releases: https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=ce1bac64-7a42-4e70-98da-f45523bcdb78
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=ce1bac64-7a42-4e70-98da-f45523bcdb78 | Heitkamp Statement on Bipartisan Year-End Spending Deal, Tax Extensions | 2015-12-16 | 2015 | 2015-12 | Democrat | House | ND | Heidi Heitkamp | H001069 | www.heitkamp.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today issued the following statement on the year-end spending deal and tax extensions, which include several provisions Heitkamp fought for that benefit North Dakota families, small businesses, farmers, and military personnel. North Dakota families, farmers, and energy workers can celebrate about much of todays spending bill, said Heitkamp. This bipartisan compromise deal will keep the federal government running and allow North Dakota communities to plan for the future. For years, Ive been pushing Congress to stop kicking the can down the road and to get things done. Todays deal is an important step down that path, with commonsense policies giving long-term certainty to wind and solar workers, opening our oil to global markets, and extending tax breaks for our family farmers. Working families will also benefit from permanent tax extensions, so hardworking parents can keep more of the middle-class wages they earn. To make sure North Dakota communities are confident and prepared for the future, Ill keep working to advance all-of-the-above energy, economic, and family strategies that will strengthen our state. The bill includes provisions Heitkamp fought for to strengthen North Dakota. For example, the spending bill and tax extensions will: Authorize and fund new study and construction starts for flood protection projects, like those around Minot and Fargo. The bill authorizes and provides $690 million more in federal funding for construction of flood projects than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed. Heitkamp has urged Congress to authorize new starts, and to make sure Fargo and Minots flood protections are priorities for the U.S. Army Corps. 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, Army Corps of Engineers, and Congressional appropriators. Heitkamp has been a vocal advocate of permanent flood protections for the Fargo-Moorhead region and has been working closely with local, state and federal officials to make sure North Dakota has the protection it needs. Restore Confidence in Working Families. Heitkamp has long advocated a better balance for working families dealing with the high cost of raising children, as well as middle-to-low income workers in high-demand jobs whose wages often dont make ends meet. 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 help strengthen the middle class by making sure the hardworking families are able to live above the poverty line. Permanently extend Section 179 with a $500,000 limitation to help farmers, ranchers, and small business owners. 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. Provide $7.3 million in funding for the Fargo Air National Guards targeting facility. 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 current facility is outdated and ill-suited to handle the extensive volume of classified information required by the mission. Build Certainty for North Dakota Tribal Colleges. 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. Promote certainty for wind and solar energy workers. Long a proponent of an all-of-the-above energy strategy, Heitkamp who worked to provide a five-year extension to the Production Tax Credit (PTC), which supports wind energy, in the Senate bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline secured a five-year extension of PTC as well as the Solar Investment Tax Credit to promote renewable fuels like wind energy for years to come. Improve Support for North Dakota Outdoor and Recreation Projects. Heitkamp has long supported expanded access to public lands in North Dakota, and in the congressional spending bill helped secure three-year, long-term extension of the Land and Water Conservation Fund which has supported every North Dakota county with more than $35 million for local community and public park, river and landscape access as well as preservation projects over the last five decades. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |