News Releases
Hoeven Announces More Than $7 Million in USDA Grants and Loans to Improve Rural Water Systems
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded funding to improve rural water systems and upgrade water infrastructure in rural North Dakota through its Water and Environmental Program. "These funded projects will not only help ensure that rural residents and businesses have access to clean water, but will also create jobs and help communities retain and attract new businesses and families," Hoeven said. "Up-to-date, healthy and saf… Continue Reading
10.22.14
Hoeven Announces $4.5 Million in USDA Rural Telecom Loans to Establish, Expand Broadband Service
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Telecommunications Infrastructure loans totaling more than $4.5 million to North Dakota rural telecommunications providers to establish and expand broadband service to rural areas of Stutsman, Morton and Oliver counties. Earlier this year, Hoeven wrote to USDA Broadband Division Director Kenneth Kuchno in support of BEK's and Daktel's applications for the loans. "North Dakota has enjoyed… Continue Reading
10.16.14
Hoeven Working to Expand Grand Forks Global Hawk Mission, Arctic Creates Opportunities for Base
GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven and members of the Grand Forks Base Realignment Impact Committee (BRIC) Wednesday met with top officials at Northern Command (NORTHCOM) headquarters at Peterson Air Force base in Colorado to discuss how the UAS mission at Grand Forks Air Force Base can play a role in NORTHCOM's Arctic operations. NORTHCOM is the joint command responsible for all U.S. military missions in and around North America, including the Arctic region. "This is yet another reason we… Continue Reading
10.15.14
Hoeven: HHS Provides $23 Million in Heating Assistance for North Dakotans
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded more than $23 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding to help low-income North Dakotans heat their homes. The funding includes almost $5.6 million for North Dakota's tribes. "With cold weather approaching, we need to ensure that North Dakotans have the resources necessary to keep their homes safe and warm," said Hoeven. "These LIHEAP dollars will… Continue Reading
10.14.14
Hoeven Working to Build a True All-of-the-Above National Energy Plan That Puts States First
BISMARCK, N.D. - At the eighth annual Great Plains & EmPower ND Energy Conference today, Senator John Hoeven drove home the importance of building a true states-first, all-of-the-above national energy policy like the one he led in North Dakota, and he outlined a comprehensive range of energy legislation he has authored to help the country do the same. Together, the United States and its closest friend and ally Canada can achieve true energy independence and wean ourselves from reliance on Mi… Continue Reading
10.13.14
Hoeven Statement on Today's Announcement that Badlands NGL Will Build a New $4 Billion Facility in ND
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement in response to Badland's NGL's announcement today that it will proceed with the development, construction, start-up and operation of a new natural gas liquids (NGL) sourced ethane gas to polyethylene manufacturing facility in North Dakota. The project is expected to cost approximately $4 billion. "The Badlands NGL project illustrates clearly how we can create jobs, grow our economy and do so with good environmental stewards… Continue Reading
10.09.14
Hoeven: New UND Building Strengthens Grand Forks Region as UAS Leader, Embodies Commitment to the Future
GRAND FORKS, N.D. - At a groundbreaking ceremony today, Senator John Hoeven drove home the significance of the University of North Dakota's new Aerospace and UAS Research, Training and Education Building, which he said will strengthen North Dakota's position as a national hub for research, development, testing, operation and the commercialization in unmanned aerial technologies. "UND Aerospace is already the recognized national leader in manned aviation, and now we're working to make it the u… Continue Reading
10.08.14
Hoeven: Corps Finalizing Work on Devils Lake Embankment Project
DEVILS LAKE, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven has worked for more than a decade to help stabilize Devils Lake with an outlet and mitigation measures, and as a senator has helped to secure more than $500 million to protect the city and region from flooding. Today, Hoeven led a tour of the nearly completed embankment project and hosted a roundtable with Army Corps of Engineers officials and city and county leaders to review flood mitigation projects in the region. "One of our first tasks in the governo… Continue Reading
10.08.14
Hoeven Announces STB Decision to Improve Rail Service Reporting, Help Address Shipping
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) issued a decision requiring all Class I railroads, including Canadian Pacific (CP) and BNSF Railway, to publicly file weekly data reports on a wide-range of rail service issues. The data required in the reports include performance metrics such as system-average train speed, the total number of outstanding car orders, the average numbers of days late for all outstanding grain orders and the number of… Continue Reading
10.07.14
Hoeven Statement on Today's Extension of the Comment Period for the Waters of the U.S. Rule
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement in response to the administration's decision to extend the comment period for its proposed Waters of the United States rule: "The Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it will extend the comment period for the Waters of the United States rule until November 14, which I believe is in response to strong public opposition to it. While extending the comment period to allow for more input is fine, the fact is that t… Continue Reading
10.06.14
Hoeven Kicks Off Rail Safety Training in Fargo
FARGO, N.D. - As part of the senator's ongoing efforts to improve rail safety in the state and across the nation, Senator John Hoeven today kicked off a hands-on rail safety training session hosted by GATX Corporation, one of the nation's largest railcar leasing companies, and BNSF Railway. Hoeven met with GATX officials earlier this year to bring the company's training program to North Dakota. Hoeven has been pushing to improve rail safety in North Dakota and across the nation since December… Continue Reading
10.06.14
Hoeven, Heitkamp, Cramer and Dalrymple Unveil Agenda for 2014 Great Plains & Empower ND Energy Conference
BISMARCK, N.D. - Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp, Congressman Kevin Cramer and Governor Jack Dalrymple today announce the agenda for the eighth annual Great Plains & EmPower ND Energy Conference. The daylong, premier energy conference will be held October 14, 2014, at the National Energy Center of Excellence at Bismarck State College. The conference, which is hosted by North Dakota's congressional delegation and governor, Bismarck State College, Great Plains Energy Corridor, KLJ and … Continue Reading
10.03.14
Hoeven Working to Prevent Implementation of EPA's Waters of the U.S. Rule
BISMARCK, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven today told members of the U.S. Cattlemen's Association (USCA) and the Independent Beef Association of North Dakota (I-BAND) that they are good stewards of the land and water, and he is working on the Senate Appropriations Committee to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers from implementing the proposed Waters of the U.S. rule. "North Dakota's ranchers and farmers have a long and successful history of good stewardsh… Continue Reading
10.02.14
Hoeven Announces Grant to Improve Health Care Access for Benson County Veterans
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded a grant totaling $50,000 to the Robert Tovsrud VFW Post 757 to improve health care access for North Dakota veterans living in Benson County. The grant is made available through the Highly Rural Transportation Grants program and will fund transportation services to assist approximately 177 veterans with travel to VA medical centers and other facilities providing VA care. "Providing ou… Continue Reading
10.02.14
Hoeven Announces Recipients of $3.1 Million in Grants for Specialty Crops
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that 37 recipients have been selected to receive more than $3.1 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enhance the competitiveness of North Dakota's specialty crop industries. In April, Hoeven announced that USDA had awarded the grant funding to the North Dakota Department of Agriculture through its Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) that was reauthorized in the 2014 farm bill. The North Dakota Departmen… Continue Reading
10.02.14
Hoeven Announces ARC-PLC Signup Process Starts October 6
WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today announced that North Dakota farm owners can begin working with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) to take the first step toward signing up for the newly created Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. As a member of both the Senate Agriculture Committee and the farm bill conference committee, Hoeven worked to craft and pass the new risk management programs as part of the 2014 farm bill. "We worked hard to ensure the far… Continue Reading
10.01.14
Hoeven Working to Build States-First Energy Plan for the Nation
BISMARCK, N.D. - Speaking today at the Lignite Energy Council's annual meeting, Senator John Hoeven drove home the importance of building the kind of energy plan for the country that we built in North Dakota with Empower ND. That means taking a states-first, all-of-the-above approach toward energy development that will create jobs and boost the economy, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Hoeven addressed three especially burdensome Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules: proposed ca… Continue Reading
10.01.14
Hoeven: Small Business Administration Recommends EPA Withdraw Waters of the U.S. Rule
BISMARCK, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven said the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy has recommended that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdraw the proposed Waters of the U.S. rule. The Office of Advocacy, an independent voice for small businesses, said the EPA and Corps used an incorrect data for determining their obligations under the Regulatory Flexibility Act and that it will impose costs directly on small businesses and have a significant economic impact on them. "… Continue Reading
09.30.14
Hoeven Statement on Norsk Hostfest
BISMARCK, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement to mark this year's opening of the annual Norsk Høstfest Scandinavian Festival scheduled to begin today in Minot: "Over the past thirty-seven years Norsk Høstfest has grown into the largest Scandinavian festival in North America, annually bringing tens of thousands of people from around the world to our state to celebrate North Dakota's Scandinavian roots. North Dakota is proud of the legacy handed down to… Continue Reading
09.30.14
Hoeven: Manvel Elementary, Sweetwater Elementary Named National Blue Ribbon Schools
BISMARCK, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven today congratulated Manvel Elementary and Sweetwater Elementary Schools on being designated as 2014 National Blue Ribbon School Award Winners by the United States Department of Education. "The Blue Ribbon designation is a mark of excellence and celebrates the hard work of the educators and students at Sweetwater Elementary and Manvel Elementary School," said Hoeven. "We are proud of these schools and their communities for being recognized nationally for th… Continue Reading
