United States Senator John Hoeven for North Dakota

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven and a bipartisan group of seven senators Thursday held a colloquy, or discussion, on the U.S. Senate floor to underscore the importance of the Keystone XL pipeline project for the nation.

One by one, both Republicans and Democrats made common cause, urging the Obama Administration to approve the long-delayed project, saying it will create jobs, boost the nation’s economy and help advance the country toward true energy security.

In addition to Hoeven, also participating in the floor discussion were Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) sent on a statement of support, which Hoeven read into the record.

Hoeven kicked off the discussion citing the average price of gasoline across the nation in February, $3.62, which is now at a historic high and twice ...

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has begun soliciting formal proposals to select six sites to test unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for integration into the national airspace. The FAA today released a Screening Information Request (SIR) online that sets forth the technical criteria on which applicants will be judged. Applicants have three months to respond to the SIR.

The FAA released its SIR to comply with the FAA Reauthorization bill passed by Congress and signed by the president last February. The law includes an amendment, introduced by Hoeven, that directs the agency to integrate UAS into the National Airspace (NAS) alongside manned aircraft. Hoeven’s amendment instructs the FAA Administrator to consider factors including geographical and climatic diversity, as well as the location of ground infrastructure, in selecting the test sites.

“The FAA’s announcement today is an important step in ...

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address this evening before a joint session of Congress:

“With a chronically sluggish economy and more than 12 million Americans still unemployed, the president this evening needed to focus squarely on the nation’s economic vitality, our deficit, debt and job creation. While he acknowledged the importance of these issues, the approach he outlined will not get us where we need to go.

“The president has again proposed more taxes, more spending and more regulation. Clearly, that approach doesn’t work, which is evidenced by the economy’s poor performance over the past four years. What we do need, rather, is a pro-growth, pro-jobs approach to the economy and job creation.

“That means creating a legal, tax and regulatory climate that promotes business investment, innovation – and hirin...

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today said North Korea’s successful detonation of a miniaturized nuclear device capable of being mounted on a missile poses a threat to the United States and international peace and stability. At the same time Iran is pressing forward with its nuclear program and China is modernizing its nuclear arsenal. All of these developments mean we need to sustain and strengthen the U.S. nuclear deterrent, he said.

“North Korea’s nuclear test today poses a threat to the United States and our allies, and underscores the need for the United States to maintain its strong deterrent capabilities,” Hoeven said. “Yet now, even before implementing the reductions required under the New START Treaty of 2010, the Obama administration has signaled that it may be willing to reduce unilaterally the U.S. nuclear capability even further. In light of North Korea’s actions today, this is clearly not the time to diminish these cri...