State Rep. Ron Guggisberg gives Dem-NPL State of the State response

(BISMARCK, ND) – Fargo state Rep. Ron Guggisberg provided the Democratic-NPL’s response to Gov. Burgum’s 2018 State of the State address from the State Capitol in Bismarck today. In his speech, Rep. Guggisberg offered the minority’s perspective on a variety of issues facing our state, including the opioid crisis, rural development, economic growth and innovation, education, and rising property taxes.
 
Video of the Dem-NPL’s State of the State response is provided for use by the press and media. CLICK HERE to download.  
 
In his speech, Rep. Guggisberg addressed:

Behavioral health:
 

“A bipartisan proposal to make adequate investments for evidence-based, cost-effective behavioral health programs was all but assured passage last legislative session. But the majority stripped it down to just one percent of the funding we knew was needed. As the minority caucus, we will continue to fight for effective behavioral health programs and the resources these programs need to be successful – and we stand ready to work with the governor and the majority to accomplish this.”

 
Education:

 
“Every Democrat in the legislature proudly supported the innovative education legislation last session. That was an important step in supporting the creativity and flexibility we already see in classrooms all across our state. We also continue to fight for the school administrators, teachers, and professionals who connect with our students and encourage every child to reach their fullest potential. And more than that, when we see innovation, we will push for resources to support it, for all schools.”

 
Main Streets:

 
“Let’s build our state’s economy through diverse, strategic investments that respect the uniqueness – and recognize the differences – of rural and non-rural communities alike, from Fargo to Bismarck, from Williston to Wahpeton, and in communities like Tioga, Bowman, Cavalier and Hankinson.
 
“The Main Street Initiative is a worthy effort, let’s begin by removing roadblocks and administrative burdens for local governments along the way. The Main Street Initiative can’t simply be more mandates that place the burden on local officials and drive up property taxes.”

 
Property taxes:

 
“A return to the property tax buydown is not the answer. But in the coming year, and in the next legislative session, your Den-NPL legislators will continue our push for a restoration of the property tax relief that was promised to taxpayers. No property tax increases, plain and simple. We cannot balance the state’s budget by hiking property taxes. That’s not how we keep our promises to North Dakotans and it’s not how we ensure prosperity for our future.”

 
Innovation:

 
“Innovation is who we are as North Dakotans. It’s just a matter of recognizing and supporting it. Innovation doesn’t happen in boardrooms; it doesn’t need a hashtag on social media or an expensive PR strategy. Innovation happens every day in our cities, towns and rural communities — in the shop when a snowplow breaks down, in the classroom when a teacher lights that spark in a student’s learning, and in the farmer’s quonset, improvising for a pin that busted off during harvest.”
 
Rep. Guggisberg is a state legislator from District 11 and a Fargo Fire Department Capitan. In the legislature, he serves on the House Education Committee and Political Subdivisions Committee.

Campbell, Cramer-backed tax bill could ship more American jobs overseas

(BISMARCK, ND) – It turns out that the partisan tax legislation – rushed through Congress and enthusiastically supported by U.S. Senate candidate Tom Campbell and Rep. Kevin Cramer – could actually lead to more outsourcing of good-paying American jobs.

In addition to adding nearly $1.5 trillion to the national debt, Cramer and Campbell not only supported a bill that cut middle-class families a raw deal, favored large corporations over small businesses, and at the time put Medicare and crop insurance on the chopping block, the Campbell and Cramer-backed bill also includes provisions for large corporations to ship their jobs overseas.

We know Republicans desperately needed to pass a bill – any bill – for “political survival,” but why did Campbell and Cramer support a bill that could severely impact American jobs? More details below:

According to The New York Times: “Tax Law May Send Factories and Jobs Abroad, Critics Say”

  • “The bill that Mr. Trump signed, however, could actually make it attractive for companies to put more assembly lines on foreign soil.”
  • “‘It’s sort of an America-last tax policy,” said Kimberly Clausing, an economist at Reed College in Portland, Ore., who studies tax policy. “We are basically saying that if you earn in the U.S., you pay X, and if you earn abroad, you pay X divided by two.’”
  • “What could be more dangerous for American workers, economists said, is that the bill ends up creating a tax break for manufacturers with foreign operations. Under the new rules, beyond the lower rate, companies will not have to pay United States taxes on the money they earn from plants or equipment located abroad, if those earnings amount to 10 percent or less of the total investment.”
  • “‘Having such a low rate on foreign income is outrageous,’ said Stephen E. Shay, a senior lecturer at Harvard Law School and a Treasury Department official during the Reagan and Obama administrations. ‘It creates terrible incentives.’ […]  Such companies, Mr. Shay said, now have no reason to resist the temptation to shift some of their operations abroad, since they would end up paying half the rate they would pay in the United States.”

Senate Minority Leader Joan Heckaman (D-NPL, 23) to seek re-election

(New Rockford, ND) – State Senator Joan Heckaman announced Friday she is seeking re-election to the North Dakota Senate from District 23, which includes the counties of Eddy, Nelson, Griggs, Steele and the eastern half of Benson County, including the Spirit Lake Nation.

A teacher by training, Heckaman was first elected to the state Senate in 2006 and currently serves as Minority Leader. She completed her sixth legislative session in 2017.

Senator Heckaman saw a great deal of success during the past legislative session, both working within her caucus and across the aisle with the majority. She also believes that important work remains unfinished: “The needs of our small towns and communities, rural schools and farm country must remain a top priority,” said Heckaman. “That means addressing property taxes that hit farmers and landowners especially hard, supporting rural EMS and fire services, building educational infrastructure and caring for seniors, veterans and other vulnerable populations in communities that don’t always have access to the same levels of services as Fargo or Bismarck.”

“North Dakota is a truly great place to live and raise a family, whether you live in Fargo, Lakota, Beach or any other community in our state,” added Heckaman. “But what makes our communities strong and vibrant are the smart investments we make in each other, in our children and in our future – that’s the kind of work I’m committed to continuing in the state Senate.”

Heckaman’s appointment to the Higher Education Task Force speaks to her lifelong commitment to providing a strong bridge between K-12 education and a well-trained workforce. Since its inception in 2009, Heckaman has served as the legislative representative on the Governor’s Autism Task Force. Currently, during the 2017-19 Interim, Heckaman serves as the Vice Chair of the Agriculture Committee as well as on the Budget Section, Legislative Management, Administrative Rules, Government Administration, Legislative Revenue Advisory Committee, Legislative Procedures and Arrangements, and Tribal Taxation. 

Click here for high-resolution headshot of Sen. Heckaman.

State Sen. Tom Campbell goes after Corrupt Cramer for using campaign cash to enrich himself and family

(BISMARCK, ND) – Yesterday in an interview on KFGO, U.S. Senate candidate Tom Campbell had some choice words for Congressman Kevin Cramer, who is considering jumping into the North Dakota Senate race. Congressman Cramer has recently come under fire for paying himself and his family more than $350,000 from political donations and essentially using his campaign committee as a family business.
 
State Sen. Tom Campbell apparently has some reservations about Cramer’s ethics, too. Quotes from the interview are below – and you can also listen to the full interview here.

“[B]ut no, that is a lot of money and I think it could have been used a little bit wiser […]”
 
“[I]t does raise a few flags and looks like, you know, why, was it legitimate or not? And you’ll have to ask him for that.”
 
“I would not do that.”
 
“[Y]ou’d never have to worry about that with me.”

The ethics issues don’t stop there for Congressman Cramer. This week, the Democratic-NPL called for an ethics investigation into Congressman Cramer’s use of official taxpayer resources for campaign purposes. 
 
When it comes to the Congressman’s ethics, we agree with Tom Campbell – North Dakotans deserve answers from Corrupt Cramer.

Rep. Kevin Cramer’s use of taxpayer dollars to advance political career requires ethics probe

(BISMARCK, ND) – Today, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL requested the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) investigate Representative Kevin Cramer for using taxpayer-funded Congressional resources to further his potential U.S. Senate campaign.

The OCE is a non-partisan, independent body that oversees allegations of misconduct against members of Congress. Congressman Cramer, who habitually skirts the lines of ethical behavior – including not only routinely paying himself but also his family members and their businesses more than $350,000 over the years from his campaign account – last year voted behind closed doors to gut the OCE and remove Congress from any independent oversight that could hold him accountable for the behavior he’s demonstrated. 
 
By tweeting about campaign polling from his Congressional Twitter account – which is supported by North Dakota taxpayer dollars – Congressman Cramer clearly violated House ethics rules:

“Congressman Cramer has a clear pattern of unethical behavior – ranging from paying himself to essentially running a family business through his campaign committee – but now he’s taken his swampy behavior to a whole new level by using taxpayer dollars to boost his own campaign,” said Democratic-NPL executive director Scott McNeil. “To hold Congressman Cramer accountable for his misuse of taxpayer dollars, the non-partisan, independent Office of Congressional Ethics needs to get to the bottom of just how excessively Congressman Cramer disrespected hard-working North Dakota taxpayers by using the Congressional office they fund for his own political gain.”
 
Text of the letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics and legal analysis can be found HERE and below.

Details on Congressman Cramer paying himself and his family more than $350,000 from his political campaign can also be found below.  

Rep. Cramer fumbles three times on the GOP tax bill

(BISMARCK, ND) – If the Republican tax bill was a football, Congressman Kevin Cramer fumbled it right on the goal line yesterday. Then he fumbled twice more for good measure.

First: Congressional reporter Matt Fuller asked Cramer about the new tax brackets that would be created in the GOP tax bill. Cramer couldn’t name them. Of course, that didn’t stop Cramer from voting for the bill just a few hours later.

“If Congressman Cramer doesn’t know the basic details of his own tax bill, how can he possibly understand how this bill will impact North Dakota taxpayers?” asked Democratic-NPL executive director Scott McNeil. “The answer is: He can’t. For Congressman Cramer, this wasn’t about helping North Dakotans get ahead—it was about political survival.”

Then: Following his vote to provide massive tax cuts for big corporations at the expense of working families, Cramer issued a statement with a widely debunked claim that “70,000 pages of convoluted tax code will be simplified to the point where most individuals will be able to fill out their taxes on a post card.”

Even Fox News doesn’t buy what Cramer is selling: “…will most Americans really be able to file their taxes on a half sheet of paper? Many professional tax preparers say no.”

Other major news sources also refute Cramer’s claim:

“The Republican tax bill does not pass the postcard test […] no taxpayer will ever see the postcard-size tax return that President Trump laid a kiss on in November as Republican leaders launched their tax overhaul effort.” –New York Times

“Their ‘postcard test’ appears to have been all but forgotten. The measure adds new layers of complexity to a tax code that is already mind-bogglingly complicated.” –USA Today

“But the code overall remains intractably complex as a sea of deductions and loopholes were preserved or tinkered with.” –Bloomberg

Finally: It turns out the new tax brackets weren’t the only things Congressman Cramer didn’t know about. Apparently, House Republicans didn’t bother to check the rules either, which is no surprise since they’re in a desperate rush to push through their sloppily crafted bill. As a result of fumbling the rules, the House will be forced to re-vote on the tax bill today.

Cramer said re-voting is like “winning the Super Bowl twice.” Last we checked, these kind of sloppy errors are more likely to occur on the junior varsity team.

“This isn’t the first time Congressman Cramer has fumbled the ball for North Dakota families, and it won’t be the last,” added McNeil. “It’s time for Cramer to take a seat on the bench.”

– 30 –

Can Cramer justify last-minute loophole in tax bill that would personally enrich GOP lawmakers, members of the president’s family?

(BISMARCK, ND) – A last-minute loophole added to the historically unpopular Republican tax bill “could personally enrich key Republican lawmakers,” such as GOP holdout Sen. Bob Corker (TN), Speaker Paul Ryan (WI) and members of the president’s personal family, all of whom own significant real estate investments and/or stakes in real estate LLCs.

According to the International Business Times:

  • “Republican congressional leaders and real estate moguls could be personally enriched by a real-estate-related provision GOP lawmakers slipped into the final tax bill released Friday evening…”
  • “The new tax provision would specifically allow owners of large real estate holdings through LLCs to deduct a percentage of their ‘pass through’ income from their taxes, according to experts…”
  • “The new provision was not in the bill passed by the House or the Senate. Instead, it was inserted into the final bill during reconciliation…”
  • The provision “would offer a special tax cut to LLCs with few employees and large amounts of depreciable property assets, namely buildings: rent generating apartment and office buildings.”

Confronted with this glaring conflict of interest, Republican lawmakers have been unable to justify its inclusion in the bill. Senator Corker (who also failed to disclose millions in personal income from real estate, hedge funds and other investments according to the Wall Street Journal) claimed to know nothing about it after he withdrew his opposition to the bill. The only explanation, offered by Senator John Cornyn (TX) the number two ranking Republican, is that the provision was added to “cobble together the votes we needed to get this bill passed.”

Maybe Congressman Cramer can offer a better explanation?

Can he provide any justification for how this real-estate-related gimmick-for-the-rich benefits working North Dakotans?

Ducking, dodging & dancing: Rep. Cramer evades & fumbles defense of GOP tax bill

(BISMARCK, ND) – Congressman Kevin Cramer participated in a Facebook Live event Tuesday night, in which he had a hard time defending the Republican tax plan that threatens to hike taxes on tens of thousands of hardworking North Dakotans and increase the national debt by $1.5 trillion, triggering severe cuts to Medicare, crop insurance, farm programs, rural infrastructure, and many other vital services for North Dakota.
 
Cramer struggled to tap dance around the bill’s catastrophic impact on the national debt and misled about its impacts on farmers. He even cooked up some “fake news” of his own, to boot.
 
Here’s what we heard – or didn’t hear – during Cramer’s Facebook Live event:
 
BRUSHING OFF THE NATIONAL DEBT: Despite his long record as a supposed deficit hawk who once believed government spending needed to be brought under control, Congressman Cramer was remarkably flip about glaring economic analyses demonstrating that the Republican tax plan would add more than $1 trillion to the national debt. Perhaps that’s because Cramer threw out his convictions for “political survival”?

Not that you’d hear it from him, but here’s how Cramer’s tax bill would explode the national debt: 
 
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Republican tax plan would add more than $1 trillion to the national debt. Despite the GOP arguments, the Trump Administration’s Treasury Department released a report assuming economic growth more robust than many economists consider likely. Even with dynamic analysis, which attempts to account for “economic growth,” the tax bill still doesn’t pay for itself and leaves taxpayers with a one trillion dollar price tag.
 
TALL TALES FOR FARMERS: Instead of straight talk, Cramer has been known to parrot the typical GOP talking points, claiming that repealing the estate tax will benefit North Dakota family farmers – and Tuesday night was no exception. Cramer said many North Dakota farmers support the Republican tax plan because it would raise the threshold for the estate tax – and under the plan he voted for – eliminate the tax entirely. But in fact, the policy Cramer rubber-stamped helps out millionaires much more than your average North Dakota farmer:

Many farmers are voicing their strong concerns about this bill. Aaron Krauter, former head of the Farm Service Agency, points out that because the Republican tax plan spends over $1 trillion on tax cuts for millionaires, farm programs that are vital to North Dakota’s agricultural producers – like crop insurance and ag subsidies – will be subjected to deep sequestration cuts. He also took to task Congressman Cramer on the estate tax. The threshold is already set high enough to shield a vast majority of farmers and small businesses from the tax. That’s why, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), fewer than 10 North Dakota estates were required to file for the estate tax last year.

In Krauter’s own words, “Washington insiders like Ryan, McConnell and Cramer can continue trying to play farmers and ranchers for fools – but we know better and we won’t fall for it.”
 
“FAKE NEWS!!!” FOR MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES: When a constituent asked how many North Dakotans would see a tax hike under the GOP tax bill, Cramer promised that the middle-class wouldn’t see a tax hike under the GOP bill – and conveniently left out the tax increases North Dakota working families would see after ten years.

After 2027:

More than 90,000 North Dakotans would see a tax increase under the Senate Republican bill; under the House Republican bill, more than 30,000 North Dakota households would see a tax hike. Either way, Rep. Cramer voted to raise taxes on middle-class North Dakotans.

Ducking, dodging & dancing: Rep. Cramer evades & fumbles defense of GOP tax bill

(BISMARCK, ND) – Congressman Kevin Cramer participated in a Facebook Live event Tuesday night, in which he had a hard time defending the Republican tax plan that threatens to hike taxes on tens of thousands of hardworking North Dakotans and increase the national debt by $1.5 trillion, triggering severe cuts to Medicare, crop insurance, farm programs, rural infrastructure, and many other vital services for North Dakota.
 
Cramer struggled to tap dance around the bill’s catastrophic impact on the national debt and misled about its impacts on farmers. He even cooked up some “fake news” of his own, to boot.
 
Here’s what we heard – or didn’t hear – during Cramer’s Facebook Live event:
 
BRUSHING OFF THE NATIONAL DEBT: Despite his long record as a supposed deficit hawk who once believed government spending needed to be brought under control, Congressman Cramer was remarkably flip about glaring economic analyses demonstrating that the Republican tax plan would add more than $1 trillion to the national debt. Perhaps that’s because Cramer threw out his convictions for “political survival”?

Not that you’d hear it from him, but here’s how Cramer’s tax bill would explode the national debt: 
 
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Republican tax plan would add more than $1 trillion to the national debt. Despite the GOP arguments, the Trump Administration’s Treasury Department released a report assuming economic growth more robust than many economists consider likely. Even with dynamic analysis, which attempts to account for “economic growth,” the tax bill still doesn’t pay for itself and leaves taxpayers with a one trillion dollar price tag.
 
TALL TALES FOR FARMERS: Instead of straight talk, Cramer has been known to parrot the typical GOP talking points, claiming that repealing the estate tax will benefit North Dakota family farmers – and Tuesday night was no exception. Cramer said many North Dakota farmers support the Republican tax plan because it would raise the threshold for the estate tax – and under the plan he voted for – eliminate the tax entirely. But in fact, the policy Cramer rubber-stamped helps out millionaires much more than your average North Dakota farmer:

Many farmers are voicing their strong concerns about this bill. Aaron Krauter, former head of the Farm Service Agency, points out that because the Republican tax plan spends over $1 trillion on tax cuts for millionaires, farm programs that are vital to North Dakota’s agricultural producers – like crop insurance and ag subsidies – will be subjected to deep sequestration cuts. He also took to task Congressman Cramer on the estate tax. The threshold is already set high enough to shield a vast majority of farmers and small businesses from the tax. That’s why, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), fewer than 10 North Dakota estates were required to file for the estate tax last year.

In Krauter’s own words, “Washington insiders like Ryan, McConnell and Cramer can continue trying to play farmers and ranchers for fools – but we know better and we won’t fall for it.”
 
“FAKE NEWS!!!” FOR MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES: When a constituent asked how many North Dakotans would see a tax hike under the GOP tax bill, Cramer promised that the middle-class wouldn’t see a tax hike under the GOP bill – and conveniently left out the tax increases North Dakota working families would see after ten years.

After 2027:

More than 90,000 North Dakotans would see a tax increase under the Senate Republican bill; under the House Republican bill, more than 30,000 North Dakota households would see a tax hike. Either way, Rep. Cramer voted to raise taxes on middle-class North Dakotans.

Cramer rationalizes Roy Moore, remains silent on accusations against House GOP colleague

Cramer says there is a ‘different standard’ for Moore’s highly credible alleged abuse of minors because ‘you’re talking 40 years past’

But Cramer’s colleague Blake Farenthold used taxpayer dollars to settle sexual harassment lawsuit in 2014

(BISMARCK, ND) – Last night, while speaking with conservative TV pundit Chris Berg, Congressman Kevin Cramer rationalized numerous highly credible allegations of sexual misconduct against Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore, saying: “you’re talking 40 years past.” That’s right – Kevin Cramer thinks Roy Moore’s alleged abuse of minors should be judged with a “different standard.”

Here are the key quotes from his interview:

“I would also say the past, when you’re talking 40 years past, versus last year, two years ago in the case of both Senator Franken and Representative Conyers, you are talking about something a little bit different, you’re talking about a different standard.”

“I think then you have to let the past be the past.”  

Even if you agree with Cramer’s bizarre standard for rationalizing allegations of sexual misconduct — and we definitely do not — why, then, is Congressman Cramer silent when it comes to recent allegations against his own House Republican colleague Blake Farenthold?

Farenthold is accused of sexually harassing his former Communications Director, who brought a lawsuit against him in 2014 saying she was fired after raising concerns about sexual harassment and a hostile work environment created by the congressman’s multiple advances and inappropriate comments. Farenthold then used nearly $85,000 in taxpayer dollars to secretly protect himself and settle the lawsuit.

If Congressman Cramer takes recent allegations so seriously, shouldn’t he call for his colleague’s resignation?

Tom Campbell, Kevin Cramer must renounce endorsement from white supremacist Peter Tefft

(BISMARCK, ND) – Responding to an op-ed in the Fargo Forum in which white supremacist Peter Tefft – who participated in the violent Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville – declares his support for State Senator Tom Campbell and Congressman Kevin Cramer, Democratic-NPL chairwoman Kylie Oversen issued the following statement:

“White supremacy and white nationalism are abhorrent and stand in stark contrast to the North Dakotan and American values of tolerance and love for our neighbors of all races, colors and creeds. The racist views of Peter Tefft have no place in our political dialogue and must be forcefully and unequivocally rejected.
 
“State Senator Tom Campbell and Congressman Kevin Cramer must renounce Peter Tefft’s endorsement immediately.”   

Whether it’s farmers, working families or small business owners, North Dakotans are united against GOP tax bill

Cramer-supported tax bill takes a beating in North Dakota newspapers
 
(BISMARCK, ND) – Whether it’s farmers, working families, teachers, or small business owners concerned about their taxes and the federal deficit, North Dakotans are united in their message to North Dakota’s delegation: The GOP tax bill that passed the House and is currently being debated in the Senate does not stand for them. The bill, which was enthusiastically supported by Rep. Kevin Cramer, would raise – not cut – taxes on a whopping 30,000 North Dakota households earning less than $106,000, skyrocket the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion, and increase the cost of health care premiums across the state. 
 
But don’t just take it from us. Here’s a sample of the dozens of North Dakotans who’ve written to their newspapers voicing strong opposition to the GOP tax bill:
 
Richard Schlosser – Edgeley, ND: “As a farmer, I felt that I had to respond to those politicians who use farmers like me as the reason why the estate tax should be eliminated. The fact of the matter is the tax affects very few family farmers and ranchers in North Dakota, or in any state for that matter.
 
“North Dakotans, including farmers and ranchers, deserve real reform that simplifies the tax code, eliminates loopholes, makes it more fair and puts money back in the pockets of middle-class families. But instead, we got a false sales pitch about the estate tax to sell a bill that turned out to be a tax hike for many hardworking North Dakotans.”
 
Curtis Schulz – Bismarck, ND: “Deductions on the chopping block are: sales and income tax, property taxes, medical expenses including insurance premiums, self-pay nursing home care including insurance premiums. As a senior citizen, this really concerns me. I fail to see the huge benefit for the middle class as promised.”
Arlette Preston – Fargo, ND: “We need a business environment which encourages entrepreneurship and business growth on Main Street in North Dakota. Our focus should be on individuals and small businesses. This tax bill tilts the benefits to large corporations. That’s why I stand with a majority of small business owners opposing these bills.”
 
Lisa and Greg Cook – Mapleton, ND: “From a tax standpoint, instead of offering permanent tax cuts like the ones larger corporations will receive, small businesses like ours are being offered the short end of the stick, with tax cuts for middle-income earners – many of whom are small business owners – ending after 10 years. Rather than getting rid of the uncertainty, this tax bill will just add to it. It will make it harder for us, and other North Dakota small businesses, to grow.”
 
Lisa Dullum – West Fargo, ND: “I am disappointed in Rep. Kevin Cramer’s support of the recent House bill, which would remove the tax deductions so many teachers like me count on when we buy school supplies for our classrooms. This tax deduction of $250 merely skims the surface of what teachers spend on supplies, snacks or milk money for our students. Teachers pick up the extra costs because schools can’t afford to provide them due to budget cuts and funding shortfalls.
 
“Adding insult to injury, the bill would actually increase taxes for 30,000 middle-class North Dakota Families who earn less than $106,000 per year. Families who North Dakota teachers have helped educate for many generations. How does increasing taxes help our families and children prosper?”
 
Lizzette Cambron – Fargo, ND: “The proposed tax reform will increase my taxes over 300 percent. I cannot afford that, plus my education, plus health care, plus living expenses. My tuition waiver is what keeps me at NDSU. I work hard for NDSU in exchange for my tuition waiver.”
 
Tom Osowski – Minot, ND: “How can Rep. Cramer classify the handful of big donor Republicans as anything other than a “special interest” group? And boy, do the Republicans ever come through for them.”
 
Carla Hess – Grand Forks, ND: “While the middle class is shrinking, our infrastructure is falling apart, young people can’t afford college or college debts and 28 million people have no health insurance. Do we really need to give billions of dollars in tax breaks to the very richest people and big corporations in this country for them to pocket?”
 
Waylon Hedegaard – Bismarck, ND: “The average working person is disregarded, while the wealthy and the corporations have an open door to Congress. This is a terrible way to govern. This is putting corporations over working people, the wealthy over the middle class and special interests over democracy. In strong democracy, winning a battle should never take precedence over governing.”
 
Charles Linderman – Jamestown, ND: “We should not pass on more federal debt to our children and grandchildren so the wealthiest on the planet can pay less taxes.”
 
Krisanna Peterson – Bismarck, ND: “I am requesting an explanation on why big businesses and wealthy individuals are more important than the youth and families of our state.”