08.10.22

Hoeven Stresses Impact of Inflation on Rural Communities, Working to Support Energy & Agriculture Producers

Senator Addresses ICBND’s Annual Convention

BISMARCK, N.D. – At the Independent Community Banks of North Dakota’s (ICBND) annual convention today, Senator John Hoeven highlighted the important role of local banks in supporting rural communities, helping to ensure access to vital financial services for local residents, agriculture producers and other small businesses. The senator further stressed the impact that record-high inflation is having on rural communities, and outlined his efforts to bring down costs for consumers and businesses, while advancing policies to keep America’s economy strong. These include:

  • Working to unlock the potential of America’s energy resources, including its coal, oil and natural gas reserves.
  • Supporting the nation’s farmers and ranchers, including by:
    • Working to ensure reliable transportations services for agriculture producers and other shippers.
    • Providing disaster relief to help producers recover from last year’s historic drought, with Hoeven having recently secured improvementsto the row crop disaster aid he funded in September.

“ICBND’s members provide critical services for North Dakota’s communities, whether it’s helping families to buy a home, businesses to expand their operations or farmers and ranchers to weather difficult times,” said Hoeven. “We’re working every day to help ensure the success of their customers, including our energy and agriculture producers, who are central to the economies of our rural communities. That means pushing back on the regulatory onslaught from the Biden administration and working to expand U.S. domestic energy production, which is key to bringing down costs across our economy and tackling inflation.”

Empowering U.S. Energy Production 

Hoeven continues to push back on the burdensome federal rules imposed by the Biden administration on energy development and is working to advance legislation like his American Energy Independence from Russia Act, which would take immediate action to increase U.S. energy production, including: 

  • Authorizing the construction and operation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
  • Removing regulatory hurdles to increase liquefied natural gas exports.
  • Prohibiting any presidential moratoria on new energy leases.
  • Requiring the U.S. Department of the Interior to hold a minimum of 4 oil and natural gas lease sales in each state with land available for leasing in fiscal year 2022.
  • Prohibiting the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy from drawdowns of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) until the Secretary of the Interior issues a plan to increase oil and gas production on federal lands and waters.   

Supporting Farmers and Ranchers

At the same time, Hoeven is advancing efforts to ensure North Dakota shippers, including farmers and ranchers, have access to reliable rail and ocean shipping services. The senator:

  • Sponsored the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, bipartisan legislation signed into law in June to update federal regulations for the global shipping industry and help American producers export their products.
    • As one of the four lead sponsors of the bipartisan legislation, Hoeven, along with Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), advanced the bill through the Senate in March, followed by the House of Representatives passing the bill in June. 
  • Has been pressing both the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and rail companies to resolve ongoing rail service disruptions before the fall harvest. 

In addition, Hoeven is working to help farmers and ranchers recover from last year’s historic drought and in September secured $10 billion in agriculture disaster aid, including $750 million for livestock producers. Hoeven then repeatedly pressed Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to get the assistance to producers as soon as possible, with the aid currently being distributed under the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) and the Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP). 

 

The senator also worked with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to resolve an issue where some producers with 2020 prevent plant claims had those losses inadvertently excluded from their pre-filled ERP application. As a result of Hoeven’s efforts, FSA is issuing corrected applications to affected producers this month. 

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