02.21.17

Hoeven Working to Reduce Regulatory Burden, Support Ag and Energy Industries

Senator Updates Dickinson Area Leaders at Stark County Economic Development Meeting

DICKINSON, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today updated community leaders from the Dickinson region on his work in Congress to build a pro-growth business climate and empower job creation. The senator is working on initiatives to provide regulatory relief, support North Dakota farmers and ranchers and bolster the nation’s energy industry.

“We’re focusing on the fundamentals to get our economy growing and thriving,” said Hoeven. “That includes reducing the regulatory burden to spur economic growth and job creation. We’re also working to empower North Dakota’s top industries – agriculture and energy – to ensure they have the certainty and support they need to succeed.”

Regulatory Relief

Hoeven has continued working to roll back the regulatory burden on the nation’s job creators, including:

  • Stopping the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) regulation, which has impacted businesses ranging from farmers and ranchers to the construction industry and energy sector. Hoeven worked to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from implementing the rule in 2016 and 2017 and will work with Scott Pruitt, the new EPA administrator to permanently eliminate the regulation.
  • Passing legislation to repeal the Stream Buffer Rule, a one-size-fits-all approach to regulating mining practices. Hoeven, an original cosponsor of the bill, was at the White House Thursday to join the president in signing this legislation into law. 
  • Supporting the new Administration’s initiative to rescind two regulations for every new regulation that comes online. The order also facilitates better measurement of the costs that federal rules impose on the economy and ensures these costs are offset by removing old regulations.

Supporting Our Farmers and Ranchers

As chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Committee, Hoeven is working on initiatives to support the nation’s farmers and ranchers, including:

  • Reintroducing the Capital for Farmers and Ranchers Act, legislation to increase the maximum loan amount that an individual producer is able to receive under the Farm Service Agency’s Direct and Guaranteed Loan Programs.
  • As a member of the Agriculture Committee, Hoeven helped write the last farm bill, and will play a key role in writing the 2018 Farm Bill, which is set for reauthorization in 2018. The senator is working to gather input in the coming year and will work to improve programs like Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage, while defending crop insurance.

Advancing North Dakota’s Energy Industry

Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy Committee, continues efforts to empower the state’s energy industry, including initiatives to:

  • Rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) duplicative methane regulation.
  • Prevent the BLM from delaying permits for oil and gas wells where the agency has only a minority share in the subsurface mineral rights and no surface rights.
  • Provide tax certainty for industry. Hoeven plans to reintroduce the CO2 Regulatory Certainty Act, legislation to clarify tax guidelines so project developers are better able to claim the 45Q tax credit for CO2 sequestration projects. This will help encourage more companies to use enhanced oil and gas recovery methods.
  • Streamline the permitting process for energy infrastructure. The senator is working to introduce the North American Energy Infrastructure Act in the new Congress. This legislation prevents unnecessarily protracted delays for important energy infrastructure projects from pipelines to transmission lines.  

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