes $755 million in grant funding, provided by the Department of Transportation (DOT), to expand truck parking capacity for the next four years; build new truck parking facilities; and convert existing weigh stations and rest areas into parking spaces... CONTINUE READING