News Releases
Hoeven, Peterson Working to Secure Assistance for Sugar Growers Impacted by Disasters
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, and Representative Collin Peterson, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, joined Tom Astrup, CEO of American Crystal Sugar Company in a call to urge U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary Bill Northey to provide assistance for sugar growers who were unable to harvest their crop due to severe weather. Today's call follows Under Secretary Northey's visit to Red River Valley, where he saw f… Continue Reading
11.21.19
Hoeven Statement on Government Funding Through December 20
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement after the Senate passed legislation to keep the government funded through December 20, 2019. "We need to get full-year funding bills in place, instead of continuing to rely on extensions," said Hoeven. "Our colleagues across the aisle need to work with us to advance full-year bills instead of continuing to block full-year funding for our military and other priorit… Continue Reading
11.21.19
Hoeven Working to Support U.S. Sugar Producers
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven this week urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support American sugar producers and avoid taking any premature actions, including increasing sugar imports. The senator cited the November World Agriculture Supply and Demand (WASDE), which shows sugar stocks are more than adequate to meet domestic needs. "Our sugar growers are facing extreme harvest challenges this season, with many Midwest growers having to leave their crop in the fields due to the … Continue Reading
11.20.19
Hoeven Secures Committee Passage of Savanna's Act & Inclusion in VAWA Reauthorizaton
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, today helped advance Savanna's Act, legislation he cosponsored that requires reporting on missing and murdered Native Americans, to the full Senate for consideration. The bill, which is named for Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind from North Dakota who was tragically murdered in 2017, also directs the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to consult with Indian Tribes while developing national law e… Continue Reading
11.20.19
Hoeven Announces Grants for Rural Education
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Office of Rural Development has awarded funding from the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant program to two North Dakota groups for expanding rural education access. Details of the funding are as follows: Southeast Region Career and Technology Center - $390,475 grant for upgrading and replacing equipment, benefiting 1,607 seconda… Continue Reading
11.20.19
Hoeven: Senate Committee Advances Restore our Parks Act
WASHINGTON - At a meeting of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week, Senator John Hoeven helped secure committee approval of the Restore Our Parks Act, bipartisan legislation he helped introduce to address deferred maintenance at National Park Service (NPS) facilities. The bill would use 50 percent of the excess revenues from energy development on federal lands to create a NPS Legacy Restoration Fund to resolve the maintenance backlog, which includes more than $50 million of… Continue Reading
11.20.19
Hoeven: FERC Initiates Process to Alleviate Propane Shortages, Allows Emergency Transportation to the Midwest
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today issued the following statement after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced that it would initiate an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process to alleviate propane shortages in the Midwest. Further, the agency has accepted a proposal to allow the emergency transportation of propane to the region over a 30-day period. Hoeven pressed FERC on this issue yesterday, urging the… Continue Reading
11.19.19
Hoeven Presses FERC to Increase Access to Propane
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today pressed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to provide increased access to propane supplies given the needs in North Dakota and other Midwest states. In a letter to the FERC chairman, Hoeven urged the agency to utilize its authority to increase access to supplies and help minimize regional disruptions. "Propane is a vital resource needed to not only heat homes, but to ensure that producers are able to power their grain dryers and keep livestoc… Continue Reading
11.19.19
Hoeven Helps Secure Approval of Energy Secretary Nominee in Senate Committee
WASHINGTON - At a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week, Senator John Hoeven helped advance the nomination of Dan Brouillette to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Energy, sending it to the full Senate for consideration. In an earlier committee hearing and a meeting at the senator's office, Hoeven secured a commitment from Brouillette to visit North Dakota and see firsthand the efforts of the University of North Dakota's Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC… Continue Reading
11.19.19
Hoeven: Dakota Carrier Network CEO Named to New FCC Agriculture Task Force to Connect American Farmers
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement after Seth Arndorfer, CEO of Dakota Carrier Network, has been appointed to the Federal Communications Commission's Agriculture Task Force, which is responsible for helping ensure farmers and ranchers have the connectivity necessary to utilize precision agriculture. The Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technol… Continue Reading
11.18.19
Hoeven Announces More Than $1.7 Million in Head Start Funding
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced that the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Office of Head Start has awarded $1,743,300 in Head Start funding to Southeastern North Dakota Community Action Agency. Today's funds will be used to assist children preparing for school through programs promoting comprehensive development, school readiness and access to health and wellness services. "Today's grants will help provide import… Continue Reading
11.18.19
Hoeven Announces Nancy Germain from Fargo as Angel in Adoption
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that he has nominated Nancy Germain from Fargo to represent North Dakota as the state's 2019 Angel in Adoption. As an Angel in Adoption honoree, Nancy attended the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute's (CCAI) Angels in Adoption Program in Washington, D.C. Nancy is the lead adoption specialist at Adults Adopting Special Kids (AASK), a collaborative program of Catholic Charities North Dakota and PATH North Dakota, where she has played a… Continue Reading
11.16.19
Hoeven Outlines Efforts to Secure Disaster Assistance for Ranchers, Improve Access to Markets
BISMARCK, N.D. - At the Independent Beef Association of North Dakota (I-BAND) annual meeting today, Senator John Hoeven outlined his efforts to help ranchers weather the challenges of an early blizzard and trade uncertainty. This includes advancing disaster assistance under the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP) and Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and securing access to markets by working to finalize and approve trade agreements as soon as possib… Continue Reading
11.15.19
Hoeven: USDA Will Begin Issuing Next Tranche of MFP Payments Next Week
BISMARCK, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Agriculture Committee, today issued the following statement after the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the next tranche of Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments will begin the week before Thanksgiving. Hoeven has been urging USDA to provide this next tranche of trade assistance as soon as possible, including at his agriculture roundtable with Under Secreta… Continue Reading
11.15.19
Hoeven Supports State Primacy Over Regulation of Energy Development
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, this week cosponsored a resolution introduced by Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) that supports state primacy over the regulation of hydraulic fracturing on state and private lands. The resolution further outlines that no moratorium should be imposed for hydraulic fracturing on federal or tribal lands, unless authorized by an Act of Congress. The full resolution can be found her… Continue Reading
11.15.19
Hoeven: CBP to Maintain Hours of Operation for Maida Port of Entry
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Homeland Security, today issued the following statement after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it would maintain the existing hours of operation for the port of entry at Maida, North Dakota. Hoeven urged CBP earlier this month to reconsider its decision to reduce the hours at three ports in the state, including Maida, Antler and Carbury. Further, the senator pressed the agency to adhere to lan… Continue Reading
11.15.19
Hoeven Secures Commitment From Energy Secretary Nominee Dan Brouillette to Visit North Dakota
WASHINGTON - At a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week, Senator John Hoeven secured a commitment from Dan Brouillette, Deputy Energy Secretary and the nominee to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Energy, to visit North Dakota and see firsthand the efforts of the University of North Dakota's Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) and its partners to develop commercially-viable carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies. Hoeven previously ho… Continue Reading
11.14.19
Hoeven: USDA to Defer Interest on 2019 Crop Insurance Premiums
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) will defer the accrual of interest for 2019 crop year insurance premiums. Specifically, for producers with crop insurance policies with a premium billing date of August 15, 2019, USDA will defer the accrual of interest on premiums to the termination date or January 31, 2020, whichever is earlier. This increased flexibility means that producers will now have until January… Continue Reading
11.13.19
Hoeven Statement on House Impeachment Hearing
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven released the following statement regarding the House of Representatives impeachment hearing today: "The House Democrat's impeachment process, including today's hearing, has not followed precedent and has not provided the President with important due process rights. Also, we have the transcript of the call between President Trump and President Zelensky. President Trump said there was no quid pro quo and President Zelensky said he did not believe he was being pre… Continue Reading
11.13.19
Hoeven: Reclamation Begins EIS Process for Eastern ND Water Supply Project
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Committee, today announced that the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) has approved the notice of intent, beginning the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process for the Eastern North Dakota Alternate Water Supply (ENDAWS) Project. Hoeven spoke with Mike Black, BOR Great Plains Regional Director, who indicated that BOR will work in a collaborative manner to ensure the timely completion of the EIS, wh… Continue Reading
