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Senator Cramer's Weekly Update June 24 - June 30

Senate Passes the NDAA

Last week, the United States Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act with strong bipartisan support. It bolsters our nuclear triad, improves the livelihood of our all-volunteer military force, establishes the United States Space Force, and reflects the priorities of North Dakota. I am thankful to my colleagues for their efforts and collaboration on this bill. Congress now moves one step closer to fulfilling its obligation to provide for the common defense of our nation. Now the House must act.

You can hear more about the bill below.

Ahead of the vote, I went to the Senate floor to speak on the importance of passing the NDAA. The primary obligation of Congress is to provide for the common defense of our nation. With this bipartisan legislation, we give our armed forces the resources they need.

Congrats to GFAFB

Last week, the Air Force officially re-designated the 319th Air Base Wing in Grand Forks as the 319th Reconnaissance Wing.

This re-designation by the Air Force is the right one, and I offer my congratulations to everyone who made it happen. Being a ‘host wing’ is a big deal, and it provides the Airmen assigned to Grand Forks the formal designation for the flying mission their work supports.

The base is well positioned for the future. It has a proven track record of success, equipped with a strategic location and a community that supports it. Combined with the years of experience of working with unmanned aircraft, Grand Forks is the perfect base for taking on the challenges our world faces.

American Legion's Centennial Year

I celebrated the American Legion’s centennial year in Grand Forks. We are thankful for our men and women who risked their lives to preserve our freedom. The American Legion is a great resource not for only our deserving veterans, but also for the local communities surrounding them.

Protecting Life

My colleagues, Montana Senator Steve Daines and Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, joined me in introducing the Patient Rights Act, a bill to restrict federal funding for health care entities that do not respect all human life and patient rights.

The unborn deserve the same rights as any other human being. All patients- from the unborn to the elderly- are given the unalienable right to life, but our current system too often denies them of it. Organizations that do not honor the right to life at any of its stages do not deserve taxpayer funds, and this bill reflects that truth.

Senator Daines and I also helped Senator Blackburn introduce her bill, the Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act, which halts the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortion services. While current law prohibits federal funds from being used for abortions, companies like Planned Parenthood still receive millions of taxpayer dollars each year. Because federal funds pay for other parts of an organization’s operations, more money is available to fund abortion services, thus turning these taxpayer dollars into de-facto subsidy for abortion. This bill closes that loophole by prohibiting federal funds not just from being used to pay for abortions, but also from going to any entity that performs abortions.

Addressing the Humanitarian Crisis at the Border

On Thursday, Congress passed the Border Supplemental Appropriations Act, a bill to provide emergency funding to address the humanitarian crisis at the southern border.

Each day thousands of immigrants arrive at our southern border, many of whom are children or victims of sex trafficking. We must be able to provide them with basic living conditions while they await their hearings, but our immigration operations are under-funded and ill-equipped to assist them.

After months of resistance from Democrats the Senate passed an emergency funding bill, backed by both parties and the President, to adequately fund humanitarian response efforts. I am pleased the House put politics aside and passed the bill. Partisan pandering has caused enough pain. Now, the bill goes to the President's desk for his signature.

Lowering Prices for Insulin

Minnesota Senator Tina Smith and I introduced legislation to hold insulin manufacturers accountable for excessive increases in the price of life-sustaining insulin.

Learn more about the bill by watching the video below.

New Iran Sanctions

President Trump dealt another blow to Iran by imposing further sanctions and giving his administration the authority to crack down on their funding sources.

Let’s be clear: Iran was sanctioned because they refuse to end their support for terrorist activities that threaten the safety of us and our allies, and these sanctions are working. Iran’s economy is weakening and their leadership is losing support. While a disproportionate response to their recent retaliation could have united the Iranian people against the United States, these new sanctions deal another blow to their already-struggling economy and remind the Iranian people that the real adversary is their leadership, not ours.

Our Next Generation of Workers

The U.S. Department of Labor released a new proposal on apprenticeship programs.

Apprenticeship programs help bridge the gap between the next generation of workers and our country’s workforce shortage. This proposal gives private businesses the opportunity to create paid and accountable apprenticeships where the emerging workforce can learn the skills they need.

I applaud Secretary Acosta for offering these solutions and President Trump for prioritizing programs that will help workers equip themselves for the available jobs in this rocketship economy.

North Dakotans in Washington

Congratulations to Dyuti Dawn from Davies High School for being named a 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholar! North Dakota is lucky to have a young leader like you.
Meridian Energy Group stopped by my office to provide an update on their crude oil refinery in Belfield.
I met with North Dakotans with CHS, a farmer-owned cooperative, to discuss the importance of ratifying the USMCA and securing a trade deal with China.
Thank you to the Associated Builders and Contractors of Minnesota and North Dakota for coming to my office this week. I’m grateful for their good work and advocacy on behalf of North Dakotans, and it’s an honor to be named a Champion of the Merit Shop.

Contact Me

I currently have offices in Fargo, Minot and Washington, D.C. Offices in Grand Forks and Bismarck will open in July. You can stop by or call any of the following offices. You can also visit my website at www.cramer.senate.gov.

Minot

105 Federal Building

100 First Street SW

Minot, ND 58701

701-837-6141

Fargo

306 Federal Building

657 Second Avenue North

Fargo, ND 58102

701-232-5094

Washington, D.C.

400 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

202-224-2043

Weekly Radio and TV Schedule

RADIO

What's On Your Mind

Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. central

KFYR 550 AM - Bismarck

1100 The Flag - Fargo

KLTC 1460 AM - Dickinson

KTGO 1090 AM - Tioga

Jarrod Thomas Show

Thursdays from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. central

KNOX 1310 AM - Grand Forks

Rick Jensen

Thursdays from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. central

KHND 1470 AM - Harvey

Jay Thomas

Every other Tuesday from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m. central

PODCAST

Rob Port - Plain Talk Podcast

Thursday mornings

Say Anything Blog

TELEVISION

Chris Berg - Point of View

6:30 p.m. central (Semi-Monthly)

Valley News Live - Fargo

Photo credit: North Dakota Tourism Department and the Office of U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer

Credits:

PC: North Dakota Tourism

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