Hoeven Outlines Efforts to Bring Down Inflation, Reduce Costs for American Consumers & Businesses
BISMARCK, N.D. – At the Bismarck Mandan Chamber EDC today, Senator John Hoeven held a roundtable with local business leaders and discussed his efforts to address record-high inflation and alleviate supply chain disruptions impacting the nation’s economy. To this end, the senator is working to:
- Empower greater U.S. domestic energy production to help bring down prices at the pump and reduce the cost of goods throughout the economy.
- Provide regulatory relief, streamline the permitting process for infrastructure and reduce duplicative and burdensome federal rules.
- Support farmers and ranchers to maintain the nation’s access to an affordable, high-quality food supply. This includes:
- Gathering feedback from North Dakota producers, commodity groups and other agri-businesses as work begins on the next farm bill.
- Working to ensure access to reliable transportation services for agriculture producers and other North Dakota shippers.
“Record-high inflation has brought real challenges for American consumers and businesses,” said Hoeven. “In particular, President Biden’s decision to curtail U.S. oil and gas production and increase our reliance on OPEC can be felt throughout the economy, as prices climb for everything we use. At the same time, farmers, ranchers, manufacturer’s and others struggle to get their products to market due to rail and ocean shipping backlogs. North Dakota industries need relief from these issues. We continue working to provide just that, whether it’s addressing transportation issues, pushing back on costly federal regulations or unlocking the potential of America’s abundant energy resources.”
Increasing U.S. Domestic Energy Production
Hoeven is working to pass legislation he introduced that would take immediate action to increase U.S. energy production. Among other priorities, his bill prohibits any presidential moratoria on new energy leases and requires the administration to hold oil and natural gas lease sales in each state with land available for leasing. The legislation also prohibits drawdowns of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) until the Secretary of the Interior issues a plan to increase oil and gas production on federal lands and waters.
Streamlining Permitting & Reducing the Regulatory Burden
Last month, Hoeven helped introduce legislation, sponsored by Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), to comprehensively reform federal permitting and project reviews. Importantly, the bill helps protect against federal overreach by codifying Trump-era policies like:
- Modernizing and streamlining the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review and permitting process.
- The Navigable Waters Protection Rule’s definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act, ensuring private property rights are protected.
- Rules to prevent states from unreasonably blocking energy projects and those designed to streamline permitting for critical energy projects.
Writing the Next Farm Bill
Hoeven recently hosted Senator John Boozman, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, in North Dakota for a discussion with local producers and commodity groups to discuss the following priorities for the next farm bill:
- Maintaining strong crop insurance, the primary risk management tool for many producers.
- Improving the farm safety net, including the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs.
- Strengthening livestock disaster programs, including the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), the Livestock Forage Program (LFP) and the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP).
- Cutting red-tape and ensuring programs are farmer-friendly.
Ensuring Access to Reliable Transportation Services
At the same time, Hoeven is advancing efforts to ensure North Dakota shippers, including farmers and ranchers, have access to reliable rail and ocean shipping services. The senator sponsored the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, bipartisan legislation signed into law in June to update federal regulations for the global shipping industry and help American producers export their products.
Hoeven has also been pressing both the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and rail companies to resolve ongoing rail service disruptions. Earlier this year, Hoeven held meetings with STB Vice Chairman Robert Primus, STB Member Patrick Fuchs and BNSF CEO Katie Farmer to review the public accountability requirements the STB has placed on Class I railroads and discuss progress toward restoring reliable rail service in North Dakota.
-###-
Next Article Previous Article
