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Senator Cramer's Weekly Update November 11 - November 17

2019 Military Academy Nominees

On Veterans Day, I announced my nominees to be appointed to the U.S. military academies. They are Peter Wang of Devils Lake for the U.S. Military Academy, Jameson Brodeur of Minot for the U.S. Naval Academy, and Ashley Arbegast of Minot for the U.S. Air Force Academy.

As we spent the day honoring those who answered the call to serve, we also looked to the next generation of leaders. North Dakota’s military communities and military families are the backbone of our culture. Their excellence instills a fervor to step up and fight for our country. I’m pleased to nominate Peter, Jameson, and Ashley. I thank them for their courage and leadership.

On the left: Peter Wang is a senior at Devils Lake High School. Wang participates in football, shooting sports, track and field, orchestra, and 4-H Club. His father was a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard. Center photo: Jameson Brodeur, originally from Minot, is a senior at Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, California. He serves as the President of the Future Business Leaders of America. Brodeur participates in football, wrestling, Student Government, National Honors Society, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. His father is the Commander at Vandenberg Air Force Base, and Senator Cramer nominated his sister, Jesse Brodeur, to the U.S. Naval Academy in 2014. On the right: Ashley Arbegast is a senior at Bishop Ryan High School. She serves as Student Council president and president of the National Honors Society. Arbegast participates in cheerleading, track and field, cross country, and Civil Air Patrol while pursuing a pilot’s license. Her father is the chief master sergeant at Minot Air Force Base.

Senate Passes Legislation to Rename Sullys Hill

The Senate unanimously passed the “White Horse Hill National Game Preserve Designation Act," my first bill to pass the Senate. This legislation, which I introduced with Senator John Hoeven and Congressman Kelly Armstrong, renames the National Game Preserve within the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation known as “Sullys Hill” to “White Horse Hill,” its traditional Dakota name.

Sullys Hill was named in 1904 after General Sully, a Civil War and the Indian Wars military officer who gained notoriety for committing several massacres against Native Americans, including one of the greatest massacres in North Dakota’s history. Many descendants of his victims live on the land surrounding the hill. With all the issues the federal government faces, this may seem small, but it is no small issue to the people of Spirit Lake. This mistake has taken over 100 years to correct. I am sorry for that, but I am grateful my colleagues are joining us now to correct it.

The North Dakota congressional delegation – with the support of Governor Doug Burgum and Tourism Director Sara Otte Coleman – introduced this legislation in July after the tribe requested the hill return to its historic Dakota name. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which I sit on, advanced this legislation at the end of September.

USDA Issues Second Round of MFP Payments

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued its second round of Market Facilitation Program payments on Friday. I am grateful President Trump and Secretary Perdue are providing these necessary payments and working to protect American agriculture from unjustified trade disruptions. We know the Trump Administration is looking out for our farmers and ranchers. I will continue monitoring this program to ensure this second round of payments is adequate for North Dakota’s agricultural community.

Celebrating Our Veterans

On Friday, Wells Fargo and Military Warriors Support Foundation (MWSF) presented veteran Joe Sielski with the keys to a mortgage-free home. While we can never fully repay our veterans like Joe for what they have given us, we should always try. I was honored to participate in an event honoring Joe and his family. I join the Lincoln community in welcoming them into our North Dakota family.

Wells Fargo donates homes to MWSF for use in its Homes4WoundedHeroes program, which awards mortgage-free homes and three years of family and financial mentoring to assist combat-wounded veterans and Gold Star spouses in their transition from the military to civilian life. Since 2010, MWSF has awarded nearly 1,000 mortgage-free homes and has assisted combat-wounded veterans, Gold Star spouses and their families in paying off nearly $21 million in debt through mentorship.

The home recipient was U.S. Army veteran Joe Sielski, his wife Sheila, and their six children Ivy, Lucas, Mia, Jude, Cambree, and Jaxen. Joe entered the military as an Infantry Soldier in 1981 before re-entering service in 2001, saying, “I felt I needed to follow in my family history of military service as my grandfather, father and three uncles had served.” A decorated veteran of the Iraq war, Joe is now seeking a job with the Postal Service and hopes to spend the rest of his life getting closer to his family.

Last Monday, I delivered remarks at the United Patriotic Bodies’ Veterans Day ceremony. The United Patriotic Bodies of the Fargo-Moorhead Area coordinates veterans activities in the area and creates a strong advocating body by speaking for veterans from multiple organizations. It includes a designated official from each of the various veteran’s organizations: the American Legion, American Veterans, Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I am deeply grateful to our veterans for their sacrifice and bravery.

I was honored to speak at the United Patriotic Bodies’ Veterans Day ceremony, and it was good to catch up with legendary Seal Team Six member Rob O’Neill at the Pioneer Equipment Dealers Association inaugural convention.

Stressing North Dakota Priorities with the Air National Guard Director

Air National Guard Director Lieutenant General L. Scott Rice came to my office last week, and we discussed North Dakota's Air Guard priorities. North Dakotans know the Happy Hooligans are the finest Air National Guard unit in the nation. I appreciated General Rice’s time to discuss their work and other priorities important to North Dakota’s Air Guard, and I enjoyed hearing about his visit to Fargo command headquarters in March. I hope to host him on his next trip to North Dakota.

During our discussion, we spoke about the Reaper Operations Center, a potential expansion of the 119th mission, and the Air National Guard tuition assistance pilot program. North Dakota is one of 14 states to participate in the tuition assistance program, which helps the Guard competitively recruit new members. I added legislation to the Senate Armed Services Committee-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this year encouraging the Air National Guard to provide tuition assistance along with ensuring NDAA fully funds the MQ-9 Reapers flown in Fargo and Grand Forks.

Stakeholder Input Requested for the Eastern North Dakota Alternate Water Supply Project

The Bureau of Reclamation published a notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Eastern North Dakota Alternate Water Supply Project. This kicks off a year-long scoping and public comment process, concluding with a final record of decision. This project allows additional water to be released from Garrison Diversion facilities to give the Red River Valley and Central North Dakota Water Supply projects an alternate water source.

This project is vital for North Dakota. I encourage our stakeholders and interested citizens to get involved and offer their input as I work with the Department of Interior and Bureau of Reclamation to ensure this long overdue promise is completed on time.

CBP Reduces Hours of Operation at Two North Dakota Ports

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced it will reduce the hours of operation at two North Dakota ports instead of three. This is a positive step taken by CBP for the Maida port of entry, and I applaud them for responding to the concerns of residents in the area. However, the decision to reduce hours at the Antler and Carbury ports will affect those North Dakota communities, and I urge CBP to work with them to help mitigate the impact. I will continue monitoring this situation to make sure CBP policy meets the needs of the people of North Dakota. I urged the CBP to prioritize the needs of North Dakotans in a recent letter.

Pioneer Equipment Dealers Association's Inaugural Convention

I spoke at the inaugural Pioneer Equipment Dealers Association Convention in Fargo on Monday. This organization represents all 340 farm equipment dealers in North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota. It was formed in April of this year as a merger between the North Dakota Implement Dealers Association and the Minnesota-South Dakota Equipment Dealers Association.

There is no comparison to a constituent meeting with an elected official. As I saw with writing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the advice and insight I received from the members of this group were necessary and invaluable. I encourage everyone in this group and constituents across the state to continue reaching out with ideas and solutions about how we can make public policy work better for you.

Examining America's Insulin Affordability Crisis

I introduced bipartisan legislation with Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, and Mississippi Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker to create a national study to more fully understand the scope of the insulin affordability crisis in America. 50,000 North Dakotans need insulin to live, yet we struggle to understand why it is becoming so expensive and what we can do to change that. We need answers. This legislation is an investment in fixing the insulin affordability crisis.

The bipartisan Insulin Affordability Data Collection Act would direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to study rates of diabetic ketoacidosis — which can be life-threatening when the high cost of insulin forces people to ration doses. It would also direct HHS investigators to look into how high insulin prices make it more difficult for people with diabetes to adhere to their insulin prescriptions, and to calculate the amount of money federal health programs could save if they didn’t have to treat Americans who need additional care because they are unable to afford their proper doses.

We Need to Pass the NDAA

While Senate Republicans want to provide for our national defense and pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), House Democrats are spending their time running a taxpayer-funded kangaroo court. It is maddening to see the important work we need to do be discarded in favor of political theater. I urge House Democrats to come to the table to pass this year’s NDAA.

I spoke on the Senate floor highlighting the provisions in this year’s NDAA important to North Dakota and defended the efforts of SASC Chairman Inhofe from attacks by House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, who questioned the Chairman’s honesty and falsely claimed he does not want to pass an NDAA this year. Watch my full speech below.

Condemning Democrats' Efforts to Ban Fracking

Last week, I announced my support for a resolution introduced by Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey and Wyoming Senator John Barrasso condemning efforts by Democrats to ban fracking and reaffirming state and tribal rights to manage their natural resources as they see fit. These flippant proposals from Democrats are devoid of reality and would trample on states’ rights and tribal sovereignty. Oil and gas employs one in five North Dakotans and brings over $1.6 billion in revenue for our roads, bridges, and schools. Democrats’ proposed power grabs are unconstitutional and would hurt our families and communities. This resolution makes it clear their plans are not acceptable, and I am grateful our current President would never consider them.

The resolution's three main points focus on maintaining state primacy, reiterating a President’s lack of authority to ban fracking, and urging any future President to not attempt to declare such a ban.

Ensuring the Border Wall Gets Built

Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst and I wrote a letter to the Office of Management and Budget Director (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney and OMB Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Michael Wooten requesting information about the status of President Donald Trump’s efforts to build physical barriers along the southern border.

Our government is working with limited resources, and each dollar wasted on incompetent contracting procedures is a dollar that is not being used to build more wall and secure our border. In order to ensure the American people receive the security they were promised, we must continue to fight for funding and provide oversight to the contracting process. You can read the full letter on the right.

New Legislation Fighting to Keep Our Communities Safe

I joined Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, Arkansas Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton, Gerogia Senator David Perdue, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz in introducing the Keep Our Communities Safe Act. The legislation would close the legal loophole that requires immigration authorities to release back into the United States illegal aliens who have not been accepted for deportation to other countries after being detained for six months; a practice also referred to as "catch and release."

It’s reckless to release illegal aliens into our country – despite warranting detention – because of an arbitrary timeline. Such disregard for the rule of law is not only bad policy, but it also poses a threat to American citizens. Our legislation to close these loopholes will help deter those who want to come into our country and take advantage of our broken immigration system.

House Democrats Hold Public Impeachment Hearing

Last week, House Democrats held their first public impeachment hearing. These hearings are pointless. The political theater in the House of Representatives is nothing more than an outward demonstration of its inward motivation to remove President Trump from office since the day he was elected. This one-sided impeachment process is producing no persuasive substance; their only accomplishment is further dividing our country. It’s time for them to call it quits on this sham and to finally get to work on the important issues like passing USMCA, lowering prescription drug costs, and funding our nation’s military.

Contact Me

My offices are open in Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot, Fargo and Washington, D.C. Stop by or call any of the following offices, or visit my website at www.cramer.senate.gov.

Bismarck

328 Federal Building

220 East Rosser Avenue

Bismarck, ND 58501

701-699-7020

Grand Forks

114 Federal Building

102 North 4th Street

Grand Forks, ND 58203

701-699-7030

Minot

105 Federal Building

100 First Street SW

Minot, ND 58701

701-837-6141

Fargo

306 Federal Building

657 Second Avenue N

Fargo, ND 58102

701-232-5094

Washington, D.C.

400 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

202-224-2043

Weekly Radio and TV Schedule

RADIO

What's On Your Mind with Scott Hennen

Fridays from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. central

KFYR 550 AM - Bismarck

1100 The Flag - Fargo

KLTC 1460 AM - Dickinson

KTGO 1090 AM - Tioga

Jarrod Thomas Show

Thursdays from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. central

KNOX 1310 AM - Grand Forks

Rick Jensen

Thursdays from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. central

KHND 1470 AM - Harvey

Jay Thomas

Every other Tuesday from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m. central

WDAY 970 AM – Fargo

TELEVISION

Chris Berg - Point of View

6:30 p.m. central (Semi-Monthly)

Valley News Live - Fargo

Photo credit: North Dakota Tourism Department, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Office of U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer

Credits:

PC: North Dakota Tourism, U.S. Senate Photographers