On Tuesday, we broke the story that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt would be holding two events on Wednesday in North Dakota but the public and the press would be barred from both. That story has caught a lot of attention both locally and nationally. We need to recap what transpired over the last 24 hours. […]
Tomorrow the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scott Pruitt will be in North Dakota. Pruitt will hold two events. The first will be in Fargo on Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The second will be in Grand Forks about energy. Two important topics for North Dakota’s top two industries, agriculture, and energy. […]
Over the weekend it was reported the Legislature is holding off their potential lawsuit against Governor Burgum. The public reason given by legislative leadership is a lawsuit, or a special session to override Burgum’s post-session vetoes would cost money and/or dig into the three remaining legislative days of the biennium. Both would be accurate. However, […]
Today the Office of Management and Budget Director Pam Sharp told the interim Government Finance Committee the State of North Dakota is still considered officially in a recession. The answer provided by Sharp to House Minority Leader Corey Mock’s question comes from analysis of Moody’s Analytics who projected the state would re-emerge from the recession […]
The interim Legislative committees have gotten underway in North Dakota. These committees will gather periodically to study challenges and piece together draft legislation that may be taken up when the full Legislature convenes again in 2019. Yesterday, the Energy Development and Transmission Committee met. A topic they’re considering is raising taxes on wind energy. You […]
Let’s talk about legislative “process,” shall we? Throughout their attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare, Senator John Hoeven has continually attempted to defend the “process” his leader Mitch McConnell undertook. What we witnessed from the United States Senate over this last week was quite frankly despicable. It is indefensible. Zero hearings. Back room deals. Limited […]
This morning I wrote about Senator John Hoeven flipping on his previous position and voting in favor of the very unpopular Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). That version of “health care reform” was the first of many to be voted on in the Senate during this week after the narrow passage on the motion to […]
Hours after voting for the motion to proceed on the health care debate, Senator John Hoeven flipped on his constituents and previous public comments and voted for the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). The very unpopular BCRA has been roundly rejected by every major medical and advocacy group in North Dakota and around the country. […]
The Senate attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare isn’t over. Disregard the Republican failings on “health care” over the first six months of the Trump administration. Disregard the sudden defeat of the unpopular Senate 2.0 version on Monday which included Senator Ted Cruz’s amendment. Disregard the apparent defeat of the unpopular Senate 3.0 version that […]
Following my Friday post where I stated why I think Governor Doug Burgum needs to tell us his position on Medicaid changes in the Republican “health care” bill, I received messages from individuals around the state. Apparently, constituents have been turned away from the Governor’s office when they’ve wanted to talk about Medicaid, its impacts […]