Bismarck – Today, the US House of Representatives voted on an article of impeachment that accuses President Trump of “incitement of insurrection.” Members of the voting body reconvened in the US Capitol just one week after the country and world witnessed an unprecedented insurrection on the building, and democracy as a whole. The vote was passed 232 to 197, with all 222 Democrats and 10 Republican Representatives supporting the impeachment.

Sen. McConnell appears unwilling to call the Senate back into session to take up the matter. President Trump becomes the first President in United States history to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives.

Democratic-NPL Chairwoman Kylie Oversen said:

“As the events of January 6th continue to come to the surface, it is clear that something well beyond a failure in leadership led to and exacerbated a violent attack on the center of our federal government and our democracy. As Rep. Cheney (R-Wyoming) put it ‘our nation is facing an unprecedented, since the civil war, constitutional crisis.’ Although North Dakota’s congressional delegation seems unphased by these monumental events and the President’s part in this, we, the citizens of North Dakota and of the United States, cannot stand idly by and let the pillars of our democracy fall.”

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(BISMARCK, N.D.) – Senator Tim Mathern (D-Fargo) and Democratic Leaders Senator Joan Heckaman (D-New Rockford) and Representative Josh Boschee (D-Fargo) have introduced legislation to create an infrastructure bonding program during the 2021-2023 biennium.

Senate Bill 2040 authorizes the Public Financing Agency to issue up to $2 billion in infrastructure bonds. The bonds have a term of 25 years and would be issued at market rates. Bonds would be repaid using Legacy Fund dollars or Bank of North Dakota proceeds transferred to the general fund at the end of each biennium. Approximately $209 million would be needed each biennium to service the debt on the bonds. The bill is also sponsored by Senator Erin Oban (D-Bismarck), Representative Gretchen Dobervich (D-Fargo), and Representative Alisa Mitskog (D-Wahpeton).

“Infrastructure needs in North Dakota are growing,” says lead sponsor Sen. Tim Mathern (D-Fargo). “The Legislature took a first step in adopting the Prairie Dog bill last session, more needs to be done. Oil and gas revenues meant to support these projects have dropped considerably due to COVID-19, meaning no funds will be available during the current biennium.”

SB 2040 allocates proceeds from the bonds to four distinct project areas. First, it shores up the municipal infrastructure and county and township infrastructure funds created by the Prairie Dog bill by providing up to $230 million. This will ensure those buckets are filled even when oil and gas revenues are low.

“These communities can’t wait,” Mathern said. “We need to take advantage of low interest rates now and finance shovel-ready projects. These projects will only become more expensive if we delay.”

Second, it supports education infrastructure by providing $750 million to the School Construction Assistance Revolving Loan Fund. Under this program K-12 schools can borrow up to $10 million to meet construction needs in their districts. And, for the first time, it authorizes higher education institutions and career and technology centers to borrow up to $50 million. Loans can go toward remodeling or new construction.

“The growth in the number of school-age children statewide shows a continued need for expanding K-12 schools,” said Mathern.

Third, it addresses the need for affordable housing in North Dakota by providing $250 million to the housing incentive fund. This fund was created by the Legislature in 2011 to address workforce housing needs in Western North Dakota. Since then it has expanded to include affordable housing and programs to reduce homelessness. It can also provide rental assistance to individuals and families struggling to make ends meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SB 2040 will reduce the need for annual appropriations to the fund.

Finally, any excess revenues will go to a new grant program targeted at road and bridge construction in counties and townships. Up to $770 million would be provided for this program, which will fund projects in each county based on their respective needs.

“We aren’t reinventing the wheel with this bill,” said Sen. Mathern. “It is specifically designed to take advantage of existing programs and authorities. This bill will provide good paying jobs in communities across the state. It will ensure we invest Legacy Fund earnings in North Dakota where it belongs. And it will alleviate pressure on appropriators so we can invest in North Dakota for North Dakotans by funding childcare, public health, and education.”

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BISMARCK, ND — The Democratic-NPL Party Chairwoman Kylie Oversen delivered the Dem-NPL perspective on the State of the State, today. The virtual address highlighted the failures by Gov. Burgum and the Republican majority to address the needs of working families, including out of control costs of living as well as access to affordable healthcare and healthy food. Oversen’s address also introduced Dem-NPL priorities that include diversifying our economy and investing in local infrastructure priorities like roads, bridges, and gas lines as well as the resources and services that make raising a family and earning a living wage possible like education, affordable housing, childcare, and healthcare.

Many North Dakotans are unable to afford their basic needs and twice the number of North Dakotans are unemployed, compared to last year. Our state and communities pride ourselves on feeding the nation, but an increasing number of North Dakotans who work full time are forced to choose between food or shelter because fixed costs are higher than available wages.

A lack of affordable childcare has working families in a bind, and insufficient support for educators left more than half of our teachers considering leaving their profession altogether. In a vast state where access to a doctor’s office or hospital can mean a lengthy drive to Fargo or Bismarck, our hospital stays are longer than in most of America and our hospital bills are higher than every other state. And the pandemic, like most systemic problems harmed Tribal Nations and Native Americans disproportionately. 

(Full Text Here)

The Democratic-NPL Party Chairwoman Kylie Oversen said:

“By failing to make true long term investments in education, local infrastructure, childcare, and healthcare, we lose the opportunity to take the reins of our state economy as the world around us rapidly changes. North Dakotans should be in the driver’s seat of our economic future, but Republican leadership is keeping us from being there. Diversifying our economy isn’t giving up on any one industry. It’s protecting our way of life, creating opportunity for our children, and attracting the workers our communities desperately need. By locking us in a holding pattern, the majority party continues to leave us exposed to the shifting tides of presidential administrations, foreign price wars, and rapidly fluctuating rainfalls.” 

Oversen continued:

“In order to truly address the injustices built into daily North Dakota life, we must consistently listen and better collaborate with Tribal leaders on issues like healthcare, infrastructure, economic development and education while bringing new focus to land rights and access to the ballot box. Our state leaders must commit to openly negotiating fair, equitable tax agreements with our Tribal Nations. Relationships have been damaged by mistrust and abuse over the years, and our Tribal partners deserve better than what we’ve seen from those in state leadership.” 

In conclusion, Oversen said:

“Our strength is in our work ethic, our independence, and our bank of incredible natural resources. But skyrocketing rent, increasing costs of childcare, limited access to affordable healthcare, lack of support for education, inadequate investment in local infrastructure, and the systemic racism that underlines this all, is preventing our communities and working families from living the lives they are capable and deserving of. North Dakotans deserve far better than we are getting from the majority party.”

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BISMARCK, ND — A COVID-19 relief bill passed the House and Senate last night after months of urging by Democratic lawmakers, who previously passed two bills that Sen. John Hoeven and Sen. Kevin Cramer refused to consider in the Senate. The latest bill includes a $600 relief payment for individuals as well as food aid and rent assistance at the behest of Democratic lawmakers who advocated for higher individual payments and support. It also included a three-martini lunch tax deduction after insistence by Republicans. A recent study shows the pandemic is exacerbating food and housing insecurity in North Dakota as working families struggle to pay for basic needs.

Funding for state and local governments, championed by House Democrats, did not make the final bill because Republicans refused to support it even as North Dakota ran out of money to help healthcare providers and other frontline workers who were promised help paying for COVID-19 medical bills. The Senate has declined to pass any meaningful COVID-19 relief legislation after the initial CARES Act passed in March. The last-minute vote came after the Senate sat on two bills passed by the Democratic-controlled House: one at $3.4 trillion in June and the other at $2.2 trillion October. 

The Democratic-NPL Party Chairwoman Kylie Oversen said:

“While working families worry about feeding their kids and making rent payments, Sen. Cramer and Sen. Hoeven held out for the three-martini lunch so New York CEOs can write off happy hour. While frontline healthcare workers were denied relief for COVID-19 medical bills, Sen. Cramer and Sen. Hoeven refused to act. Even if it’s last minute, we’re thankful to see a deal because North Dakotans who are struggling to feed their families, make rent, and keep their businesses open this winter needed compromise in Washington months ago. Working families, who remain amongst the hardest hit while still getting the least relief, need to see more proactive leadership in Congress moving forward.”

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BISMARCK, ND — Sen. Ray Holmberg, who appears to have contracted COVID-19 during last week’s organizational legislative session, attended a public luncheon this week while awaiting his COVID-19 test results, according to a report in the Daily Beast. He received a positive result later that day. There was an option to participate in the lunch remotely.

Holmberg told the Daily Beast: “In hindsight, should I have gone? Probably not.” 

During the organizational session, several Republican members of the legislature fought against rules requiring a mask to protect elected officials, public workers, and the public from COVID-19. Some flouted the rule throughout the week.

The Democratic-NPL Party Chairwoman Kylie Oversen said: 

“So much for personal responsibility when Sen. Holmberg couldn’t even miss lunch to protect everyone else attending the event and the people who served and cooked their meals. It shouldn’t take hindsight to follow common sense and listen to what public health officials have been saying for months. The NDGOP has refused to take this deadly virus seriously from the beginning, and it’s costing lives and livelihoods. We sincerely hope he fully recovers and that no one he put at risk contracts COVID-19.” 

Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, District 44, said:

“I worry about the health of my colleagues – especially those with underlying conditions. The news of several positive cases resulting from last week’s meeting should bring home the importance of consistently wearing masks and staying home when sick.”
 

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