Democratic-NPL Leaders: Republican Infrastructure Plan Shortsighted, Too Dependent on Oil Revenue to be Sustainable

The newly announced Republican infrastructure plan leaves all cities and counties vulnerable to fluctuations in oil market

(BISMARCK, ND) — Today, North Dakota Republican legislative leaders outlined an inadequate plan that, at best, simply reshuffles oil funding and at worst ties local water and road projects to the price of oil.

Just over 100 days from the 2018 election, Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner and House Majority Leader Al Carlson released an infrastructure outline that would tie city and county projects to the same flawed and irresponsible funding model that has gotten North Dakota into its current budget troubles. Additionally, the proposal would hurt Western North Dakota’s cities and counties by exposing them to more damage if oil prices drop.

North Dakota is already facing an $800 million budget shortfall, while Governor Burgum is advocating for deeper 8 to 13 percent across-the-board cuts to public services. Meanwhile, Republican legislative leadership is pushing for a plan that will put local infrastructure projects at the mercy of oil prices.

“The plan unveiled by Republican legislative leadership falls short of meeting North Dakota’s pressing infrastructure priorities,” said House Minority Leader Corey Mock. “Much-needed property tax relief was cut in 2017 because of declining revenues and low oil prices. Tying local infrastructure funding to the same, volatile source of revenue is akin to putting more eggs into a single basket. Cities and counties not only need infrastructure support, but they deserve peace of mind that the state can deliver on its promise.”

“North Dakota Republicans have already tried this experiment with the state government’s finances, and now we see an $800 million shortfall and damaging cuts to important state services. We do not want cities and counties to face that same burden,” said Senate Minority Leader Joan Heckaman. “Our Democratic-NPL legislators are willing to work with the Governor and our Republican colleagues to pass sensible budgetary reforms that adequately and sustainably meet the needs of working families in our state.”

Dem-NPL Day of Action Reaches Over 10,000 Voters

As Vice President Pence hosts a high-dollar fundraiser for Kevin Cramer, almost 200 Dem-NPL volunteers packed field offices across the state

(BISMARCK, ND) — Yesterday, while Vice President Pence and Congressman Cramer hosted a closed-door, high-dollar fundraiser in Grand Forks, Democratic-NPL offices across the state were buzzing with nearly 200 volunteers, organizers, and candidates reaching out to over 10,000 voters.

In addition to the Day of Action, the Dem-NPL also hosted Ladies’ Night events throughout the state, drawing attention to Congressman Cramer’s anti-working families policies and Senator Heitkamp’s proactive work on behalf of North Dakota’s women, girls, and families.

“It was great to see so many volunteers show up for another Day of Action,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “While Kevin Cramer and Vice President Pence were dining with high-dollar donors, our volunteers were knocking on doors, placing phone calls, and speaking to voters about the issues that affect their lives. From demanding action to end the trade war to protecting health care, the voters we talked to made it clear: they want a Senator that will stand with North Dakota, not a rubber stamp for the administration.”

Cramer Yesterday On How He Will #StandWithND

(BISMARCK, ND) –

While we heard crickets from Cramer, here’s what he could have done to #StandWithND:

  • Stand with farmers, ranchers, and businesses against the disastrous trade war.
  • Stand with the nearly 300,000 North Dakotans who have a pre-existing condition and are at risk of losing affordable coverage.
  • Stand with North Dakota’s seniors by supporting Social Security and Medicare.
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Will Cramer Advocate for ND Issues at Closed-Door Fundraiser or Spend His Time Begging for Campaign Help?

(BISMARCK, ND) – During their closed-door fundraiser, Congressman Cramer will have the opportunity to discuss issues of importance with the Vice President. We hope he takes the time to advocate for issues affecting North Dakotans every day – like Heidi does during her White House visits – rather than using the time to ask for more help from Washington to aid his campaign.

In case Cramer has forgotten what’s going on in his state, here’s a far-from-comprehensive list of what he could do to begin working on behalf of North Dakotans:

“We sincerely hope Congressman Cramer uses his time with the Vice President in a productive manner, advocating for issues important to North Dakotans, rather than begging for more campaign help from Washington, D.C. – but we’re not holding our breath.”

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Other GOP Members of Congress Are Standing Up Against the Trade War – Where is Kevin Cramer?

(BISMARCK, ND) – The president’s trade war is already hitting the bottom lines of North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers – so much so that the administration announced a whopping $12 billion bailout of the agriculture industry to stop the bleeding from the trade war they created.

While Kevin Cramer continues to fan the flames of this trade war and jeopardize North Dakota ag producers – other Republicans are speaking out and standing up for farmers:

Senator Bob Corker (R-TN): “So, you create a policy that causes people to need to be on welfare and then you provide the welfare. […] “It would be much better to just reverse the policy that’s creating this.”

Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Chairman of the Senate agriculture committee: “I think the agriculture community has made it clear. […] They much prefer trade rather than aid.”

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI): “This is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here: Commissars deciding who’s going to be granted waivers, commissars in the administration figuring out how they’re going to sprinkle around benefits. […] I’m very exasperated. This is serious.”

Senator John Thune (R-SD): “Taxpayers are going to be asked to initial checks to farmers in lieu of having a trade policy that actually opens and expands more markets. There isn’t anything about this that anybody should like.”

Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE): “This trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and White House’s ‘plan’ is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches. America’s farmers don’t want to be paid to lose – they want to win by feeding the world. This administration’s tariffs and bailouts aren’t going to make America great again, they’re just going to make it 1929 again.”

Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ): “This is what we feared all along, that these markets would be replaced by handouts. […] You lose some of these markets, you lose them for good or a long time.”

What will it take for Kevin Cramer to finally stand up for North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers and manufacturers? 

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See Our Full Page Ad in the Grand Forks Herald

(BISMARCK, ND) – Anytime the White House comes to North Dakota, it’s an opportunity to stand up for our values. Today, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL is doing just that with a full-page ad in the Grand Forks Herald.

The ad calls on Congressman Cramer to use today to put politics aside and put North Dakotans first by standing up for farmers, ranchers, and businesses against the disastrous trade war; standing up for the nearly 300,000 North Dakotans who have a pre-existing condition and are at risk of losing their care; and standing up for North Dakota’s seniors by supporting Social Security and Medicare.

See the ad below:

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Will Cramer Continue To Threaten Social Security & Medicare?

Vice President Pence Supports Health Care Plan That Would Shift Burden onto Seniors

(BISMARCK, ND) – Ahead of Vice President Pence’s visit to Grand Forks tomorrow, Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL questioned whether Congressman Cramer will continue to stand with his Washington party bosses and support a policy that jeopardizes the dignity of a secure retirement:

“Congressman Cramer has already made clear his support for dangerous, anti-senior policies and would support chipping away at earned benefits for Social Security and Medicare recipients. Ahead of Vice President Pence’s visit, Cramer needs to demonstrate whether he stands with North Dakota’s seniors. If he does, we hope he’ll use his time with the Vice President to advocate on their behalf.”

Read more on Cramer’s anti-senior agenda here and here.

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Cramer’s Health Care Plan “The Wrong Solution” for Farmers

(BISMARCK, ND) – A recent report from the nonpolitical Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that skimpy health plans, the kind endorsed by Congressman Cramer and his Washington party bosses, “would be inadequate and unaffordable” and “would do more harm than good” to farmers and farm workers. Cramer has supported plans that don’t guarantee affordable protections for folks with pre-existing conditions, could increase premiums, and could allow insurers to impose an age tax on older North Dakotans. With two out of three farmers and ranchers reporting having a pre-existing condition, skinny health plans are the exact opposite of what farmers and ranchers need – but that doesn’t seem to bother Congressman Cramer.

From the report:
“The plans could deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, provide coverage to such people but decline to cover their pre-existing conditions, charge far higher premiums based on a person’s health status, age, and other characteristics, and leave out benefits such as maternity care and prescription drugs.
…
Farmers are more likely than the general population to buy their own insurance, perhaps because they are more likely to be self-employed and without access to an employer plan.  
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In a survey funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2 out of 3 farmers and ranchers reported having a pre-existing health condition.  Skimpier plans are unlikely to meet the needs of this group.
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As a statement from 16 patient groups including the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association explained, expanding enrollment of skimpier health plans that are subject to weaker rules “has the potential to price millions of people with pre-existing conditions and serious illnesses out of the individual insurance market and put millions more at risk through the sale of insurance plans that won’t cover all the services patients want to stay healthy or the critical care they need when they get sick.”

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Cramer’s Anti-Senior Agenda: Hiked Medicare Premiums, Calls to Cut Social Security & Medicare

Despite his false ads, Cramer is still pushing for “means testing” and cuts to ND seniors’ benefits – and even suggested increasing premiums for Medicare

(BISMARCK, ND) – Congressman Cramer is continuing to lie to North Dakotans: telling them he’ll protect Social Security and Medicare, when his actions and his recent comments show us otherwise. Just last week, he added to his talk of “means testing” and cuts to Medicare by floating increased Medicare premiums for some North Dakota seniors. It’s no wonder the Alliance for Retired Americans has given him a lifetime score of nine percent. But anyone who’s heard Cramer’s repeated calls for cutting Social Security and Medicare shouldn’t be surprised. It’s all part of Cramer’s anti-senior agenda.

Even after his false ad claiming he’d protect these programs, Cramer has continued to call for cuts:

  1. During a radio interview last week, Cramer once again suggested implementing “means testing” so that some would “pay a little more of a premium for their Medicare.”
  2. During the same interview, Cramer once again refused to fully protect Medicare that folks 50 to 55 have earned, saying they would either face “small” cuts with “policy changes today,” or face Medicare that is “cut dramatically.”

“Once again, Congressman Cramer is proving he can’t be honest with North Dakotans – trying to fool our seniors by calling the cuts he wants to make to Medicare ‘small changes’ and trying to scare them into believing that otherwise they’d face ‘dramatic cuts’ tomorrow. And despite his phony ads, he’s still pushing for ‘means testing’ and even said some seniors should face hiked Medicare premiums… how much more out of touch can you get?” said Courtney Rice, Press Secretary for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL.“North Dakota’s seniors deserve a leader like Heidi who’s fought and will keep fighting to protect their hard-earned benefits – not the Medicare cuts or premium increases in Cramer’s anti-senior agenda.”

WATCH: Cramer’s repeated calls to cut Social Security and Medicare.
Read the facts: Cramer has claimed cuts to Social Security and Medicare were unpopular, but necessary, and specifically mentioned means testing and raising the retirement age. Cramer voted for his party’s disastrous health care plan, against the urging of the AARP, that would have harmed Medicare and imposed an age tax on older North Dakotans. Cramer voted for a budget that would have begun the privatization of Medicare, and Cramer has remained silent about an extremist budget proposal that would enact cuts to these and other vital programs.
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ICYMI: “Yes, Kevin Cramer Does Want to Destroy Social Security”

Don’t miss this op-ed from the president of Social Security Works PAC, an organization that focuses on senior issues, which lays out a number of ways Congressman Cramer has voted against the interests of North Dakota’s seniors – including calling for “means testing” and “raising the retirement age,” aka: cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Social Security Works: Yes, Kevin Cramer Does Want to Destroy Social Security
By Jon Bauman

Key Points:

  • Nearly every vote [Cramer] has taken indicates his hostility towards Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
  • Cramer’s score from the Alliance for Retired Americans in both 2016 & ’17 was a great big ZERO, and he has a lifetime score of nine percent, a strongly anti-senior voting record. In contrast, Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), who Cramer is currently running against for U.S. Senate, has a ninety percent lifetime score.
  • Rep. Cramer… suggest[ed] that we “do a little more means testing, maybe increase the age by a month or two for a while.” Both of these suggestions are simply euphemisms for cutting benefits.
  • Raising the retirement age is an across the board benefit cut, one that hurts low-income and minority families the most. Means testing benefits does not produce any significant savings unless middle class benefits are cut. This is because implementing the means test would add significant administrative costs to Social Security.
  • North Dakota’s 125,786 Social Security beneficiaries (not to mention every North Dakota worker who pays into Social Security and will be a future beneficiary) deserve better.
  • They deserve to know what “means testing” and “raising the retirement age” really mean. They deserve to know that this April, Rep. Cramer voted for a Balanced Budget Amendment which, if it had passed, would forbid Social Security from using its $2.9 trillion surplus to pay promised benefits. They deserve to know that back in 2012, Cramer stated that we should “introduce more private sector options” into Social Security and Medicare, code for destroying them by handing them over to Wall Street and insurance corporations.
  • Not only that, they deserve to know that Cramer’s opponent, Senator Heidi Heitkamp, is a staunch supporter of Social Security who voted against the tax giveaway. They deserve to know that they have a real choice.

Read the full article here.

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CROOKED CRAMER’S CHRONICLES – CRAMER’S ME-FIRST PARTISAN STRATEGY – DON’T LET CRAMER’S FARM BILL SPIN FOOL YOU – POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM CAN’T COVER UP REAL RECORDS

Welcome to Cramer’s Chronicles where, every Friday, we’ll break down the latest and greatest weekly hits about Cramer’s crooked, self-serving, extreme, and gaffe-prone behavior that puts himself and his partisan politics ahead of North Dakotans.

CRAMER’S ME-FIRST, PARTISAN STRATEGY. If there’s one thing Cramer has mastered, it’s the art of the flip flop – especially when it comes to the trade war that’s dealing blows to North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and businesses. Cramer has put politics above the people he is supposed to represent, acting as a rubber stamp for the trade war to gain political favor. FIRST, Cramer took a wishy-washy position on the trade war, even though he was aware the damage it would cause to North Dakotans. NEXT, Cramer very briefly took a stand against the trade war, signing a letter with other House colleagues asking the president to reconsider broad tariffs. THEN, HE FLIPPED, claiming the president was right to enact tariffs and, since then, has refused to forcefully speak out against the trade war, claiming he doesn’t know whether they’ll have any real impact and stating that such CONCERNS ARE “HYSTERIA.”

See more on Cramer’s Anatomy of a Flip Flop here.

ND DEM-NPL LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL AD ON CRAMER’S TRADE WAR. Congressman Cramer abdicated his responsibility to protect North Dakota’s farmers and businesses from the growing trade war. That’s unacceptable and it’s why the North Dakota Democratic-NPL launched its latest digital ad: to call on Cramer to work across the aisle and stop the harmful trade war, rather than continuing to kowtow to the president to win political favor. WATCH the ad here.

DON’T LET CRAMER’S FARM BILL SPIN FOOL YOU. Cramer’s Washington party bosses may be trying to hand him a political lifeline by appointing him to the Farm Bill Conference Committee, but this appointment won’t erase the well-documented years Cramer has spent playing politics with North Dakota’s farmers and the Farm Bill. Here are the facts:

  • Cramer has never served on the House Committee on Agriculture.
  • In 2013, Cramer tried to sink the Farm Bill, earning him the label of ideologue, someone who “rejects compromises and insists on policies that are ideologically pure” by the Grand Forks Herald.
  • Cramer’s partisan antics prompted the Williston Herald to call on him to “take a lesson” from Senators Heitkamp and Hoeven on working across the aisle to get results.
  • Cramer is a dues-paying member of an extreme anti-agriculture group that has pushed for eliminating the Renewable Fuel Standard, eliminating the sugar program, and for devastating cuts to crop insurance and nutrition programs.
  • Cramer didn’t even know when the Farm Bill passed out of committee earlier this year.

OUR TAKE: “There’s only one person in this race who has, and will continue, to advocate on behalf of North Dakota’s interests – and it isn’t Kevin Cramer.”

HEADLINE: POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM CAN’T COVER UP POLITICAL RECORDS. NDxPlains’ Tyler Axness sums up Cramer’s appointment to the Farm Bill Conference Committee perfectly when he asks, “If [Cramer] couldn’t be effective then, what makes us think he could be effective on a packed conference committee?”

ICYMI: HEITKAMP HOLDS “FUNDRAISING ADVANTAGE” OVER CRAMER. Heidi has more than double the cash on hand of Congressman Cramer, $5.2 million to $2.4 million – shattering fundraising records for any North Dakota U.S. Senate candidate. Heidi raised nearly $2 million in the second quarter.

CRAMER DECLINES MORE DEBATES THAN HE ACCEPTS. So far, Heidi and Congressman Cramer have agreed to three debates before the election, but what he doesn’t want North Dakotans to know is that he’s declined to participate in at least four more, whereas Heidi has agreed to ten. This leaves us wondering: what’s Cramer hiding? Tyler Axness of NDxPlains Blog observed, “Perhaps it is proving difficult to discover those accomplishments which leads him to shy away from true debates. Quite simply, it makes a person wonder if he is afraid of debating Heitkamp and speaking about his record?”

REMEMBER WHEN CRAMER SAID THE TRADE WAR WAS “POSITIVE” FOR ND? This makes us wonder: has Cramer seen the news or talked to anyone in North Dakota lately?

(BONUS) QUOTE OF THE WEEK.
Steele County, ND farmer: “Cramer boasts about (how) he votes with the president all the time. I don’t think that’s good for North Dakota.”

TWEET OF THE WEEK.

Hope to see you all at the state fair and parade this weekend!

ATTN Congressman Cramer: “Political Opportunism Can’t Cover Up Political Records”

“If [Cramer] couldn’t be effective then, what makes us think he could be effective on a packed conference committee?”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 

NDxPlains: Political Opportunism Can’t Cover Up Political Records
By Tyler Axness
July 19, 2018

Key Points:

  • Election year politics has been injected into our nation’s agriculture policy and members of the House of Representatives are to blame.
  • First, Congress failed to pass the Farm Bill because ideological positions were inserted into the historically non-controversial bill. A couple of weeks later, Congress reconsidered and narrowly passed its version riddled with issues.
  • Now, they’re packing the conference committee with 47 members. Why? Because it’s an election year and everyone wants to put it in an advertisement. Look no further than Kevin Cramer for an example of this election year bailout.
  • Political opportunism can’t cover up political records. So, let’s look at the record. One of the first attempts to inject ideological poison pills into our agriculture policy came in 2013 and 2014. It threatened passage of the Farm Bill. Cramer was steadfast behind those efforts and it caught the attention of North Dakota. The Williston Herald told Cramer to start acting like Hoeven and Heitkamp to get something done for farmers. “We feel Cramer needs to take a lesson from Hoeven and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in how to wield influence.” The Grand Forks Herald was more direct when they called Cramer an “ideologue” who “rejects compromises.” Both said during the last Farm Bill debate. Both can be repeated again in 2018.
  • Cramer is also a member of the Republican Study Committee. In their budget proposal for 2019, the group called for cutting crop insurance responsibility in half, eliminating the renewable fuel standard, and eliminating the sugar program. Either Cramer endorses those ideas, or he failed to convince them these positions are harmful to North Dakota farmers. 
  • If he couldn’t be effective then, what makes us think he could be effective on a packed conference committee?
  • A Farm Bill needs to be passed amid an international trade war. Yet the House version followed the same path of 2014. They knowingly put provisions in making it more difficult to pass. Cramer chose not to serve on the Agriculture Committee, but that doesn’t stop him from bragging about the House bill.
  • In his comments about being on the conference committee, The Forum reported Cramer said he was “very involved” in developing the bill. In essence, he is taking responsibility for creating this mess and now he wants recognition for being a part of the clean up.
  • 47 members this year compared to 29 members in the 2014 conference committee. It would be more prudent to narrow the appointments to those who are actually effective on agricultural policy. But, it is an election year and that leads to political opportunism.

Read the full article here.

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