Hoeven: Congress Passes Six FY24 Appropriations Bills, Reduces Spending by $10 Billion

Following Efforts in Appropriations Committee, Senator Secures North Dakota Priorities

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today helped secure Senate approval for six of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Appropriations bills. The Senate approved the bills after the House passed the legislation with a majority of both parties in a 339-85 vote. The bills, which were previously considered and approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee with broad bipartisan support, reduce discretionary spending by $10 billion and include:

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, for which Hoeven serves as the lead Republican.
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.
Energy and Water Development.
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies.
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.

“We’ve been working very hard to both get back to regular order in the appropriations process and bend the curve on spending to address our debt and deficit. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed each of these bills, while securing $10 billion in savings, and now they have been debated and passed by both the House and the Senate,” said Hoeven. “At the same time, we’ve worked to support important priorities for our state, including for our ag producers and rural communities, our veterans and servicemembers, and public safety and infrastructure projects across the state.”

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL COMMUNITIES

Establishes a new agriculture policy research center at NDSU with $2 million to make the university one of the leading resources for policy research in the nation.
Provides $3 million for the Rural Export Center program, with $1.5 million specifically for the National Rural Export Center in Fargo.
More than $50 million in agriculture research funding for North Dakota.
- $3 million to support additional renovations at the Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center in Fargo.
- $2 million to continue an AgTech Cooperative Agreement between Grand Farm, North Dakota State University and the Agricultural Research Service.
Fully funding Farm Service Agency guaranteed and direct loans.
Maintains funding to continue the Cattle Contract Library Pilot Program.
Makes the Secretary of Agriculture a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for the purposes of reviewing foreign agricultural purchases of national concern, helping protect our farmland and resources from foreign adversaries.

VETERANS AND SERVICEMEMBERS

A Hoeven-sponsored provision supporting efforts to construct additional infrastructure at Rural Initiative national cemeteries, including in Fargo.
Hoeven’s language to improve veterans’ access to long-term care (LTC) services.
Language encouraging VA to continue researching hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) as a treatment for post-traumatic stress (PTS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) and permit case-by-case referrals for HBOT through VA Community Care.
More than $5 million to complete the Dickinson Readiness Center.
$2 million for the planning and design of housing at Camp Grafton.
A measure calling for sufficient funding in future budget requests to support a new Jamestown National Guard Readiness Center.
For Minot Air Force Base:
- Directs the Air Force to prioritize plans to upgrade security gates at Global Strike Command bases, to include Minot Air Force Base.
- Directs the Air Force to provide status updates on future weapons generation facilities (WGFs) and accelerate the WGF schedule wherever possible.
- Increased funding for the development of the W87-1 nuclear warhead, which will be carried on the new ICBM.

ENERGY AND WATER

For the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC):
- Increased funding for the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships.
- Support for the Energy Department’s Cooperative Agreement with EERC.
- Increased funding for research and development to extract rare earths and critical minerals from lignite and directing the department to continue supporting EERC’s critical minerals project.
Nearly $18 million for the Corps’ Section 594 rural water program, at least $11 million of which is directed to projects that are authorized under a multi-state framework, making North Dakota more competitive for the program.
Maintains funding for the Corps’ Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (WIFIA) program and expands the program to include non-federal levees.

TRANSPORTATION

$14 million for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Center of Excellence.
$6 million in matching grants to companies that contract with a UAS test site, including the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, to develop essential UAS integration technologies.
Increases funding for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which supports critical air service projects across North Dakota, including Fargo’s Terminal Expansion project.
Provides funding to allow for the hiring and training of an additional 1,800 new air traffic controllers.
Fully funds Essential Air Service (EAS), which helps provide air service to Devils Lake, Jamestown, and Dickinson.
A new $250 million highway bridge grant program, for which North Dakota is one of only 18 eligible states.
Provides an exemption from Electronic Logging Device (ELD) requirements for livestock haulers.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Requires a 5 percent allocation from the Crime Victims Fund be allocated directly to Indian Tribes, consistent with Hoeven’s SURVIVE ACT.
$2.5 million for the U.S. Indian Law Enforcement Advanced Training Center at Camp Grafton.
Increases funding for Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grants (Byrne JAG), which supports law enforcement, prosecution and courts, crime prevention and education.
Maintains funding for the Regional Information Sharing Systems program, which provides secure communications and information sharing services to combat multi-jurisdictional crime.

INTERIOR

Includes Hoeven’s language directing the National Park Service (NPS) to maintain the wild horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Encourages the Interior Department to support loans of historic artifacts for display at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

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