News Releases
Hoeven Issues Call to Action: "Let's Build a Comprehensive, All-of-the-Above, National Energy Plan"
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today delivered a powerful call for action on the floor of the U.S. Senate to build a comprehensive, all-of-the-above national energy plan. He cited legislation he and other members have offered that empowers states to leverage their strengths and make America a true energy powerhouse. To seal the case, Hoeven cited recent events in Ukraine that underscore the important role energy plays in national security, at home and abroad. "Instead of talking about energy … Continue Reading
03.11.14
Hoeven: BNSF CEO Carl Ice Updates Senator on Efforts to Enhance Rail Safety, Catch up on Agriculture Backlogs
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today met with BNSF Railway CEO Carl Ice to follow up on a range of concerns the senator expressed to railroad officials over the past year. Hoeven urged the new company CEO to follow through on previous commitments and to work with shippers, regulators and other stakeholders to advance comprehensive rail safety reforms. That includes steps to prevent rail accidents, mitigate the risk of explosions and fires and have a robust response procedure in place when acci… Continue Reading
03.11.14
Hoeven Updates Grand Forks Mayor on Rail Safety Issues, Grafton Mayor on Flood Insurance Legislation
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today met in Washington with Grand Forks Mayor Mike Brown, Grafton Mayor Chris West and other Grand Forks and Grafton officials to discuss the cities' and region's priorities. Hoeven and Brown discussed a wide range of topics, with a focus on rail safety. Hoeven updated Brown on his efforts to encourage improved and timely rules for tank car construction from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and also his work to bring Department … Continue Reading
03.10.14
Hoeven: Senate Passes Strong Measure to Help Protect Victims of Sexual Assault in the Military
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today voted to pass the Victims Protection Act introduced by Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) to address sexual assault in the military. The measure passed with a large bipartisan majority, 97 to 0. "The bill we passed today strengthens the procedures used to report and prosecute sexual assault in the military," Hoeven said. "It includes new measures to protect victims and gives them a greater voice in whether t… Continue Reading
03.07.14
Hoeven, Klobuchar, Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduce Legislation to Help Communities Impacted by Propane Shortage
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators John Hoeven (R-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Al Franken (D-MN), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced legislation to make it easier to transport propane to communities impacted by the ongoing propane shortage. The bipartisan bill would extend the hours-of-service exemption until May 31st, allowing truck drivers to work longer hours to help transport propane to regions impacted by the shortage. More importantly, the legislation would deliver much-needed certainty t… Continue Reading
03.06.14
Hoeven Supports Legislation to Help Protect Victims of Sexual Assault in the Military
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today supported the Victims Protection Act introduced by Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) to address sexual assault in the military. "Sexual assault is a heinous crime and needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, in the military as in civilian life," Hoeven said. "The legislation crafted by Senators McCaskill, Ayotte and Fischer gets to the heart of the problem, which is making it easier for victims… Continue Reading
03.06.14
Hoeven Presses for Increased Rail Safety, Timely Action at Senate Commerce Committee Hearing
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today pressed rail industry officials and regulators for a comprehensive and timely plan to enhance safety measures for transporting petroleum products by rail. The hearing examined the current state of rail safety on the nation's passenger and freight rail networks, including a discussion of recent rail accidents, positive train control implementation and other measure to improve rail safety. "Producing more oil and gas is creating jobs, helping to grow our e… Continue Reading
03.06.14
Hoeven: Live Stream Hearing of Rail Transportation Safety
Beginning at 10am CT on March 6, click here to stream video of Senator Hoeven at a Commerce Subcommittee hearing on improving rail transportation safety… Continue Reading
03.05.14
Hoeven: New House Flood Insurance Legislation Gives Relief to Homeowners, Businesses
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today commended the U.S. House of Representatives for passing a bill that will hold the line on flood insurance premium costs for homeowners and businesses. The measure also includes the Hoeven-Heitkamp-Cramer basement exception, which enables homeowners to receive credit for flood proofed basements when determining flood insurance rates. Like the Senate bill, the House bill prevents the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from steeply raising rates and… Continue Reading
03.04.14
Hoeven, Heitkamp Announce Water Project Appropriations for Fargo, Minot Included in Corps Work Plan
WASHINGTON - Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp today announced that the Army Corps' FY14 work plan includes $6.3 million to complete the planning, engineering and design (PED) of the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion. The work plan also includes $2.5 million for a sanitary sewer extension project in Minot to service the Crystal Springs and Beaver Creek developments, along with opening up additional acres for development of residential housing. Hoeven, a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations C… Continue Reading
03.03.14
Hoeven: Russia Must Respect Ukraine's Sovereignty
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today said Russia needs to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine and follow international law. Russia has no legitimate right to make incursions into Ukraine and breach that country's border, in spite of its perceived military and economic interests in Crimea and energy pipeline infrastructure to Europe. Hoeven said the United States can and should, along with its allies, pursue economic and diplomatic sanction against Russia unless it withdraws from Ukraine. Diplo… Continue Reading
02.28.14
Hoeven: Amtrak to Begin Normal Operations Saturday
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today said he has been notified that Amtrak will resume normal operations through Grand Forks, Devils Lake and Rugby in North Dakota Saturday, March 1. Because of increased rail traffic and a severe winter season, BNSF rerouted the westbound Empire Builder line to bypass Grand Forks, Devils Lake and Rugby, requiring passengers to be bused to and from Fargo and Minot. Eastbound traffic has maintained its usual route along the state's northern tier. At a meeting … Continue Reading
02.28.14
Hoeven Welcomes EPA Administrator McCarthy to ND, Showcases State's Clean Coal Technologies, Good Environmental Stewardship
BEULAH, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven today welcomed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy to North Dakota to highlight the state's high-tech energy development and good environmental stewardship. Hoeven, along with Senator Heidi Heitkamp and Congressman Keven Cramer, hosted McCarthy on a tour of the Dakota Gasification Company in Beulah to see the cutting-edge technologies the plant has developed to produce natural gas from coal. The facility not only produces gas from … Continue Reading
02.28.14
ICBM Coalition Senators Press DOD to Retain Silos
WASHINGTON - At a meeting Wednesday afternoon, members of the Senate ICBM Coalition, including Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), John Walsh (D-Mont.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), pressed Admiral James Winnefeld Jr., Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to retain missile silos in North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. As members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hoeven and Tester authored a provision in the Department of Defen… Continue Reading
02.26.14
Hoeven Announces New Agreement to Recruit and Retain Rural Postal Carriers in Western ND
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Postal Service has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Rural Letter Carriers Association that will grant pay increases and bonuses to recruit and retain rural carriers in the Bakken region, including Minot, Dickinson, Williston, Watford City and most of the communities in western North Dakota, effective May 17, 2014. The increases are designed to attract and retain rural carriers. In August 2013, Hoeven invit… Continue Reading
02.26.14
Hoeven Statement on Today's Inspector General Report Finding No Conflict of Interest
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement regarding the State Department's second inspector general (IG) report exonerating Environmental Resources Management (ERM), the consulting firm that completed the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Keystone XL pipeline project. "Today's Inspector General report makes clear that the Department of State did not violate its conflict of interest procedures in selecting ERM to conduct its environmental review of the Ke… Continue Reading
02.25.14
Hoeven, Heitkamp Announce North Dakota Delegates to U.S. Senate Youth Program
WASHINGTON - Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp today announced the selection of students Bethany Berntson and Tyler Toepke-Floyd to serve as North Dakota delegates to the 52nd Annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) scheduled to take place this March in Washington, D.C. This year's delegates were designated by Kirsten Baesler, Superintendent of Public Instruction, who selected the students from a list of nominees recommended by North Dakota teachers and principals. "We are proud… Continue Reading
02.25.14
Hoeven Joins Roberts, Tester, Bipartisan Group to Introduce Bill to Protect Rural Hospitals and Patients
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven Monday joined Senators Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to introduce bipartisan legislation to protect rural Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) and their patients by eliminating new "condition of payment" rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that require a physician to predict and limit a patients' stay to within 96 hours. The bill has 13 cosponsors. "Compelling doctors to predict at the outset that a patient needs to stay in… Continue Reading
02.21.14
Delegation Announces $450,000 CDBG Grant for Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
WASHINGTON - Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp and Congressman Kevin Cramer today announced the awarding of a $450,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The CDBG Program for Indian Tribes and Alaskan Native Villages, administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is a competitive program to assist with housing infrastructure, promote a suitable living environment and create economic opportunities. The program is designed … Continue Reading
02.21.14
Hoeven: Freight Railroads To Implement New Voluntary Operating Practices for Rail Transport of Crude Oil
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, who has been working with federal regulators and railroad industry leaders, said today's announcement that the nation's major rail carriers will implement new voluntary operating practices for moving crude oil by rail is both a step in the right direction and a timely response to a serious concern. The announcement follows several meetings Hoeven had with Department of Defense Secretary Foxx, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) head… Continue Reading
