United States Senator John Hoeven for North Dakota

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today spoke on the Senate floor in support of the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013, stressing the importance of continuing the no-cost sugar program, which the senator said is cost-effective and fair, and should be retained in the Commodity Title of the Farm Bill.

The Sugar Program is cost-effective and fair

The senator’s remarks on sugar were prompted by recent suggestions that the sugar program be removed from the Commodity Title, despite the fact that it stabilizes sugar prices for consumers and industries at no cost to taxpayers. He said removing it will not create a free market or lower costs for consumers and industry.

“The problem is that dismantling existing sugar policy in our country would not, by any stretch, result in a free market for sugar for one very compelling reason: the world sugar market right now is totally distorted by foreign subsidies and tariffs,” he said.

...

WILLISTON, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today joined the community to honor members of the North Dakota Army National Guard’s 818th Engineering Company (Sapper) who recently returned home following an almost year-long deployment to Afghanistan. Hoeven paid tribute to the soldiers and their families for their service and honored Sgt. 1st Class Darren Linde and Spc. Tyler Orgaard who were killed in action and Spc. Ian Placek who was wounded in the same attack.

“The 818th Engineering Company has shown tremendous dedication while serving our country in Afghanistan. We are grateful to these soldiers and their families for the many sacrifices they made to defend our nation’s freedoms,” said Hoeven. “They faced enormous challenges, losing two of their comrades in an attack, and went on to complete their mission with courage and tenacity. We honor Sgt. 1st Class Darren Linde and Spc. Tyler Orgaard today and pledge to never forget these men or the ul...

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement in response to the new draft federal rule on hydraulic fracturing published by the U.S. Department of the Interior:

“America needs a practical, forward-looking, all-of-the-above energy plan that will help us to develop more energy with better environmental stewardship and lead us to the long-elusive goal of North American energy security. The way to achieve that goal, however, is not to add a new layer of regulation and bureaucracy on top of the thorough regulatory regimen that states already administer.

“The new federal rules proposed by the Interior Department will exacerbate permitting delays, duplicate state regulatory activities and impede energy development by adding additional costs. For example, under the current federal regimen it takes between 180 and 290 days to permit a well. On private land in North Dakota, the same permit takes just weeks.

“The...

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the United States Senate confirmed Ernest Moniz to be U.S. Secretary of Energy. Hoeven, who is a member of the Senate Energy Committee, has pressed Moniz to support a states-first approach to hydraulic fracturing and to work with him to develop a comprehensive energy plan for the nation similar to Empower ND. As governor for ten years, Senator Hoeven worked to develop Empower ND, the state’s first comprehensive energy plan, which continues to provide North Dakota with an ever-evolving, dynamic blueprint for successful energy development.

“North Dakota is a leader in energy production for our nation because more than a decade ago we took an all-of-the-above approach to energy development that partners traditional and renewable energy sources in new and inventive ways,” said Hoeven. “I’ve pressed Secretary Moniz to work with us to take a truly comprehensive approach to energy development ...