News Releases
Hoeven: NRCS to Amend Contracts to Keep Conservation Compliance, Farm Program Enrollment Separate
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has agreed to amend its contract with conservation groups working in their offices to make sure they work only to help farmers enroll in conservation programs, not on conservation compliance issues. Further, beginning at the end of the fiscal year, the NRCS will open such positions in their office on a competitive basis, so that farm groups can also compete for the positions. Hoeven spoke this… Continue Reading
04.28.15
Hoeven Announces $348,000 Research Grant for NDSU
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the National Institute of General Medical Sciences has awarded North Dakota State University (NDSU) a $348,000 academic research grant. The grant will help research controlled delivery of insulin. "Research plays a crucial role in ensuring the health and wellbeing of all Americans," Hoeven said. "With this grant, NDSU can continue to work on challenges faced by many dealing with diabetes in our state and across the country." Today's grant w… Continue Reading
04.27.15
Hoeven: NASA Awards $125,000 to North Dakota to Promote Aerospace Technology Research and Development
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven announced today that NASA has awarded $125,000 to North Dakota to support aerospace technology research and development. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hoeven supported the NASA research program, which provides seed funding to help develop self-sustaining, long-term aerospace research. The funds are made available through NASA's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program, which awards Research Infrastructure Deve… Continue Reading
04.27.15
Hoeven Presses FEMA Head On Alleged Fraud in Flood Insurance Estimates for Sandy Victims
WASHINGTON - At a recent hearing of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on Homeland Security, Senator John Hoeven pressed Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate to outline steps he is taking to address charges that thousands of Hurricane Sandy homeowners were underpaid on their claims because of apparent wide-spread fraud and falsified engineering reports. Hoeven posed the questions while taking Fugate's testimony on FEMA's $11.2 billion budget request for Fis… Continue Reading
04.27.15
Hoeven's Long-Term Care Legislation Gaining Momentum, Veterans Affairs Secretary Urges Senate Support
WASHINGTON - At a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Veterans Affairs, VA Secretary Robert McDonald urged the Senate to support Senator John Hoeven's Veterans Access to Extended Care Act, a measure that will help veterans access nursing homes and extended care facilities in their communities near loved ones and friends. The senator is working to get a vote on the bill soon. The senator outlined his legislation at a gathering of the North Dakota Disabled American Veterans Conventio… Continue Reading
04.24.15
Hoeven Presses Corps to Expedite Permits for Highway 85 Four-Lane Project in Lake Sakakawea Region
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven this week pressed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expedite the permitting process for the Highway 85 four-lane project in the Lake Sakakawea area and to issue temporary or conditional permits now so that work can get underway this construction season. The Corps must approve both a Section 404 permit to allow dredging, as well as a construction permit. Hoeven met with Colonel Joel Cross, Army Corps Commander for the Omaha District, to make the case. "We have … Continue Reading
04.24.15
Hoeven: HHS Announces Federal Funding for North Dakota Protection & Advocacy Project
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, who serves on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $76,680.00 to the North Dakota Protection & Advocacy Project's (P&A) Assistive Technology (AT) Advocacy Program. P&A advocates for North Dakotans with disabilities and helps them to get the services and resources they need, and the AT Advocacy Program aims to improve the availability of assistive technology s… Continue Reading
04.23.15
Hoeven: U.S. Hunters No Longer Required to Register With IRS to Take Personal Firearms on International Hunts
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, today announced that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will no longer require U.S hunters traveling internationally to obtain an IRS identification number in order to bring personal weapons on hunting trips outside the U.S. At a meeting early Wednesday with U.S. CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske, Hoeven secured a commitment from the agency to return to the paper process … Continue Reading
04.22.15
Hoeven, Klobuchar Water Heater Efficiency Legislation Passes House, Goes to President for Signature
WASHINGTON - Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) today announced that the House of Representatives has passed their Water Heater Efficiency legislation. The bill enables rural electric power cooperatives and their members to continue using large, energy-efficient water heaters in "demand response" conservation programs. The measure passed the Senate last month and now goes to the president's desk for his signature. The legislation addresses the Department of Energy's (DOE)… Continue Reading
04.22.15
Hoeven: Senate Passes Legislation to Support Victims of Human Trafficking, Child Pornography
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Senate has passed legislation he is cosponsoring to help victims of human trafficking and child pornography. The measure also includes an amendment authored by Hoeven that helps North Dakota access federal funding to help victims of human trafficking and the law enforcement officers who are working to stop it. The Justice for Victims of Human Trafficking Act, introduced by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), … Continue Reading
04.21.15
Hoeven: Quadrennial Energy Review Affirms the Need for Infrastructure as Part of Energy Plan for Nation
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, who serves on the Senate Energy Committee, today issued the following statement in response to the administration's release of the first Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) from the Department of Energy (DOE). The senator proposed a quadrennial energy review in his legislation, the Domestic Jobs and Energy Act (DEJA), and also pushed the administration to hold QERs three years ago. "The Quadrennial Energy Review the administration issued today affirmed what we have… Continue Reading
04.21.15
Hoeven: HHS Awards More Than $280,000 to University of North Dakota to Support Alzheimer's Research
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven announced today that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $283,925 to the University of North Dakota (UND) to support aging research. Specifically, the funds will be used to test how diets rich in palmitate, a vitamin A compound, increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. "Alzheimer's disease affects thousands of North Dakotans and their families, and it's important to invest in research that will help us to better understand h… Continue Reading
04.21.15
Hoeven Working to Advance Cavalier Air Force Station
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today met with Colonel John Shaw, commander of the 21st Space Wing, to receive an update on Cavalier Air Force Station. The 21st is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado and is responsible for a variety of Air Force radar sites, including one at Cavalier Air Force Station. Cavalier Air Force Station is home to the 10th Space Warning Squadron, which uses Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization (PARCS), a sophisticated radar system to detect missi… Continue Reading
04.21.15
Hoeven Supports Agricultural Trade With Cuba, But Also Presses for Human Rights Changes
WASHINGTON - At a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing today, Senator John Hoeven pressed federal officials to ensure measures are in place to compel reforms in the Cuban government's policies regarding human rights as part of opening more agricultural trade. "Americans and Cubans would benefit from increased agricultural trade, but Cuba should make key reforms, including changing its approach to human rights and providing greater freedom to its people," Hoeven said. "As we expand agriculture t… Continue Reading
04.20.15
Hoeven Announces More Than $118,000 in Grants to End Veteran Homelessness
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, who serves on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have made $118,741 available to help veterans find permanent homes. The funds are made available through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, which combines HUD rental assistance with VA case management and clini… Continue Reading
04.18.15
Hoeven Addresses Knights of Columbus, Outlines Bills to Improve Extended Care, Health Care Services for Vets
MANDAN, N.D. - Speaking at a gathering of the Knights of Columbus, Senator John Hoeven this evening outlined legislation he is working to get passed that will help veterans in North Dakota and across the nation have better access to health care. The first bill provides veterans with more options for long-term care (LTC) services in their home communities, and the second gives veterans greater access to local services when a Veterans Affairs Administration (VA) hospital or clinic is unable to pr… Continue Reading
04.17.15
Hoeven: Energy Information Administration Finds Crude Oil Exports Will Lower Fuel Prices at the Pump
WASHINGTON - At a hearing of the Energy and Natural Resources committee, Senator John Hoeven this week questioned the head of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on the impact to consumers of lifting the ban on crude oil exports. EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski testified that because the price of gasoline at the pump is keyed to global crude oil prices, exporting more U.S. oil would increase supply on the world market, resulting in lower gasoline prices for American consumers at the pu… Continue Reading
04.17.15
Hoeven: Canadian Pacific Railway Commits to Keeping Key Crossing in Enderlin Open
ENDERLIN, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven today announced that Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway has committed to modifying its operations in the city of Enderlin so that trains will no longer block a key thoroughfare through the city. When a westbound train is stopped in town, CP has directed its engineers to park it on the east side of the Broadway crossing; eastbound trains will stop on the west side of the Broadway crossing, which will enable vehicles, especially emergency vehicles, to cross town in… Continue Reading
04.16.15
Hoeven: FlightSafety International Looking at Joining Grand Sky Tech Park
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that FlightSafety International, a leading aviation training company, is looking at joining Grand Sky, Grand Forks County's new technology park. Hoeven met with company Vice President General Ray Johns (retired) to encourage the move and offer support for the effort. FlightSafety International trains pilots for all aircraft types - fixed-wing, rotorcraft and tilt-rotor - and delivers more than a million hours of professional instruction each year… Continue Reading
04.14.15
Hoeven Announces Northrop Grumman Has Signed Lease with Grand Forks to Be Anchor Tenant in Grand Sky
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that Northrop Grumman has signed a lease agreement that would make the global aerospace and defense technology giant the anchor tenant in Grand Sky, Grand Forks County's new technology park. Hoeven spoke this afternoon with Northrop Grumman CEO Wes Bush, who told the senator that the company has signed the lease with the Grand Sky Development Corporation. Bush said the project will be built in three phases: Groundbreaking for the initial office b… Continue Reading