Senator Cramer's Weekly Update may 23-29

Space Development Agency Awards $325 Million Contract for Operations Centers at Grand Forks Air Force Base and Redstone Arsenal

The Space Development Agency awarded a $324,516,613 contract to General Dynamics Mission Systems to establish the ground Operations and Integration segment of the National Defense Space Architecture. The SDA operations centers will be at Grand Forks Air Force Base and Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

Grand Forks plays an important role in defending our country by bolstering our presence in space. I look forward to the Space Development Agency establishing its Tranche 1 operations center in North Dakota. This is vital to improving our space-based defense capabilities, strengthening our national security, and further securing the future of Grand Forks Air Force Base.

Environment and Public Works Hearing Discusses the EPA’s Clean Power Plan Replacement Efforts

I pressed Joseph Goffman, nominee to be Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, on the Biden Administration’s plan to replace the Clean Power Plan.

The Obama EPA used bait-and-switch tactics when crafting emission reduction targets in the Clean Power Plan. The initial proposed rule said North Dakota could reduce emissions by 11%. Many North Dakotans didn’t believe this was legal but accepted it because 11% was doable. The final rule ended up imposing 45% emission reduction mandates. Federalism, not top-down, one-size-fits-all mandates, should be the foundation of any final regulation from EPA.

Mr. Goffman says there’s been extensive outreach, yet when asked if North Dakota stakeholders, particularly the Public Service Commission and Department of Environmental Quality, had been included in outreach efforts, he acknowledged he had not reached out to either entity. North Dakota is one of four states to have never violated EPA’s ambient air quality standards and should be included in this process.

Letter Urges Department of Agriculture to Provide Support and Certainty to Ag Producers Facing Planting Delays

I joined Senators John Hoeven (R-ND) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in a bipartisan, bicameral effort urging U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to provide support and certainty to producers facing disruptions in spring planting due to excess moisture.

At a time where global food shortages are already being felt, leaving significant unplanted acres in our region will only increase global hunger. The world cannot afford to leave thousands of acres unplanted across the Upper Midwest and worsen a hunger crisis created by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Letter Presses the Surface Transportation Board on Rail Disruptions

I led a group of 20 bipartisan colleagues in a letter urging the Surface Transportation Board to ensure reliable, consistent rail service for American manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, and energy producers.

In some instances, rail service problems have forced producers to curtail or temporarily stop production altogether. Further accounts of lengthy delays and unpredictable service paint a troubling picture of the conditions our nation’s commerce currently faces.

As railroads work to address existing challenges through service restoration plans, we urge the Surface Transportation Board to examine all constructive options towards ensuring reliable, consistent rail service is available to shippers across the U.S. rail network.

Rail Companies Issue Status Reports on Grain Car Backlog

I announced BNSF Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway publicly file weekly grain backlog status updates as required by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB). A summary of the reporting data specific to North Dakota for the last 10 weeks is below.

Following last month’s STB hearing on “Urgent Issues in Freight Rail Service,” BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Union Pacific submitted service recovery plans, explaining the specific actions they will take to improve service and identify the specific metrics they will use to evaluate their progress toward such improvements. Starting June 3, the STB will also require all Class I railroads to report more comprehensive performance metrics and employment data for six months.

Letter Requests Biden Administration Swiftly Advance NATO Applications for Sweden and Finland

On Tuesday, I joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) in a letter to President Biden urging him to expedite the Executive Branch’s process to advance Sweden and Finland’s applications for NATO membership and pledging to work with the Administration to ensure swift ratification of the Washington Treaty.

Expanding NATO to include Finland and Sweden will send a clear message to Vladimir Putin, and any leader who attempts to follow in his path, that the free world stands ready to defend its values and sovereignty.

As members of the U.S. Senate, we take seriously our role in advising and consenting to NATO enlargement, a process that must be approved by all NATO member states. I affirm my support for Sweden and Finland’s applications for membership.

Conversation with the Climate Leadership Council

Thanks to the Climate Leadership Council for the conversation about bipartisan opportunities to take advantage of our high environmental standards through trade policy. For too long the United States has not capitalized on our energy transformation, our energy successes, or our emissions successes.

Climate change is a global issue and we have evidence America First works. We have a geopolitical opportunity here. This would be a good investment, increase economic opportunity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and bolster our national security.

Bill Protects Air Force Cadets and Midshipmen from Being Punished for Not Receiving COVID-19 Vaccine

I joined Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) in introducing the Defending Freedom of Conscience for Cadets and Midshipmen Act to protect cadets and midshipmen at the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy from being punished for their choice to not receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Forcing our brave young men and women preparing to serve our nation to violate their consciences and religious beliefs is ridiculous and completely un-American. Military academies should be focused on training their cadets and midshipmen, not imposing top-down COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Kudlow Interview Discusses Biden’s Energy Policies

In an interview with Larry Kudlow on Fox Business, I discussed the Biden Administration’s disastrous energy policy. The problem with those in this Administration is they never learn from their own mistakes.

Words matter. Markets respond to politics, geopolitics, consumer confidence, investor confidence, taxes, and regulations. If you have an Administration focused on tax and regulation increases, markets respond negatively to that. They’re pushing a narrative which has a chilling effect on investment.

Letter Calls for the U.S.-Canada Border to Be Properly Staffed and Secured

I joined Senators John Hoeven (R-ND) and Jon Tester (D-MT) in urging the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee to provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection with the necessary resources in Fiscal Year 2023 funding legislation to properly staff and secure the U.S.-Canada border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and U.S. Border Patrol agents have the critical mission of protecting the American people by securing our borders. Continued temporary duty assignments take a significant toll on officers and agents as well as families assigned to northern border duties.

Letter Urges President Biden to Keep Section 301 Tariffs in Place and Enforce Phase One Agreement with China

In a letter to President Biden, my colleagues and I urged him not to lift the Section 301 tariffs, which currently target China and its illegal and unfair trade practices. The Biden Administration has publicly signaled a desire to lift the tariffs, a policy position long advocated for by the Chinese Communist Party.

The Biden Administration has also noted that China has failed to comply with provisions in the Phase One Agreement. Despite China’s non-compliance, the Biden Administration has signaled a reluctance to utilize the Agreement’s enforcement mechanism to hold China accountable.

Bipartisan Effort Pushes to Fully Fund the U.S.-Israel Missile Defense Cooperation

I joined Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and a bipartisan group of 43 senators in calling for $500 million to fully fund U.S.-Israel cooperative missile defense programs. In addition to contributing to ballistic missile defense, the funding will support crucial work on research, development, and test activities to counter hostile unmanned aerial systems.

This is instrumental to the defense of Israel. Since 1986, Congress and successive Administrations have demonstrated bipartisan support for joint U.S.-Israel missile defense collaboration.

This partnership has helped build and maintain a multi-tiered Israeli missile defense system capable of countering a wide range of threats from state and non-state actors.

Letter Questions World Health Organization Abortion Guidelines

In a letter to Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, my colleagues and I urged a reversal on the Organization’s recent guidelines on abortion, which advocate for abortion on demand and critique conscience objections of healthcare providers.

These extreme new guidelines aim to remove all legal and policy safeguards on abortion, impose restrictions on the conscience rights of health workers, and ignore the right to life and the safety of the mother and child.

Such overreach and trampling of national sovereignty further will delegitimize the WHO and United Nations in the eyes of many people around the world.

Meeting with North Dakota Optometric Association

I met Dori Carlson, Leslie Hellebush, and Nancy Kopp, members of the North Dakota Optometric Association, to discuss important optometric legislation.

I’m thankful they presented me the AOA 2022 Healthcare Leadership Award for my work in Congress supporting our healthcare industry.

Grants for North Dakota

Army Corps Work Plan Allocates $159 Million for North Dakota Water Resource Projects and Maintenance

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Fiscal Year 2022 work plan allocated $159,239,000 for North Dakota water resource projects, operations, and maintenance.

The FY22 work plan includes:

• $136.5 million to complete construction of the Pipestem Dam safety modification project
• $1 million for the Wilton Street and Utility Improvement Project under Army Corps’ Section 594 Program

HHS Awards $4 Million in Head Start Funds to Minot Public School District 1

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $3,997,560 in a Head Start Grants to Minot Public School District 1.

The funds come through the Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which promote school readiness for young children and toddlers from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development as well as early learning, health, and family well-being.

HHS Awards $2.5 Million for Cancer Prevention and Education Programs in North Dakota

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded the University of North Dakota and the North Dakota Department of Health the following three grants totaling $2,495,689:

• $444,605 to the University of North Dakota’s Graduate Psychology Education Programs
• $1,651,084 to the North Dakota Health Department for Cancer Prevention and Control Programs
• $400,000 to University of North Dakota Cancer Prevention and Control Programs