{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cramer-hosts-first-carry-a-big-stick-defense-forum-with-golden-dome-director-general-michael-guetlein", "Cramer Hosts First \u2018Carry a Big Stick\u2019 Defense Forum with Golden Dome Director General Michael Guetlein", "2026-08-20", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "ND", "Kevin Cramer", "C001096", "www.cramer.senate.gov", "cramer", "https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Fireside chat highlights North Dakota\u2019s existing role in missile defense and space operations\n\n***Click herefor media resources.***\n\nMEDORA, N.D. \u2013 \u201cSpeak softly and carry a big stick \u2013 you will go far\u201d was the perfect quote and the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library was the perfect location to kick off U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer\u2019s (R-ND) inaugural \u201cCarry a Big Stick\u201d Defense Forum today. It provided Cramer and his guests an opportunity to apply the philosophy of the nation\u2019s 26th President to the modern world.\n\nThe forum brought together Cramer, Golden Dome for America Director General Michael Guetlein, U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), and Tanagra Enterprises Founder and CEO Sarah Mineiro to discuss President Donald Trump\u2019s Golden Dome initiative. They covered how it will shape the future of U.S. missile and space defense and its role as a modern-day \u201cbig stick\u201d of American military superiority, becoming as credible and capable as Roosevelt\u2019s Great White Fleet as it journeyed around the world.\n\n\u201cI like bringing national security leaders to North Dakota to remind them of what our contribution to liberty is,\u201d said Cramer. \u201cAnd now, we have this famous presidential library dedicated to President Roosevelt, who had one of the greatest lines of all time: \u2018Walk softly, carry a big stick, and you will go far.\u2019 And the big stick symbol is perfect for all kinds of things, not the least of which are space-based interceptors. One of the main reasons I wanted General Guetlein to come out here for the \u2018Carry a Big Stick\u2019 forum is to socialize the knowledge of Golden Dome. It\u2019s the concept of a dome, the concept of a series of layers, if you will, of protections of the mainland of the continental United States, as well as Alaska and Hawaii.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs a nation, we\u2019ve relied on our oceans to keep us safe for generations. While we\u2019ve been focused on fights overseas, our adversaries have grown both determined and increasingly capable of holding the Homeland at risk,\u201d said Guetlein.\n\n\u201cDefending our own soil is a national imperative, Golden Dome is rapidly changing the defense equation and ensuring a fight against America is a losing bet,\u201d Guetlein said. \u201cGolden Dome for America strengthens the nation\u2019s security by unifying and advancing Homeland defense capabilities to detect, deter, and defeat incoming threats. We are proving every day we are going to pull this off.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe appreciate Senator Cramer hosting this series and General Guetlein for coming to North Dakota to discuss Golden Dome. The Golden Dome initiative will protect our nation from all types of attacks, and North Dakota has an important role to play. Our state is foundational to America\u2019s national security with our nuclear, UAS, and space missions,\u201d said Hoeven. \u201cThrough my position on the Defense Appropriations Committee, we\u2019re working to fund this priority, along with our nuclear missions, which serve as our original deterrent. In the modern world, military strength means a full spectrum of systems and capabilities from nuclear to conventional and from under the sea to outer space. North Dakota\u2019s military bases and our technology ecosystem are contributing from one end of the spectrum to other and we look forward to adding Golden Dome to that list.\u201d\n\nAmong other topics, the fireside chat highlighted how North Dakota\u2019s existing capabilities and ecosystem has positioned the state for a leading role in the Golden Dome initiative, including missile warning, space surveillance, satellite operations, academic research, and workforce development.\n\nCavalier Space Force Station (SFS) operates the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Characterization System (PARCS), which provides missile warning and space surveillance, while Grand Forks Air Force Base (GFAFB) operates satellites of the Space Development Agency\u2019s (SDA) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. GFAFB will also be the home to a new state-of-the-art Space Force Space Operations Facility. The University of North Dakota (UND) is also expanding its space program and developing the workforce needed for the growing space domain.\n\n\u201cAn important part of this effort is having conversations like this one, in a forum like this, where we can be direct about what we\u2019re doing, why we\u2019re doing it, and why this threat demands the urgency it does,\u201d said Guetlein.\u201cSenators, thank you for your support and partnership as we focus on the things that matter today and tomorrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe investments that North Dakota has made in places like our universities, our bases, Grand SKY, UAS, and space pay off\u2014not just in terms of a return on investment, which they have, but in a way that demonstrates how North Dakota punches above its weight class because we sense the obligation we have to the security of this nation,\u201d continued Cramer.\n\nGuetlein visited North Dakota with Cramer in 2025, touring UND, GFAFB, and Cavalier SFS to see the state\u2019s defense and space missions up close.\n\nCramer has made missile defense and North Dakota\u2019s national security role longstanding priorities. In 2025, he and Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) introduced the GOLDEN DOME Act, legislation to modernize and expand ground- and space-based capabilities to protect the U.S. against ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles and drone threats. The bill was included in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).\n\nHe has also worked for years to expand North Dakota\u2019s role in the nation\u2019s space architecture. Cramer helped establish the partnership between SDA and GFAFB, bringing then-SDA Director Dr. Derek Tournear to Grand Forks in 2020. The following year, SDA designated the base for a future satellite mission, and in 2024, Cramer brought SDA Operations Center North online.\n\nCramer\u2019s early advocacy for Space Force in the Fiscal Year 2020 NDAA ultimately led to its creation. He advocated for the service during Senate Armed Services Committee hearings in 2019, arguing space was becoming a contested national security domain. Following its establishment, Cramer became co-chair of the Senate Space Force Caucus and has continued supporting the service through subsequent defense legislation.", 1, "2026-08-21T05:30:57Z", "2026-08-21T05:32:22Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cramer-hosts-first-carry-a-big-stick-defense-forum-with-golden-dome-director-general-michael-guetlein"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5900719445198774, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}