Senator Cramer’s Weekly Update FEBRUARY 2 - 6

Legislation Introduced to Reauthorize Export-Import Bank for 10 Years

Legislation Provides Historic Reauthorization, Longer-term Certainty

As of 2019, there were 115 Export Credit Agencies (ECA) across the globe, each competing to help industry within their country secure market access across the globe. China has two ECAs, both which support its Belt and Road Initiative, which facilitates Chinese global industrial development. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, "In 2022, it is estimated that the PRC’s official medium- and long-term export credit support was $11 billion. In comparison, the United States’ official medium- and long-term export credit support stood at $2.7 billion."

Since its inception as an ECA in 1934, the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) has been an essential financing tool for American companies to export goods and services.

To support American global competitiveness, I introduced legislation with U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) to reauthorize the EXIM Bank for the next decade. Our legislation allows for the longest reauthorization of the bank in history. This is the second time I've led the charge to reauthorize the bank. In 2019, I successfully secured the inclusion of language reauthorizing the EXIM Bank, reauthorizing the bank for seven years through Dec. 31. The 2019 reauthorization was the longest in history.

The 2019 reauthorization of EXIM expanded available financial offerings by including a key fix to ensure continuity for loan recipients. In 2015, approval of deals over $10 million was temporarily halted after the bank lost its quorum, disrupting jobs, slowing growth and sowing uncertainty among American small businesses. The reauthorization mandated the creation of the China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP), which is specifically tasked with helping American companies compete with Chinese industries. Since 2014, North Dakota businesses have leveraged $55 million in EXIM Bank financing to expand into global markets and support jobs in the state.

This reauthorization legislation kicks off the negotiation process in the Senate Banking Committee. Senator Warner and I will work with our colleagues, the administration, stakeholders, and committee leadership to garner input and refine the bill to reflect the opportunities and competitive challenges U.S. industry face globally.

SASC Hearing Reviews New START Treaty Ahead of Expiration, Calls for Strengthened Nuclear Deterrence

With the last remaining guardrails on U.S.-Russian nuclear arms expiring, Senate defense leaders warned this week the United States is entering an era of strategic competition with no formal limits on Russian deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons. The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) convened national security experts to confront a post–New START world, as the treaty, which was signed in 2010, expired on Feb. 5. Russia’s decision to halt U.S. inspections in 2022 effectively ended verification years early, undercutting President Ronald Reagan’s enduring maxim to “trust, but verify.”

Under the New START Treaty, the United States and Russia agreed to:

• No more than 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments
• 1,550 nuclear warheads on deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs, and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments
• 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments
• On-site inspections and data exchanges to verify compliance

China’s rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal was never covered by the agreement.

Citing war-related travel restrictions and U.S. sanctions, Russia blocked inspections in 2022 and then suspended its participation in the treaty, undercutting confidence in compliance. The U.S., meanwhile, continued to observe treaty limits. Russia’s incompliance invalidated the treaty, but the rapid growth of China’s nuclear arsenal also made the treaty functionally ineffective. The New START numbers were based on deterring one adversary, the Russians, but as Retired Admiral Charles Richard, former Commander of United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) said, the United States needs to be postured to deter against multiple adversaries’ combined forces.

“I didn’t have the luxury when I was at STRATCOM of deterring our opponents one at a time, I had to look at the collective,” said Admiral Richard. “The simple numerical comparisons don’t completely capture the complexity of what the U.S. has to have in order to deter two peers at the same time.”

The New START Treaty was originally effective, and the U.S. should not stop looking for ways to responsibly limit the numbers and proliferation of nuclear weapons. Having a credible, modern nuclear capability not only deters America’s adversaries, but it also deters allies from needing nuclear weapons programs of their own.

“In my conversation with the allies, the issue was less about treaties and more about capability and will,” added Admiral Richard. “We have recently demonstrated will, […] but it’s the capabilities we have or don’t have that is a much bigger concern to our allies in terms of our ability to honor our extended deterrence commitments.”

The hearing underscored that while treaties matter, they are only one tool in keeping America and its allies safe and adversaries deterred.

Watch the full hearing below:

Treasury Secretary Bessent Testifies at Senate Banking Committee Hearing

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vigorously defended President Trump’s financial policies and promoted the administration’s pro-growth agenda when he appeared before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee to deliver the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s Annual Report to Congress.

During the hearing, I asked Secretary Bessent to commit to examining the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) interpretation of the refundable adoption tax credit which was restored in the Working Families Tax Cuts legislation. The IRS does not align with congressional intent to allow carryforward funds to be eligible for the refundable portion. Families can still claim up to $17,280 per child, but the newly amended legislation now allows $5,000 to be refundable as a cash payment even if an adoptive family has no tax liability, and also allows the unused amounts to offset tax liability and carry forward for up to five years, providing direct financial relief for adoptive parents. 

Next, I pivoted to the 3% Resolution, which supports the goal of reducing the federal budget deficit to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) or less. I asked Secretary Bessent whether its realistic to reduce the federal deficit to 3% by 2030.

“Senator, my target is for something that begins with a 3 by the end of President Trump's term, for, as I said, for calendar [year] 2024, we’re at 7.7%, the highest when we weren’t at war, not in a recession,” said Secretary Bessent. “We’re at 5.4% and […] for the past three quarters, we've averaged 4.1% GDP growth, and we had a fiscal contraction last year. We brought down the spending, which is one of the reasons our bond market did well, so we're at 5.4%. As we move that down, we will see the economy improved, and everyone could go to the Treasury website, or the X account […] and they can see a study by MIT that shows that the budget deficit that was blown out in [2021] and [2022] created the great inflation of [2022]. So as we bring down government spending, it will bring down rates and bring down inflation.”

Watch the full discussion below:

North Dakotan Testifies at Senate EPW Committee Hearing

Recommends Five Principles For Water System Cybersecurity 

The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee heard from North Dakota cybersecurity specialist Matt Odermann during a hearing examining cybersecurity challenges impacting water infrastructure across the nation. I had the honor of introducing Odermann, an executive board member of the North Dakota Rural Water Systems Association and Cybersecurity Supervisor at Minnkota Power Cooperative in Grand Forks. He has more than a decade of experience in cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection, with a strong understanding of the unique challenges facing rural water systems.

Odermann described the capacity challenges rural systems face, noting he has seen firsthand the cyber security challenges that play out in a converged information technology and operational technology environment.

"The vast majority of water and wastewater systems in this country serve communities of 10,000 people or less," said Odermann. "We have the same responsibility as large water utilities to deliver safe drinking water every second of every day. The difference for us, though, is scale. Small systems operate with limited staff, limited revenue, and limited technical capacity. Most do not have in-house cybersecurity personnel. In rural America, cybersecurity is not a question of indifference. It's a question of capacity."

Turning to solutions, Odermann then highlighted partnership and practical guidance as the path forward, stating “with the right balance of partnership, practical guidance, and resources, we can strengthen cybersecurity across America's water infrastructure, not through fear, but through collaboration and resilience.”

Odermann outlined five principles in his testimony for strengthening rural water system cybersecurity, including leading with assistance instead of enforcement, funding mandates for cybersecurity measures, focusing on foundational controls such as phishing prevention, strengthening weak passwords, and updating legacy equipment. He emphasized the need to rely on established trusted partners like organizations utilities already depend on and stressed the importance of recognizing diversity of system size.

I began my questioning by highlighting Odermann’s first recommendation of leading with assistance rather than enforcement. Referring to a previous question by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) on cyber considerations for liability insurance, I asked about the market aspect of insurance as a mechanism for assistance rather than enforcement.

Watch the full discussion below:

From North Dakota to the Southern Border: Secretary Kristi Noem Highlights Historic Drop in Illegal Crossings

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem joined federal, state, and local leaders at the northern and southern borders in North Dakota and Arizona to announce continued success on border security. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), preliminary data from last month shows U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) "continues to clean up the mess created by Joe Biden’s reckless open border policies: last month, 42% fewer illegal aliens were apprehended at the southern border per day than in a single hour during the height of the previous administration."

Secretary Noem and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons met with law enforcement agencies and local representatives from North Dakota, including Mayor of Grand Forks Brandon Bochenski and Grand Forks County Sheriff Andrew Schneider. The group held a northern border round table at Grand Forks Air Force Base where they discussed the Department's commitment to collaborating with local partners to strengthen northern border operations utilizing cutting-edge technologies.

Secretary Noem knows the Dakotas and highlighted North Dakota’s central role in strengthening northern border security during her stop in Grand Forks. UAS operations in the area power the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance mission, delivering the advanced capabilities CBP needs to monitor and protect our northern border. Thanks for stopping by and supporting the mission!

The United States and Canada share the world's longest border, spanning 5,525 miles and 13 states. Under President Trump, Secretary Noem is committed to providing our regional partners with the resources they need to better protect this vital gateway. This includes the full replacement of United States Border Patrol's drone fleet, following the acquisition and deployment of 300 small, unmanned aircraft systems in Fiscal Year 2025.

U.S. Department of War Invites Vendors to Compete in Phase 1 of the Drone Dominance Program

The U.S. Department of War (DOW) invited 25 vendors from across the country to compete in Phase 1 of the Drone Dominance Program, an acquisition reform effort designed to rapidly field low cost, unmanned one way attack drones at scale. In a press release, DOW said it will be fielding hundreds of thousands of weaponized, one way attack drones ready for combat by 2027. "The funding is ready and steady," the Department said. "The timeline to build combat power is compressed. The competition begins now."

I congratulated Anno.AI and Kratos, two trailblazing companies at the forefront of advanced technology, for their selection to compete in Phase 1 of the program and their close collaboration with North Dakota.

Kratos’ Valkyrie drone is advancing warfighter readiness by leveraging North Dakota’s world-class flight test environment and Grand Sky's unmatched ecosystem. Congratulations to Kratos for being selected to compete in the Drone Dominance Program!

Good news! Anno.Ai has been invited to compete in Phase I of the Department of War's Drone Dominance Program. Its innovation was on full display at the Versus Counter-UAS Symposium this summer in North Dakota.

Bismarck's Britta Curl-Salemme Competes for Team USA at Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games in Italy

The United States Women’s Hockey Team is in Italy for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games with Bismarck's own Britta Curl-Salemme. The U.S. team won its first game against the Czech Republic on Thursday by a score of 5-1.

Curl-Salemme has been skating for Team USA hockey at various levels since 2016 and this will mark her first Olympic games with Team USA. She becomes the third North Dakota woman to play for Team USA joining the Lamoureux twins, Monique and Jocelyne, who won three medals from 2010-18, including the gold in 2018.

Congratulations to Britta as you represent the United States and North Dakota in Women’s Hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics! From Bismarck to Milan, we’ll be cheering you and Team USA on.

Tony Perkins on "Washington Watch"

I joined Tony Perkins on "Washington Watch" to discuss the latest with Iran.

Iran is a regime that can't be trusted, and it’s certainly demonstrating that right now. If Operation Midnight Hammer didn’t convince the Ayatollah that President Trump is serious, then additional measures may be necessary.

The only realistic way to enforce any nuclear agreement would be through a very transparent process. Even then, it’s hard to imagine the Iranian regime becoming part of the civilized world, given that it remains controlled by religious zealots—a reality we cannot afford to ignore.

"Squawk Box" on CNBC

I joined Joe Kernen and Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC's "Squawk Box" to discuss the ongoing debate around funding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the nomination of Kevin Warsh to be Federal Reserve Chairman.

On the Funding Debate:

Democrats have boxed themselves into a tough spot in this final appropriations push. While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are at the center of the DHS debate, they’re already funded for 4 years through the Working Families Tax Cuts. What isn’t funded? The Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration, and the U.S. Coast Guard—really critical services.

I’m optimistic. Democrats don't have the leverage they think they do, and I also believe President Trump and Congressional Republicans want to solve the problem. At the end of the day, not funding DHS doesn’t seem like an option anyone truly wants.

On Kevin Warsh's Nomination:

I don’t see Kevin Warsh as a problem for every Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, especially given the committee’s strong bipartisan work this Congress. Blocking the next Fed Chair, particularly someone with Warsh’s pedigree, isn’t a winning strategy.

I’ve supported Fed independence and defended Jay Powell before the President. But I’ve also been critical of him. I’d hope Powell would like to exit gracefully, but I don’t think he belongs in a federal courtroom or penitentiary.

Watch the full interview below:

Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey

I had a good discussion with Under Secretary Duffey on streamlining cumbersome defense acquisition and prioritizing domestic supply chains of rare earths and critical minerals, like those found in North Dakota’s abundant lignite coal. American innovation is the solution at home and abroad if we unleash it.

Former Congressman Zach Wamp and Palo Alto Networks

The Golden Dome missile defense framework sharpens America’s edge against today’s threats. I met with my friend Zach Wamp and Palo Alto Networks to discuss securing the digital infrastructure of Golden Dome.

Rick Kasper, Min-Dak Farmers Cooperative

I appreciated meeting with CEO of Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative Rick Kasper for an update on the cooperative and North Dakota’s sugarbeet growers and processors.

Ukrainian Leaders

Throughout Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has used every destructive tool at his disposal, including targeting energy infrastructure. During a meeting with Ukrainian leaders, we talked about the need to enforce sanctions and make Putin and Russia finally face serious consequences for their actions.

North Dakota Rural Water Systems Association Members

I met with North Dakota Rural Water Systems Association members to talk about their excellent work ensuring all North Dakotans have safe, clean drinking water.

American Indian Higher Education Consortium

Meeting with North Dakota tribal college students is always a joy and one of the highlights of my year! Thanks to everyone for stopping by and sharing how North Dakota’s tribal colleges have impacted your lives.

Uranium Producers of America

American uranium is critical to building our nuclear fuel supply chain. Thanks to Uranium Producers of America for the discussion on ways to increase nuclear energy and supply domestic uranium.

Joseph Johnson, North Dakota Fraternal Order of Police

I caught up with Joseph Johnson from the North Dakota Fraternal Order of Police during his visit to Washington. We talked about legislative priorities affecting the sworn officers who protect North Dakota communities every day. I'm always grateful for the work they do across our great state.

Aspiring Political Science Student

It was great to visit with Ian, a high schooler already interested in government and politics, during his visit to Washington. Students like Ian, who get engaged early, keep our democracy strong.

HHS Awards Over $3.1 Million to Cankdeska Cikana Community College

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $3,154,839 to Cankdeska Cikana Community College in Fort Totten. These funds are distributed through Head Start Indian Grants. The funds support Head Start and Early Head Start programs. These programs promote early childhood learning, health and development initiatives, as well as family and community support services.

DOT Awards $100,000 to Mercer County Airport

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded $100,000 to the Mercer County Regional Airport Authority. This award supports the removal of ground penetrations to the approach surface which were identified as obstructions by the FAA.

The AIG Program was established by the fully-paid-for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to provide airports with funding for modernization and safety projects. Since its creation, airports in North Dakota have received over $61 million in program funding.

National Endowment for the Arts Awards $15,000 to The Study ND

The National Endowment for the Arts awarded $15,000 to The Study ND, formerly North Dakota Humanities Council, to support a statewide theater and humanities initiative in recognition of America’s 250th anniversary.

This commemorative effort will bring historical events and figures like the Framers of the U.S. Constitution to life through virtual and live performances celebrating the nation’s history. Public readings, theatrical portrayals, and guided discussions will encourage audiences to reflect on the nation’s founding in 1776 and upon its democratic ideals while engaging in contemporary conversations about civic life.