U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp voted with a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate to pass a funding bill that includes major wins for North Dakota servicemembers, military installations, energy research, and water infrastructure projects.
“North Dakota deserves reliable and strengthened support to promote our state’s energy industry, bolster our defense communities, and protect against major floods— and this bipartisan bill provides critical federal investment that works to keep our rural economy and communities strong and safe,” said Heitkamp. “The funding I secured in this bipartisan bill would advance several of North Dakota’s priorities, ranging from a new National Guard Readiness Center in Fargo to additional funding to promote important carbon capture and utilization projects in our state. In this bill, the Senate also pushed back against senseless proposed cuts to extremely important flood protection projects and rural water infrastructure improvements that thousands of folks across our state depend on to keep their families, bsinesses, and schools protected.”
The bill includes key provisions Heitkamp fought for to support and protect North Dakota’s servicemembers and defense communities, energy industry, and water infrastructure, including:
North Dakota’s Defense Communities
- Funding new construction to protect Minot Air Force Base’s airmen and nuclear arsenal. The Senate-passed spending bill would fund the construction of new security facilities to defend against threats to Minot’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) field, including a new maintenance unit, maintenance shelter, aircraft alert hangar, and operations center. During her extensive tour of the base’s facilities last month, Heitkamp pushed for additional funding to address current shortfalls in security and to improve personnel responsiveness.
- Supporting a new National Guard Readiness Center in Fargo. The bipartisan bill includes $32 million for a new facility in Fargo to help train three North Dakota Army National Guard sections.
- Making sure veterans receive the benefits and health care they have earned through their selfless service, including in rural areas. The spending package includes an increase in funding to promote high-quality mental health and primary health care delivery in rural America. Heitkamp has continued to push the administration to adequately fund the VA Office of Rural Health.
Energy Technology
- Supporting the development of carbon capture power and other energy projects. The bill includes a new competitive grant to support Project Tundra through its next phase of development. The grant would assist commercial-scale carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) power projects in procuring feasibility studies and other items such as detailed designs, scopes of work, material purchasing, and environmental permitting requirements. Additionally, the bill continues a program that allows the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Energy on energy technology research.
- Securing funding to develop advanced energy technologies for coal and natural gas plants. $25 million would be used to advance projects important to North Dakota, including advanced gasification systems, Allam cycle technology, energy and water sustainability, coal-to-liquid fuels, economical CO2 separation and capture, and domestic alternative transportation fuels.
- Increasing funding for Carbon Capture and Carbon Storage (CCS) research programs. The CCS and Power Systems program would see increased funding under the Senate-passed bill. Heitkamp has continued to push for this important research and has advocated for strong bipartisan Congressional support. This follows her effort to pass and get signed into law her bipartisan bill to encourage technological innovation in CCUS through the extension and expansion of the 45Q tax credit, maintaining a place in our energy mix for existing resources like North Dakota coal and natural gas.
Flood Control and Water Infrastructure
- Preventing cuts to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction projects. The Senate-passed legislation rejects the president’s proposed cut to the Army Corps’ construction projects and would provide an additional $76 million above current funding levels. Heitkamp has consistently fought for projects that reduce the impacts of floods in North Dakota communities.
- Funding vital water infrastructure and conservation projects in rural America. The legislation provides $75 million for water infrastructure projects, which Heitkamp has advocated for in North Dakota communities like Medina. The bipartisan bill also includes an additional $86.5 million for rural water projects through the Bureau of Reclamation
- Encouraging the Army Corps to improve maintenance efforts at North Dakota recreation sites. The bill includes language pushing the Corps to prioritize North Dakota recreations sites in the Upper Missouri River Basin— including at Lake Sakakawea and Lake Oahe— for repairs and facility upgrades. Heitkamp has stressed the Army Corps’ responsibility to maintain facilities along the Missouri River in North Dakota and to address the backlog of repairs.
