Senate Passes the National Defense Authorization Act

On Wednesday, we passed the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I secured funding authorization and language for missions both directly and indirectly benefiting North Dakota’s military community. This year’s bill fully funds nuclear modernization efforts, supports efforts to develop increased intelligence capabilities, grows the Space Force, and authorizes a litany of North Dakota-specific military projects.

The National Defense Authorization Act fulfills our constitutional duty and most foundational obligation to provide for the common defense of the United States.

No bill this size is ever perfect, but this legislation provides critical support for the defense of our nation, takes care of our troops and their families, and prioritizes nuclear modernization to keep pace with our adversaries. I helped craft this bill in the Senate Armed Services Committee to ensure we stay the land of the free because of the brave.

I am grateful for Senate Armed Services Ranking Member Sen. Jim Inhofe's (R-OK) kind words about my contributions to this year's bill and his leadership in getting it passed.

Vote Opposes Raising the Debt Ceiling

I voted against Democrats’ bill to increase the debt ceiling. We just got terrible economic numbers last week with inflation hitting nearly 7%, the highest in 40 years.

Amidst a background of Biden’s supply chain crisis and skyrocketing prices everywhere, the last thing Democrats should be doing is increasing the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion to pay for even more inflationary spending.

Voting no on raising the debt ceiling without structural reforms to deal with underlying problems was an easy decision. Their spending is completely out-of-control and I will not be party to this reckless and irresponsible behavior.

Floor Speech Highlights “12 Biden Blunders of Christmas”

As we approach the Christmas break and advent of the New Year, I believe it’s instructive to take an inventory of the year that was. In honor of the holiday season, I took stock of the first year of the reign of Biden, Schumer, and Pelosi in a speech on the Senate floor.

In my remarks, I outlined 12 blunders by the Biden Administration in 2021, including:

• Repeated claims of a “free” nearly $5 trillion big government socialist agenda.
• Joe Biden hiding from the press and not taking questions.
• The Biden Administration’s plan to give $450,000 settlements for illegal immigrants.
• Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s saying the U.S doesn’t have the moral authority to call out China on energy production and emissions (and other gaffes).
• The crisis at the southern border and a taxpayer-built border wall around Biden’s Delaware beach mansion.
• The disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
• Consistent confusion and alarm in regards to Biden’s comments about Taiwan.

Veterans’ Affairs Committee Passes Burial Equity, VA Insurance Bills

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee voted to move two bills I co-sponsored to the Senate floor for full Senate consideration.

The first one is the Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act, which ensures guardsmen and reservists have equal burial rights in state veterans’ cemeteries, like the one we have south of Mandan. Guardsmen and reservists sign up to risk their lives in order to protect the liberties we enjoy every single day in this great country. In my view, and in the view of the vast majority of Americans, they deserve to be recognized for that service with a proper burial in veterans cemeteries after their death.

The second bill is the Supporting Families of the Fallen Act, which authorizes a raise in Veterans Affairs life insurance to account for inflation. This is the first raise in over 15 years, and as inflation is still very much on the rise in our country, this legislation will allow our veterans to better provide their families with stability and peace of mind for the future.

Both of these bills will support veterans in North Dakota and across the country. It’s the very least we can do after the sacrifices they make for us.

Introduced Challenge to Biden’s Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers

This week, I joined Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) in introducing a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), the official process for Congress to eliminate an executive branch rule. This resolution would halt President Biden’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccine mandate for virtually all health care employees and prevent any similar rule from being proposed in the future.

While Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates have been routinely struck down by the courts, I’m working to fight them in Congress. This resolution works to ensure Biden, or any future president, can never impose an unconstitutional vaccine mandate on doctors, nurses, and first responders, especially those who have been on the frontlines since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem Announces His Retirement

On Friday, North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem announced his retirement. Elected to office in 2000, he is the state’s longest serving attorney general and will have served a total of 22 years when he leaves office at the end of December 2022.

Throughout his career Attorney General Stenehjem has been a tireless advocate and force for North Dakota advancing the cause of federalism and states’ rights. I am grateful for his dedicated service to our great state and wish him the best in retirement.

North Dakota Majority Leader Rich Wardner Announces His Retirement

Last week, North Dakota Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner (R-Dickinson) announced he will not seek re-election in 2022. He has represented District 37 for 30 years and has been Senate Majority Leader since 2011.

Rich Wardner is the best. He is the true gentlemen of North Dakota’s legislative history and we are better off because of his servant leadership to our great state. With an educator’s and coach’s heart, he gives being a Senator a good name.

Bill Reinstates and Preserves Mission of the National Coal Council

I joined Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) in introducing the Coal Council Certainty Act, legislation to reinstate the National Coal Council. The NCC is a federal advisory committee that provided advice, recommendations and insights to the Department of Energy (DOE) on issues related to the coal industry. It was originally established in 1984 and was comprised of coal producers and consumers, carbon researchers, academics, environmentalists and policy experts.

The council’s core mission was to advance innovation and technological development, enabling the U.S. to continue utilizing its abundant coal resources while improving environmental stewardship. However, DOE allowed its charter to expire in November, with the intention to re-charter the council and change its focus away from the responsible development and more innovative uses of coal.

Joe Biden has done everything in his power to undermine one of the most reliable, affordable, and abundant energy resources we are blessed with in North Dakota – coal. Letting the National Coal Council’s charter expire last month is the latest attack in the Democrats’ longtime war on coal.

Bipartisan Bill Addresses the Mental Health Crisis Among Veterans

I introduced bipartisan legislation to implement a Zero Suicide Initiative pilot program at five U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers across the country, including one that must serve primarily veterans who live in rural areas.

We need to find ways to lower suicide rates among veterans and get the brave men and women who fought for our country help when they need it. We hope this program will lower suicide risk for VA patients and improve mental health, safety, and suicide care for veterans.

Legislation Increases Transparency of VA Health Record Modernization

Alongside my Senate Veterans’ Affairs colleagues, including Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT), we introduced the VA Electronic Health Record Transparency Act, legislation to increase transparency surrounding the Department of Veterans Affairs Electronic Health Record Modernization program.

If executed correctly, the Electronic Health Record Modernization program has remarkable potential. Our bipartisan bill ensures transparency and proper implementation of the program for the benefit of veterans and taxpayers.

Bill Introduced to Prevent Democrats’ Big Government Lending Scheme

I joined Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and John Kennedy (R-LA) in introducing the Protecting Access to Credit for Small Businesses Act, legislation to prevent Democrats from turning the Small Business Administration into a direct lender, as they are attempting to do in their big government socialist agenda reconciliation bill.

More government is never the answer. Biden’s Build Back Broke proposal significantly expands the role of the Small Business Administration. The plan authorizes nearly $4.5 billion over 10 years for the Small Business Administration to issue direct 7(a) loans, which will cut local banks and credit unions out of the process.

Our bill ensures American small businesses continue to have access to capital without undermining existing relationships with their lender of choice.

Bicameral Letter Urges Restoration of Protections to Faith-Based Child Welfare Providers

In a bicameral letter with Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC), we condemned the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recent reversal of protections for faith-based adoption and foster care agencies.

Rescinding waivers for faith-based adoption and foster care agencies puts these providers in the untenable position of choosing between serving children under the Title IV-E foster care program or operating in accordance with the tenets of their faith – the same faith that drives them to serve children in the first place.

The Department of Health and Human Services should be welcoming child welfare providers, not excluding them. Children are too important to be pawns in political games.

Letter Demands Answers from the World Health Organization

In a letter to the World Health Organization, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and I raised questions about the process it uses to name COVID-19 variants.

While the World Health Organization says it names COVID-19 variants after letters in the Greek alphabet, the organization skipped the letter “Xi,” seemingly to avoid naming a variant after China’s president Xi Jinping. My colleagues and I note this is just one of numerous examples of the World Health Organization showing deference to the Chinese Communist Party, and putting an emphasis on politics over public health and transparency.

China evaded responsibility for the pandemic, and now it seems to have received special treatment and evaded the COVID-19 variant naming process as well

The World Health Organization needs to share its true reasons for these naming discrepancies, as well as how it plans to implement a consistent virus naming policy in the future, so we can move forward with consistent and clear guidance.

Banking Committee Republicans Demand President Biden Rebuke Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Coup Attempt

In a letter to President Biden, I joined all Banking Committee Republicans in demanding Biden rebuke Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Director Marty Gruenberg for their illegitimate attempt to violate the FDIC’s 88-year tradition of working independent from partisan political influence.

We also called on Biden to immediately replace Director Gruenberg—whose term expired three years ago and is serving in a temporary capacity—and nominate an individual to fill the vacant Republican seat on the FDIC board.

America’s independent financial regulators are respected throughout the world for their professionalism and integrity, and we fear the actions of Director Chopra and Director Gruenberg, if left unchecked, have the potential to weaken faith in our financial institutions and markets.

Answers Requested from Secretary of State Blinken on Nigeria’s Removal from Religious Freedom Violators List

In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and I demanded answers on why Nigeria was removed from the State Department’s list of Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and requested they be placed back on the list.

Religious people in Nigeria face severe persecution at the hands of radical terrorist groups and even their own government. This year, without explanation, the Department of State has removed Nigeria completely from its lists of severe religious freedom violators. This development is alarming given Nigeria’s appalling record.

North Dakota Farm Bureau

It was good to see North Dakota Farm Bureau President Daryl Lies. We had a great discussion on the Waters of the U.S. rule, rising inflation, cattle prices, and the disastrous Biden Build Back Broke plan. One meeting with this North Dakota farmer made being stuck in the swamp worth it!

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern Railway

Thanks to Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern Railway for stopping by to share a railroad industry update and discuss its pending merger. If approved, this merger would provide North Dakota producers with more access and competition to North American markets.

Grants for North Dakota

Justice Department Awards $1.7 Million to UND Law School, City of Bismarck

The U.S. Department of Justice awarded the following three grants totaling $1,750,002:

• $900,002 to the City of Bismarck for a Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program for first responders.
• $600,000 to Tribal Judicial Institute at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Law for Violent Crime in Tribal Communities Training and Technical Assistance.
• $250,000 to Tribal Judicial Institute at the UND School of Law for enhancing tribal-federal-state-local collaborations.