releases: https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=975219b5-be26-4eaf-8ddc-c080ee19003e
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=975219b5-be26-4eaf-8ddc-c080ee19003e | Heitkamp Votes with Bipartisan Majority of Senate to Pass Year-End Spending Deal, Tax Extensions | 2015-12-18 | 2015 | 2015-12 | Democrat | House | ND | Heidi Heitkamp | H001069 | www.heitkamp.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today voted with a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate to pass a year-end spending deal and tax extensions, packages that include several provisions Heitkamp fought for that benefit North Dakota. The package, which also passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, will now go to the president to be signed into law. No deal is perfect, but this bill is a strong bipartisan compromise and it includes priorities I fought for to give North Dakota families and small businesses a leg up, said Heitkamp. The deal will bolster our energy sector and create jobs by letting oil producers export crude for the first time in 40 years. Thats a victory for North Dakota, and a priority Ive been leading on for a year and a half. The deal will permanently lower tax burdens on farmers, let working families keep more of their hard-earned wages, and fund a new $7.3 million Air National Guard intelligence facility in Fargo. To protect women and families, the bill increases funding to tackle domestic violence by $50 million. And to give communities like Fargo and Minot a better shot at lasting flood protection, the deal will fund new U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood protection projects. The bill includes provisions Heitkamp fought for to strengthen North Dakota in key ways: Lifting ban on exporting U.S. oil: Heitkamp has led the push to lift 1970s-era ban on exporting U.S. oil, and helped negotiate the deal in the spending bill allowing for U.S. oil exports for the first time in 40 years. Heitkamps efforts since the summer of 2014 paved the way for lifting the ban so North Dakota oil can reach global markets. For more than a year and a half, Heitkamp has been meeting with members of Congress especially Senate Democrats and top White House officials to explain why lifting the ban makes sense and to build bipartisan support for the policy. Flooding protections: The spending bill will authorize and fund new study and construction starts for flood protection projects, like those around Minot and Fargo. The bill provides $690 million more in federal funding for construction of flood projects than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed. Heitkamp urged Congress to authorize new starts, and to make Fargo and Minots flood protections priorities. Last month Heitkamp worked with Minot officials to push for lasting flood protections at meetings she arranged in Washington with top officials at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and Army Corps of Engineers. Heitkamp has been a vocal advocate of lasting protections and has been working closely with local, state and federal officials to make sure North Dakota has the protection it needs. Workers and families: To protect and strengthen the middle class, the bill gives North Dakota families permanent tax breaks. In the congressional spending bill, Heitkamp fought for and helped make permanent both the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the enhanced Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to support hardworking families so they can earn a living above the poverty line. Farmers and ranchers: The deal permanently cuts taxes on North Dakota farmers and ranchers by extending Section 179 with a $500,000 limitation. Section 179 is a provision in the tax code that allows farmers, ranchers, and small business owners to expense equipment purchased to run their operations. Permanently extending Section 179, which Heitkamp has pushed for, will provide certainty for North Dakota producers and ease small businesses tax burden. Military personnel: North Dakota military personnel will benefit from $7.3 million in funding for the Fargo Air National Guards targeting facility, as well as crucial supports for Minot and Grand Forks Air Force Bases. Heitkamp specifically pushed to include funding for the North Dakota Air National Guard to build a new facility in Fargo for its intelligence targeting mission. The bill fully funds the Global Hawk at Grand Forks Air Force Base.It also provides $145 million for communications upgrades for the B-52, $74 million for B-52 squadrons, $142 million for intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) modernization, and $212 million for nuclear weapons modernization all of which benefit the Minot Air Force Base. Tribal education: Heitkamp successfully pushed for greater certainty for the United Tribes Technical College which, together with the Navajo Technical College in New Mexico will receive $5 million in advance funding that will allow the colleges to plan vital education programming and construction projects. Wind and solar: Long a proponent of an all-of-the-above energy strategy, Heitkamp secured a five-year extension of wind Production Tax Credit (PTC) and the Solar Investment Tax Credit, to promote renewable sources like wind for years to come. The PTC has proven successful in driving up wind and alternative energy output nationwide. In North Dakota alone,up to 3,000 jobswere supported by the wind production industry in 2014. Outdoors and recreation. Heitkamp has long supported expanded access to public lands in North Dakota. In the spending bill, she helped secure a three-year extension of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has supported every North Dakota county with more than $35 million for community and public park, river and landscape access projects over the last five decades. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |