News Releases
Hoeven Announces $1.2 Million in Head Start Funding to TGU School District
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of Head Start, has awarded $1,206,928 to TGU School District #60. Today's grant will be used to provide Head Start programs for eligible children under the age of five and their families as they prepare for school. "The school-readiness services and resources made available through Head Start are critical and support … Continue Reading
03.22.21
Hoeven Statement on Confirmation of Marty Walsh as Labor Secretary
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after voting to confirm Marty Walsh as U.S. Secretary of Labor. "Considering the serious impacts of COVID-19 on our nation's economy, the Department of Labor has a critical role to play in supporting families, helping workers retrain and getting us back to full employment. While I am concerned about a number of Mayor Walsh's policy positions, he indicated that he would listen and collaborate and I am hopeful that we can work … Continue Reading
03.22.21
Hoeven Continues Effort to Ensure Administration Ends Proposal to Change Metro Area Status
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today continued his efforts to press the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to abandon plans to change the current definition of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Hoeven joined Senators John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and a bipartisan group of senators in outlining to OMB Acting Director Rob Fairweather the negative consequences that doubling the minimum requirement for MSA from 50,000 to 100,000 people would have on rural communities… Continue Reading
03.19.21
Hoeven Helps Introduce Legislation to Support Individuals Pursuing Education and Job Training to Reenter the Workforce
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven this week joined Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in introducing the Jumpstart Our Businesses By Supporting Students (JOBS) Act. This legislation will help support individuals pursuing high-quality, shorter-term education and training programs by expanding eligibility to receive federal Pell Grants. "The JOBS Act will help close the skills gap for workers not only in North Dakota, but across the country," said Hoeven. "It's important that we a… Continue Reading
03.18.21
Hoeven Statement After Opposing HHS Secretary Nominee
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after voting to oppose the confirmation of Xavier Becerra as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). "As we continue working to end this public health emergency, our nation needs qualified leadership. Attorney General Becerra has no experience in the health care sector, a serious deficiency for a HHS Secretary. Moreover, he has taken a wide range of positions that are directly opposed to the interests and values o… Continue Reading
03.18.21
Hoeven Outlines ND Priorities to Secretary Vilsack
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade, this week spoke with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and pressed the Secretary to: Quickly distribute remaining Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments to farmers and ranchers. Fully fund the Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) Program and expedite completion of the Wild… Continue Reading
03.17.21
Hoeven Joins Effort Outlining Unlawful Freezing of Border Wall Funding
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, this week joined Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) in urging Government Accountability Office (GAO) Comptroller Gene L. Dodaro to review President Joe Biden's suspension of border wall funding and construction without lawful justification, in violation of the Impoundment Control Act. "On January 20th, in one of the first official acts of his presidency, Joseph Biden suspended border wall co… Continue Reading
03.17.21
Hoeven Statement on Vote to Confirm U.S. Trade Representative
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after voting to confirm Katherine Tai as U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). "Access to foreign markets is vital for businesses throughout the U.S., especially in states like North Dakota, where our agriculture and energy sectors produce a positive balance of trade for our nation. Katherine Tai has extensive experience in this field, including her work to enforce our trade agreements with China. We appreciate her continued serv… Continue Reading
03.17.21
Hoeven Helps Introduce Legislation to Advance Construction of CCUS Infrastructure
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today helped introduce the Storing CO2 and Lowering Emissions Act (SCALE) Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation to advance the construction of the infrastructure needed to implement carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies. Among other efforts, the bill, which is sponsored by Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), would: Establish the CO2 Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (CIFIA) program to provide: Flexible, low… Continue Reading
03.16.21
Hoeven Votes to Confirm Guzman as SBA Administrator
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after voting to confirm Isabel Guzman as Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). "The SBA has played a critical role in our efforts to help our economy weather the impacts of COVID-19, providing small businesses with the capital they need to keep employees on payroll and pay the bills. Having worked in both the public and private sector, including as the SBA's Deputy Chief of Staff, Administrator Guzma… Continue Reading
03.16.21
Hoeven, Cramer Introduce Legislation to Extend Refined Coal Tax Credit, Support Continued Emissions Reductions
WASHINGTON - Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer today reintroduced legislation to extend the refined coal tax credit. The credit incentivizes power plants to pre-treat or refine coal to improve efficiency and decrease emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury. "The refined coal tax credit is a win-win for our nation, as it both supports the continued use of our abundant coal resources, a critical source of baseload power for the grid, while also improving environmental stewards… Continue Reading
03.16.21
Hoeven Announces USDA Rural Development Loan to Minnkota Power Cooperative
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has issued a $80,560,000 loan to Minnkota Power Cooperative, headquartered in Grand Forks. Today's funding, available through the USDA Electric Loan Program, will be used to finance improvements to the generation and transmission system benefitting nearly 137,000 consu… Continue Reading
03.12.21
Hoeven Outlines Need to Properly Value Reliability and Resiliency of Baseload Power
WASHINGTON - At a recent hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on grid reliability and resiliency in the midst of recent extreme weather events, Hoeven outlined the need to ensure the reliability of the electric grid by maintaining the nation's baseload power sources. The senator highlighted a letter from former Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette addressing this issue, specifically citing that: The National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) found that nuclear, coal, oil and na… Continue Reading
03.11.21
Hoeven Statement in Opposition to Interior Secretary Nominee
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven issued the following statement opposing the confirmation of Representative Debra Haaland as U.S. Secretary of the Interior. "We have serious concerns about Representative Haaland's record on energy development, including her refusal to recuse herself from matters related to the Dakota Access Pipeline and her support for the Green New Deal. This has serious consequences for workers and consumers, as well as state and local governments and tribal nations that rely… Continue Reading
03.11.21
Hoeven Joins Colleagues In Pressing OMB to Reject MSA Minimum Population Standard Increase
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today joined Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) and others in urging the Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Robert Fairweather to reject recommendations that would increase the population threshold for communities to be considered metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Today's efforts follow Hoeven'sletter earlier this week in outlining the negative impacts of increasing the minimum population to qualify as an MSA from 50,000 to 100,000 on rural communities… Continue Reading
03.10.21
Hoeven Statement on Vote Opposing Confirmation of EPA Administrator
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven issued the following statement after voting to oppose the confirmation of Michael Regan as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "The Biden administration's executive actions are a real threat to North Dakota's economy, including our energy and agriculture producers. Further, the president has made clear that he intends to continue imposing burdensome regulations that will undermine our domestic energy industry, hurt the reliability of our … Continue Reading
03.10.21
Hoeven Statement on Voting Against Garland's Nomination as U.S. Attorney General
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven issued the following statement after voting to oppose the confirmation of Merrick Garland as U.S. Attorney General. "Based on his judicial record and his responses during his confirmation hearing, I have serious concerns with Judge Garland's commitment to upholding the Second Amendment, as well as how his views on immigration may impact the role he will play in enforcing existing immigration laws. The Attorney General has a responsibility to maintain the rule of… Continue Reading
03.10.21
Hoeven Statement on Confirmation of HUD Secretary
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement after joining the Senate in confirming Representative Marcia Fudge as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. "Access to affordable and safe housing is a critical component of every community. HUD plays an important role in leveraging private investment to ensure the development of an adequate housing supply, as well as … Continue Reading
03.10.21
Senators Hoeven, Smith & Representative McKinley Introduce Legislation to Modernize 48A Tax Credit for CCUS Retrofit Projects
WASHINGTON - Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Representative David McKinley (R-W.Va.) today reintroduced the Carbon Capture Modernization Act, bicameral, bipartisan legislation to modernize the Section 48A tax credit for coal facilities to better support the use of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology. The Section 48A tax credit was first established in 2005, and certain CO2 capture projects were made eligible in 2008, however, updates to the credit… Continue Reading
03.09.21
Hoeven Urges OMB to Reject Proposed Changes to Metropolitan Statistical Area Minimum Population Definition
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven this week urged Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Robert Fairweather to reject a recent proposal to change the definition of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). The proposal would increase the minimum population to qualify as an MSA from 50,000 to 100,000. As this category is used in funding formulas for multiple federal programs, as well as in determining geographical regions for federal labor market statistics, this change would have a neg… Continue Reading
