Kevin Cramer was elected to the United States Senate on November 6, 2018 after serving three terms as North Dakota’s At-Large Member of the United States House of Representatives. He is the first Republican to hold this Senate seat in his lifetime. He serves on the Armed Services, Environment and Public Works, Veterans Affairs, and Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committees.
While a member of the House, Cramer made constituent outreach a top priority, describing interacting with the public as “the best part of public service.” According to Legistorm, the Capitol Hill government issues website, Cramer held more town halls than any other Member during several of his years in the House.
Cramer has had a distinguished career in public service. In 2003, then-Governor John Hoeven appointed Cramer to the Public Service Commission, and in 2004 he was elected to the position. As a North Dakota Public Service Commissioner, Cramer helped oversee the most dynamic economy in the nation. He worked to ensure North Dakotans enjoy some of the lowest utility rates in the United States, enhancing their competitive position in the global marketplace. An energy policy expert, Cramer understands America’s energy security is integral to national and economic security.
A strong advocate for the free market system, Cramer has a proven record of cutting and balancing budgets encouraging the private sector through limited, common sense regulations and limited government.
Cramer has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, a Master’s degree in Management from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, and was conferred the degree of Doctor of Leadership, honoris causa, by the University of Mary on May 4, 2013.
He is a native of Kindred, North Dakota, where he received his primary and secondary education. Kevin and his wife, Kris, have two adult sons, Isaac, who passed away in early 2018, and Ian; two adult daughters, Rachel and Annie; a teenage son, Abel; three granddaughters, Lyla, Willa, and Eve; and three grandsons, Beau, Nico, and Chet.
AGRICULTURE AND TRADE
Agriculture is the largest segment of North Dakota’s economy with nearly 90 percent of the state’s land in farms and ranches. Senator Cramer is a strong supporter of cutting regulatory red tape to enable producers to do what they do best: grow the safest and highest quality food in the world.
CONSTITUENT SERVICES
Constituent outreach is a top priority and the best part of public service. On top of providing constituents with federal assistance, my staff and I prioritize hearing from North Dakotans regularly and ensuring the state is informed on any federal resources coming its way.
ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Senator Cramer believes in an all-of-the-above energy approach that responsibly develops the natural resources North Dakota and the nation possess. North Dakota is now the 2nd largest oil producer in the nation and we possess extensive coal reserves. This is complimented by nuclear, wind and hydropower generation. North Dakota embodies an all-of-the-above approach that should be replicated across the nation. Senator Cramer serves on the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) and is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife, which has direct jurisdiction over the Fish Wildlife Service and Clean Water Act implementation. Through his role on EPW, he continues to advocate for state and personal property rights, reliable and affordable power generation, and innovative technology incentives to support North Dakota’s energy sector and workers.
DEFENSE & FOREIGN POLICY
As the first North Dakotan to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Cramer believes that the highest responsibility of Congress is providing for the defense of our nation and caring for our brave service members who defend it. The Committee plays an important role of overseeing the country’s military, benefits for service members and families, defense research and development, and nuclear energy.
Senator Cramer understands that a strong U.S. military is the most effective deterrence against conflict. To ensure our men and women in uniform have the best equipment, Senator Cramer emphasizes the importance of modernizing the military, which includes the vital nuclear missiles and B-52 bombers based at Minot Air Force Base, and the Global Hawk and Reaper drones flown out of Grand Forks and Fargo. Senator Cramer also fought strongly and successfully for the creation of a sixth branch of the military – the United States Space Force – to ensure the United States retains its dominance in space.
HEALTH CARE
Senator Cramer wants to increase price transparency and foster competition to lower health care costs and prescription drug prices. He advocates to keep North Dakota patients in control of their care and supports seniors’ access to the Medicare benefits they’ve earned.
Senator Cramer is a strong supporter of maintaining and improving North Dakota’s rural health facilities to provide access to high quality health care to patients no matter their zip code.
IMMIGRATION
Immigration is an important issue for North Dakota. Not only does the state share a border with Canada, but its communities feel the negative impact of drug trafficking coming from the southern border. Because of this, Senator Cramer works to secure our southern border by supporting funding for additional infrastructure and overseeing the Department of Homeland Security’s procurement process.
JOBS AND THE ECONOMY
President Trump’s administration has jump-started our economy, rebuilt our military, and enabled working Americans to reach their potential without unnecessary government hindrances. Americans in every economic situation have been able to keep more of their hard-earned income, and in turn, have seen tremendous growth in small business and local economies. This has been made possible by positive actions such as passing historic tax cuts and slashing overreaching bureaucratic regulations. A historic unemployment rate, millions of American jobs added, stocks at record highs, rising real wages and hourly earnings—the effects of this ‘rocket-ship’ economy have benefitted people in every economic position.
JUDICIARY & NOMINATIONS
Article II of the constitution bestows on the Senate the authority to “Advice and Consent” on Presidential nominations. Senator Cramer fights to ensure the President appoints qualified individuals who will uphold the constitution and respect the rule of law.
LIFE
Life is a gift from God and must be protected from conception to natural death. During Senator Cramer’s first floor speech, he spoke on all people’s (born and unborn) right to life. We must uphold this right, because “we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed – at the time of creation – by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Without the first, the right to life, we can have neither liberty nor the pursuit of happiness. The United States has been denying the first for far too long. Now is the time to join together to give the future of our country—our next generations—the right to life.
Because of his support for life in all its forms, Senator Cramer authored and introduced the Patients Rights Act, which protects all medical patients (from conception to natural death) from any action that may limit or end their life.
SECOND AMENDMENT
The Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms to all citizens. As a strong and vocal supporter of this right, Senator Cramer sees it as the ultimate guarantee that the power of our society remains with the people. To that end, he authored and introduced the Freedom Financing Act, which prohibits big banks from denying financing to a firearms company.
SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE
Social Security and Medicare are essential programs for American seniors. Unfortunately, if they are not reformed, forecasts show these programs are on the path to insolvency in the near future, meaning automatic and drastic benefit reductions. Senator Cramer is committed to ensuring current seniors receive the benefits they were promised throughout their lifetime of work. At the same time, he understands it is important to address the imminent insolvency of these programs in order to preserve and protect them for future generations.
VETERANS
Senator Cramer is a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, which oversees matters relating to Veterans compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education, medical care, civil relief, and civilian readjustment. Senator Cramer recognizes and commends the sacrifice made by Veterans to our country and finds it an honor to support those who have served.
This Congress, the committee is closely monitoring and providing oversight on the implementation of the VA MISSION Act, which gives Veterans greater access to health care in VA facilities and the community, expands benefits for caregivers, and improves VA’s ability to recruit and retain the best medical providers. Senator Cramer also supports providing for the unique needs of Native American and rural Veterans’ in North Dakota. Additionally, addressing mental health and integrating non-invasive and alternative therapies into a whole health care plan has been a priority of the Senator.