News Releases
Delegation Welcomes FEMA Decision to Issue Disaster Declaration Following Winter Storm
WASHINGTON - Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp and Congressman Kevin Cramer today welcomed the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) approval of a federal disaster declaration to assist seven counties in southwestern and south central North Dakota to recover from a severe winter storm that struck earlier this month. The delegation urged presidential approval of the disaster declaration on Wednesday, Oct. 23, in a letter sent to President Obama. "FEMA's disaster declaration will pro… Continue Reading
10.30.13
Hoeven Urges Farm Bill Conferees to Move Quickly and Surely on Long-Term Farm Bill
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today urged his colleagues on the House-Senate farm bill conference committee to work in a bipartisan fashion to find a consensus on agriculture legislation so that Congress can pass a bill by the end of the year. Hoeven was one of a number of Senate and House members to give opening statements at the first meeting of the group. Both the Senate and the House versions of the legislation focus on enhanced crop insurance. The measure includes a new Supplemental Cov… Continue Reading
10.29.13
Hoeven, Heitkamp, Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduce Legislation to Prevent Flood Insurance Rate Hikes
WASHINGTON- Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp today joined a bipartisan group of senators to introduce legislation to help prevent the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from exorbitantly raising flood insurance rates and to help ensure affordable premiums for millions of Americans. Included in the bipartisan legislation is the Hoeven-Heitkamp Flood Safe Basements Act, which ensures homeowners receive credit for flood proofed basements when determining flood insurance rates. "Nort… Continue Reading
10.24.13
Delegation Urges National Guard Chief to Find Workable Solution for Changes to Fire Response Unit that Services Fargo Airport
WASHINGTON - As the North Dakota Air National Guard prepares to stop providing fire response to Hector International Airport in Fargo, Senators Heidi Heitkamp and John Hoeven, as well as Congressman Kevin Cramer, today urged National Guard Bureau Chief Frank Grass to find a workable solution to maintain public safety at the airport until a new fire response system is established. For decades, the Guard has handled fire response for all flight operations at the airport. However, the Guard inform… Continue Reading
10.24.13
Hoeven: Senate Declares Oct. 26 Day of the Deployed in Honor of Deployed Servicemembers and Their Families
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a resolution to honor the nation's deployed service members and their families and declare October 26, 2013 as Day of the Deployed. "Our service members deployed on missions around the world are making tremendous sacrifices defending our freedoms and our way of life," said Hoeven. "The Day of the Deployed is a national effort to show our support for our deployed service members and their families and to… Continue Reading
10.22.13
Hoeven, Klobuchar Introduce Driver Privacy Act
FARGO, N.D. - Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) today rolled out their Driver Privacy Act. The legislation guards a driver's personal privacy by making it clear that the owner of a vehicle is also the owner of any information collected by an Event Data Recorder (EDR). An EDR has the ability to continuously collect at least 45 pieces of information about a vehicle's operation in a loop lasting several seconds that can be retrieved at any time. This includes direction, spe… Continue Reading
10.22.13
Hoeven, Klobuchar Announce Farm Bill Conference Committee to Hold First Meeting Next Week
FARGO, N.D. - Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) today announced that the House-Senate farm bill conference committee will convene next week. The senators hosted a farm bill roundtable at North Dakota State University's Agriculture Experiment Station Research Greenhouse Complex to gather input from agriculture association leaders and discuss the priorities the senators will work on as members of the joint Senate-House committee The new legislation in both the Senate and t… Continue Reading
10.21.13
Hoeven Honors 2-285th Aviation Regiment, Families at Send-off Ceremony
BISMARCK, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven today joined the send-off ceremony for the C Company, 2nd Battalion, 285th Aviation Regiment of the North Dakota National Guard (NDNG) in Bismarck. The unit of 36 soldiers is set for a one-year deployment in Kosovo, its second deployment since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism. The unit was first deployed to Iraq from October 2009 to October 2010. "I remember when, as governor, I had the honor of both seeing you off to your deployment in Iraq and … Continue Reading
10.21.13
Hoeven Pays Tribute to 191st Military Police Company
FARGO, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven today spoke at the Freedom Salute held in honor of the 29 members of the US Army Reserve's 191st Military Police Company who recently returned from their year-long deployment in Cuba. The soldiers provided police, detainment and stability operations as part of Joint Task Force Guantanamo. The mission of the Task Force was to conduct safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees, as well as conducting intelligence collection, analysis and diss… Continue Reading
10.17.13
Hoeven: U.S. Air Force to Sign Enhanced Use Lease With Grand Forks County for Grand Sky
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Air Force will sign an Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) with Grand Forks County in December for the development of Grand Sky, a cutting-edge unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology park the county plans to build on approximately 217 acres at Grand Forks Air Force Base. Under the terms of the agreement, the county will provide payments to the Air Force in exchange for a 50-year lease. The Air Force and county team members are working throug… Continue Reading
10.16.13
Hoeven: Congress Strikes Bipartisan Agreement to Address Government Closure, Debt Ceiling
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after passage in the U.S. Senate of a bipartisan agreement to address the government shutdown and debt ceiling: "Today, the U.S. Senate approved a bipartisan agreement that reopens the government and extends the nation's debt ceiling on a short-term basis. This will enable us to negotiate the type of long-term reforms needed to address our debt and deficit. "The agreement includes: A continuing resolution to keep the gove… Continue Reading
10.12.13
Hoeven: Federal Government Needs to Address Deficit and Debt Reduction in Debt Ceiling Agreement
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement regarding a possible agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling: "Today, the U.S. Senate was asked to approve a $1.1 trillion increase in the borrowing limit of the United States with no provision to save money or reform programs that are outpacing our ability to fund them. At the same time, our national debt is approaching $17 trillion and we are borrowing $2 billion a day. For these reasons, I could not support the measur… Continue Reading
10.11.13
Hoeven Asks USDA Under Secretary Scuse to Help with Producer Need
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today called Michael Scuse, U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, to seek his help with Farm Service Agency (FSA) services for producers. Scuse oversees a range of USDA programs, including the FSA and agriculture disaster programs. The senator has received reports from farmers and ranchers that they are unable to access FSA services in the aftermath of a severe winter storm that hit South Dakota and the southe… Continue Reading
10.09.13
Hoeven Welcomes, Thanks Returning Members of the ND National Guard's 119th Security Forces Squadron
BISMARCK, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven today welcomed home and thanked members of the North Dakota National Guard's 119th Security Forces Squadron from their deployment in Afghanistan. More than 20 of the 30 Guard members, who deployed in March to Bagram Airfield, arrived home in Fargo last night. "We are tremendously proud of all of our men and women in the National Guard, and always happy to welcome them home," said Hoeven. "These individuals protected lives and property, at great risk to the… Continue Reading
10.08.13
Hoeven: Bakken Playing Key Role in United States Becoming Number One Oil and Gas Producing Nation
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today said that North Dakota's Bakken is playing a key role in helping the United States to become the world's leading producer of oil and natural gas. The news comes as the nation continues in a government shutdown and a decision on raising the debt ceiling is pending. The energy industry can help the nation meet and overcome these challenges by generating jobs and creating revenues from economic growth, Hoeven said. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Un… Continue Reading
10.04.13
Hoeven Hopeful Boehner Will Appoint Farm Bill Conferees Next Week
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today spoke with Speaker of the House John Boehner, emphasizing the importance of passing a new farm bill in timely fashion and the need for the House to appoint its conferees to the joint committee that will resolve differences between the Senate and House passed versions of the bill. "Based on my conversation with Speaker Boehner, I'm hopeful that he will appoint conferees next week," Hoeven said. "I believe the farm bill - and programs like it - can be a pa… Continue Reading
10.03.13
Hoeven to Hagel: Ensure Pay for Military, National Guard During Government Shutdown
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today is sending a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel calling on the Department of Defense to ensure the nation's troops and National Guard members continue to receive their pay and benefits during a government shutdown and to prevent the furlough of personnel providing support to troops. Earlier this week, Hoeven voted for and Congress unanimously passed the 'Pay Our Military Act.' This legislation, which was signed into law, gives the Department of Defens… Continue Reading
10.03.13
Hoeven Calls on Interior to Ensure Children are Protected at Spirit Lake Reservation
WASHINGTON - In a letter to Kevin Washburn, U.S. Department of Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Senator John Hoeven today called on the agency to make sure that children are adequately protected on the Spirit Lake Reservation. Hoeven learned the agency had closed the office during the recent government shutdown and advised the secretary that the agency has the authority to keep the office operating because "the care of children in the care of the BIA is essential and should not … Continue Reading
10.01.13
Hoeven Urges Compromise on the Continuing Resolution to End the Current Government Shutdown
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today urged his Senate colleagues to work toward a compromise that will end the government shutdown. His remarks come following the Senate majority's rejection of a House request for a conference committee to resolve differences over a resolution to continue funding government. "This morning, majority Democrats in the Senate rejected an offer from the House of Representatives to meet in conference to try to resolve differences over a resolution to continue fund… Continue Reading
10.01.13
Hoeven Named a Conferee on Final House Farm Bill
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven has again been named to the conference committee charged with negotiating an agreement on a 2013 farm bill. The House had passed its version of the farm bill in July, but chose to address the nutrition title in a separate bill, which wasn't passed until last month. Last week, the two bills were reincorporated, which necessitated the Senate to reappoint conferees. Hoeven, a member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, has worked in the past two sessions to pas… Continue Reading
