News Releases
Hoeven: USDA Awards NDSU More than $160,000 through Agriculture and Food Research Initiative
FARGO, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded more than $160,000 to North Dakota State University (NDSU). The funds are made available through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), which supports research, education and extension projects that address critical challenges affecting U.S. agriculture producers. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Agriculture Committee and conference committee that crafted… Continue Reading
03.20.15
Hoeven Statement on the Interior Department's Final Fracking Rule
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after the U.S. Interior Department's (DOI) release of its final rule on hydraulic fracturing, which will be administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM): "We have long supported a states-first approach to hydraulic fracturing, recognizing that states have a successful record of effectively regulating hydraulic fracturing with good environmental stewardship. Now, however, the Interior Department is imposing a federal re… Continue Reading
03.20.15
Hoeven Presses Corps Division Commander for Any Necessary Flood Protection in Spring, Access to Missouri River Water
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, this week pressed the Corps of Engineers on several North Dakota priorities during a meeting with Northwestern Division Commander John Kem. Brig. Gen. Kem's division includes the upper Missouri River basin and several Corps of Engineers projects in North Dakota. "I emphasized a number of key issues in North Dakota for Brig. Gen. Kem, including any necessary flood protection this spring, maintenance on the Garr… Continue Reading
03.19.15
Hoeven Announces Pay Rate Increase for 160 Federal Workers at MAFB, Across Western North Dakota
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has approved a special rate increases for 160 federal employees at Minot Air Force Base (MAFB) and across western North Dakota. Hoeven has been pushing OPM for the decision, which benefits employees who have faced increased cost-of-living challenges owing to economic growth in the oil patch. The increases are designed to help recruit and retain a high-quality federal workforce. "This is welcome news f… Continue Reading
03.19.15
Hoeven Holds Hearing on Secret Service
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, who chairs the subcommittee that oversees funding for the United States Secret Service (USSS), held a hearing today on problems at the agency highlighted by recent incidents involving security mishaps and issues of misconduct. The USSS has the vital mission of protecting the president and first family as well as the vice president and other prominent U.S. officials, and is also charged with overseeing security at high-profile national special security events li… Continue Reading
03.19.15
Hoeven: Good Luck to NDSU Bison in NCAA Tournament
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement as the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Bison prepare to meet the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday evening. The NDSU men's basketball team took home the Summit League Tournament title earlier this month and earned a bid to the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. "We are very proud of the Bison making it to March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament. They have a big game with … Continue Reading
03.19.15
Hoeven: NDSU Awarded with Federal Funding for Microbe Research
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, who serves on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced that North Dakota State University (NDSU) has been awarded nearly $150,000 in federal funding. The funds, authorized by the National Science Foundation, will support research that seeks to understand how new adaptations arise and spread in populations. "Our state has a great university system that empowers our young people to learn, innovate and achieve," Hoeven said. "Research projects lik… Continue Reading
03.19.15
Hoeven: USDA to Finance Rural Water Expansion Projects
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, who serves on the U.S. Senate Appropriations and Agriculture Committees, today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded a loan of $2,311,769 to provide financing for rural water expansion to the Granville, Deering and Surrey areas through its Water and Waste Disposal Loan Program. "This loan will improve rural water systems and upgrade water infrastructure in rural North Dakota, which will provide long-term economic benefits," Hoeven… Continue Reading
03.19.15
Hoeven Meets with VA Secretary Robert McDonald on Senators' Bill to Give Vets Better Access to Long-Term-Care Services
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven (R-N.D.) today said Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald is supportive of his efforts to give veterans better access to long-term-care (LTC) services near friends and loved ones in their home communities. The senator met with McDonald on Tuesday to discuss the Department's budget for next year, and said the VA will work closely with him as his bill to ensure access for veterans to extended care moves forward. The bipartisan Veterans Access to Extended Care… Continue Reading
03.18.15
Hoeven Marks National Agriculture Day
WASHINGTON - In recognition of National Agriculture Day, Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement: "Agriculture is North Dakota's top industry," Hoeven said. "Our state is home to nearly 31,000 farms across almost 40 million acres. In 2012, our farmers and ranchers' hard work produced $11 billion dollars in products, including $4.4 billion in exports, increases of 80 and 56 percent in just five years. "Those sales support our economy, local businesses and jobs for our people. I… Continue Reading
03.16.15
Hoeven: USDA Announces $96 Million in Available Funding to Support Local Food, Specialty Crops and Farm to School Efforts
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, who serves on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made almost $96 million available for innovative agricultural projects that will help Americans gain better access to healthy, nutritious food. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) administered the grants, which include the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP), the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) and the Farmer… Continue Reading
03.16.15
Hoeven, Manchin Introduce Veterans Access to Extended Care Act
WASHINGTON - Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) today introduced the Veterans Access to Extended Care Act, bipartisan legislation they authored to allow veterans greater access to long term care (LTC) services in their home communities. Specifically, the legislation will enable veterans to stay in nursing homes in their home communities near loved ones and friends because those nursing homes will be able to receive Veterans Administration reimbursement without burdensome red… Continue Reading
03.13.15
Hoeven, Tester, Boozman, Brown Named Co-Chairs of Senate Air Force Caucus
WASHINGTON -U.S. Senators John Hoeven (R-ND), Jon Tester (D-MT), John Boozman (R-AR) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) will lead the Senate Air Force Caucus in the 114th Congress. The bipartisan group includes 35 members and focuses on issues impacting the U.S. Air Force. The caucus sponsors briefings, base visits and meetings with Air Force personnel throughout the year. "North Dakota sees the value of the Air Force every day, whether it is through nuclear B-52s and ICBMs at Minot, Global Hawks at Gran… Continue Reading
03.13.15
Hoeven Announces More Than $1.6 Million in Funding for Traffic Safety in North Dakota
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded more than $1.6 million to the North Dakota Department of Transportation to improve traffic safety. The funding announced today is awarded by the DOT's National Highway Safety Administration and comes through four grant programs: State and Community Highway Safety Grants, State Traffic Safety Information System Improvement Grants, Occupant Protection Grants and Impaired Driving Countermea… Continue Reading
03.13.15
Hoeven Announces $122,000 in Grants to Promote Community and Economic Development
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded $122,000 to the South Central Dakota Regional Council and the Tri-County Regional Development Council to support the development and implementation of a comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS) for these regions. "In recent years, North Dakota has been the fastest growing state in the country in terms of both population and our economy," Hoeven said. "These EDA grants will b… Continue Reading
03.13.15
Hoeven Works to Move Sportsmen's Bill through Committee
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven this week worked to move bipartisan sportsmen's legislation through the Senate Energy Committee, an important first step in the legislative process. At a Senate Energy Committee hearing, the senator stressed the economic benefits of the Sportsmen's Act of 2015, which would increase access to hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation opportunities. Hoeven is a cosponsor of the legislation which reauthorizes important conservation programs, improves access to … Continue Reading
03.13.15
Hoeven Amendment Makes North Dakota Eligible to Apply for Grants from New $35 Million Domestic Trafficking Victims Fund
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that he has introduced an amendment to the Senate's human trafficking bill that would help North Dakota victims of human trafficking and child pornography, and also give law enforcement new tools to crack down on offenders. The Hoeven amendment precludes a Department of Justice (DOJ) requirement that applicants for grants have two years of data on human trafficking to be eligible for a grant as long as they meet all the other requirements for elig… Continue Reading
03.12.15
Hoeven Presses VA Under Secretary to Improve Veterans Services, Allow Access to Local Providers
WASHINGTON - At a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, Senator John Hoeven this week pressed U.S. Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy on two issues important to North Dakota veterans. The first was to provide veterans with greater access to local services when they live far from a Veterans Affairs Administration (VA) hospital, and also to allow veterans more options for long-term care (LTC) services in the… Continue Reading
03.11.15
Hoeven Announces More than $2 Million in Head Start Grants for North Dakota
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded more than $2 million in grants for Head Start projects in North Dakota. The awards, which come in addition to two previous awards Hoeven announced for these organizations in January and November, are as follows: $1,075,791 for Early Explorers, a grantee of the Towner-Granville-Upham (TGU) School District, to support its early education programs that serve the communities of… Continue Reading
03.11.15
Hoeven: U.S. Treasury Awards $1.1 Million to Support North Dakota's Small Businesses
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Treasury Department has awarded North Dakota's Red River Corridor Fund (RRCF) $1,167,461 in State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funds to support small businesses throughout the state. Led by the City of Carrington, the Red River Corridor Fund represents a group of 36 communities throughout North Dakota. The RRCF will utilize the funds as leverage to help small businesses secure more private lending and investments. "Small… Continue Reading