{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=DCB25D7B-C3D6-4612-B7BF-173869A23486", "Heitkamp Announces Committee Assignments for 115th Congress", "2016-12-21", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "BISMARCK, N.D. \u2013 U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced her U.S. Senate Committee assignments for the 115th Congress. Through her roles on five different committees, Heitkamp will keep advocating for policies that support North Dakota families and stand up for rural America.\r\nShe will continue to serve on: the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry; U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs; U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs; U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs; and U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship.\r\n\u201cEvery single day I come to work in the U.S. Senate, I\u2019m fighting for folks living in rural America. When rural America flourishes, so does the rest of our country,\u201d said Heitkamp. \u201cThrough my work on five different committees in the U.S. Senate, I\u2019ve worked toward that goal, and passed bills that have been signed into law that will support first responders, advocate for farmers and ranchers, boost small businesses, and stand up for Native American children, among many other issues. In the coming Congress, I\u2019ll continue to build on many of these successes and make sure that North Dakota has the voice in Congress that it deserves.\u201d\r\nHeitkamp has been working to stand up for working families, small businesses, and rural communities on each of her assigned committees in the U.S. Senate, and will continue to build on her accomplishments in the upcoming Congress:\r\n \r\nU.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry: Heitkamp has been a leader in securing a strong future for North Dakota farmers and ranchers by:\r\nFighting for a strong Farm Bill: Heitkamp helped write and pass the Farm Bill in 2014, and is already looking ahead to fighting for a strong Farm Bill in 2018 by holding a Farm Bill tour last August to get feedback from North Dakota farmers and ranchers. \r\nPromoting American agricultural products Cuba: Heitkamp has been working to advance her legislation to ease financial restrictions on U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba and will continue her work to expand U.S. exports to Cuba.\r\nProtecting ranchers, rural families from unsafe prescribed burns: Earlier this month, Heitkamp\u2019s bipartisan bill requiring greater collaboration to prevent U.S. Forest Service prescribed burns from becoming out-of-control fires and hurting the property of North Dakota ranchers was signed into law. \r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nU.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs: Heitkamp has been fighting to support small businesses, consumers, workers, and retirees by: \r\nMaking sure small businesses, startups have a seat at the table: This month the president signed into law Heitkamp\u2019s bipartisan SEC Small Business Advocate Act that will create an office within the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission to help small businesses and startups advocate for policies that help them grow jobs and their businesses.\r\nReplacing unnecessary burdens on farmers, small banks with commonsense rules. Last year, with Heitkamp\u2019s help the Senate passed several bipartisan bills providing regulatory relief for small lenders, including her bipartisan Privacy Notice Modernization Act to eliminate redundant, costly and often ignored annual banking notifications and instead require banks to alert customers only when privacy changes actually occur. \r\nFighting to protect livelihoods of workers, retirees: Heitkamp has been fighting against steep pension cuts to thousands of workers and retirees in North Dakota across the country who have paid into Central States Pension Plan.\r\nProviding certainty for American businesses and workers: The U.S. Senate passed Heitkamp\u2019s bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank \u2013 an independent federal government agency\u00a0which has supported $42 million in exports since 2011 in North Dakota alone. She is continuing to work to make sure the Bank can fully function so it can support North Dakota businesses and workers.\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nU.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs: Heitkamp has been leading the charge to improve how the federal government operates and fight for efficient, effective solutions for rural communities and small businesses as well as prepare our communities for emergencies and protect them from threats:\r\nPreparing first responders to handle hazardous incidents: This month, the president signed into law Heitkamp\u2019s RESPONSE Act to help make sure first responders have the tools they need to respond to potential hazardous incidents, including derailments of crude oil trains, to keep communities strong and safe.\r\nStrengthening the Northern Border: This month, Heitkamp\u2019s bipartisan bill to help assess and strengthen American security along the nation\u2019s 5,500-mile long Northern Border was signed into law, which aims to address concerns she has heard from border security personnel in North Dakota, including in Pembina and Portal.\r\nProtecting a strong, reliable mail service for rural communities, businesses: Heitkamp introduced legislation to improve mail delivery and service in rural communities, which aims to specifically address concerns she has heard from hundreds of North Dakotans who responded to her Fix My Mail initiative. Heitkamp also brought U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan to Bismarck in August. \r\nPushing for better, more effective federal rules: As ranking member of the subcommittee which oversees the federal regulatory process, Heitkamp has led bipartisan efforts to cut red tape and improve the regulatory process through stronger accountability and more transparency. Her bipartisan regulatory reform bills passed in the committee with bipartisan support and she successfully fought against standards that hurt North Dakota agricultural businesses.\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nU.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs:\r\nImproving the lives of Native children: The president signed into law Heitkamp\u2019s bipartisan bill to stand up for Native American youth and help enable them to thrive by creating a Commission on Native Children. \r\nFacing the long-term impacts of trauma, reducing its impact on Native youth: Heitkamp has been working to address the detrimental impact traumatic experiences \u2013 events that overwhelm an individual\u2019s ability to cope \u2013 can have on tribal communities, particularly among Native children, by hosting a series of educational briefings for members of Congress about the issue and leading the first-ever U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs field hearing in North Dakota on the issue. \r\nExpanding safe, affordable housing opportunities across Indian Country: After bringing U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Juli\u00e1n Castro for his first visit to North Dakota in 2014 to view the housing challenges experienced by tribes on the ground, Heitkamp delivered the keynote address during HUD\u2019s first Great Plains regional Indian housing conference in Bismarck in August, which she requested.\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nU.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship:\r\nLeveling the playing field for small businesses: Heitkamp has supported efforts to level the playing field for brick-and-mortar businesses in North Dakota and across the country by allowing states to decide whether to continue to allow out-of-state internet retailers to conduct transactions without collecting sales tax owed. \r\nBuilding opportunity for rural small businesses, families, and startups: Heitkamp introduced her SEED Act to support startups in North Dakota and other rural states and small cities, by helping them get the early stage funding they need to grow. She also supported a commonsense federal paid family and medical leave policy to help working families care for their loved ones while continuing a strong workforce.\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=DCB25D7B-C3D6-4612-B7BF-173869A23486"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5558709856122732, "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"}