08.07.13

Hoeven Holds Dickinson Business Roundtable

Discusses Farm Bill, Energy Plan, Hears from Local Leaders on Housing, Infrastructure

DICKINSON, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today held a business roundtable in Dickinson to provide an update to local leaders and residents on his work in Washington on the farm bill and energy legislation, and to invite discussion from local leaders on housing and infrastructure.

Representatives from a wide-range of groups were in attendance, including the transportation, health care, education, energy and telecommunications sectors, as well as local officials and residents. Hoeven focused his update on his work to pass a five-year farm bill, two pieces of energy legislation he recently introduced and his efforts to address infrastructure needs in North Dakota and across the nation.

“I am working to pass good farm bill policy, as well as pro-growth reforms in energy and industry that will duplicate the success we’ve had in North Dakota at the national level,” Hoeven said. “Growth in energy, agriculture, advanced manufacturing, technology-based businesses and other vital industries have made North Dakota a model for the nation. We need to continue our effort to build the kind of pro-business environment we built in North Dakota to create jobs across America. At the same time, we need to keep pace with the infrastructure needs successful economic growth produces.”

Hoeven said the right approach to the nation’s economic recovery is to create a climate for growth.

“We need to create the kind of business climate nationally that we did in North Dakota,” Hoeven said. “With the right kind of approach to economic development, we will get our country growing again, reduce our deficit and put Americans back to work without raising taxes.”

Farm Bill

As a member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Hoeven has worked in the past two sessions to pass a long-term farm bill. This past week, Hoeven was named to the conference committee responsible for negotiating an agreement on the 2013 farm bill, which passed the Senate this June. Hoeven said he will work in the committee to include enhanced crop insurance provisions, continue the sugar program and decouple conservation compliance from the crop insurance program. Additionally, he said he’ll work to simplify and clarify rules for the Prevented Plant program.

Domestic Energy and Jobs Act (DEJA)

DEJA is a wide-ranging package of 12 diverse energy bills that addresses both traditional and renewable development, designed to streamline and simplify regulations, boost domestic energy supplies, build American energy infrastructure and safeguard America’s supply of critical minerals used in modern high-tech manufactured products such as cell phones and computers. It establishes an American energy development plan, an all-of-the-above energy program for federal lands by reviewing the nation’s energy needs and goals for federal land energy production.

Empower States Act

The Empower States Act would ensure that states retain the right to manage hydraulic fracturing and gives them the ability to respond first to any violation. It includes provisions to prevent loss of jobs or harm to consumers and the economy, to prevent arbitrary regulation from federal authorities and to ensure good environmental stewardship. This legislation recognizes that individual states are the first and best responders to oil and gas issues because they know their land and have a stake in protecting their environment.

Infrastructure and Housing

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hoeven worked to include funding for housing and infrastructure programs that meet North Dakota priorities.The senator was also a member of the joint Senate-House conference committee that crafted the last federal transportation bill, which provided record funding for North Dakota when combined with Emergency Road Funding. The legislation funded transportation projects through 2014, providing the state with an additional year of funding and greater certainty to plan long-term projects.

Enhanced Air Service Improving Quality of Life

Hoeven has worked closely with Delta Air Lines and United Air Lines to expand jet service to the state, citing North Dakota’s robust economy in urging the carriers to expand service to the state’s eight major airports. Earlier this year, Hoeven announced that Delta Airlines and United Airlines would begin twice-daily flights in and out of Dickinson. Delta officially began twice-daily nonstop service between Dickinson’s Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport and Minneapolis/St. Paul on June 10, and United started flights between Dickinson and Denver on June 6. In 2012, Dickinson airport had almost 24,000 boardings, an increase of almost 5,000 from 2011. North Dakota’s commercial airports finished 2012 with more than one million boardings, a record high.