Byron Dorgan

March 12, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – Two years ago, U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) worked to prevent the Bush administration from filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with crude oil in 2008 – a move that has saved taxpayers more than $600 million according to new information from the Department of Energy.

At the time, the two senators argued that it made no sense to pay high prices of more than $100 per barrel for oil that was just going underground to save for a rainy day. Their legislation became law in May 2008 and the purchases of crude oil stopped until the end of 2008 when prices of oil dropped dramatically.

Department of Energy's James Markowsky, assistant secretary office of fossil energy, wrote to the senators this week to report the savings:    » read more »

Dorgan applauds President's proposal; says an economic recovery isn't possible without job creation

January 29, 2010 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) applauded the President’s proposal today for a small business jobs and wages tax credit as a much-needed measure to encourage job creation and wage growth.

STATEMENT BY U.S. SENATOR BYRON DORGAN

“Today’s numbers showing GDP growth at 5.7 percent in the previous quarter is encouraging, but real economic recovery will only come when those who are unemployed are able to find good jobs once again.    » read more »

Dorgan chairs hearing to foster bipartisan discussion on job creation strategies

December 16, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – A bipartisan panel of the nation’s top economic advisors testified at a Senate hearing chaired by U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) today, saying that America’s small businesses are the key to promoting job growth.

Dorgan convened the Democratic Policy Committee hearing as part of a series of hearings he is chairing on job creation. The hearing, which featured testimony from top economic advisors to Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, focused on which policies have worked in the past, which have failed, and – most importantly – which policies should be implemented right now to put Americans back to work.    » read more »

Growing UAV Presence Will Bring 180 Additional Personnel to Base Next Year

December 16, 2009 -- Washington – Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Congressman Earl Pomeroy today applauded the announcement that the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) mission at Grand Forks Air Force Base will be expanded, bringing 180 additional airmen to North Dakota next year.

“This is very good news for Grand Forks and the state of North Dakota,” the delegation said in a joint statement. “The UAV operation based in Grand Forks is at the cutting edge of our nation's defense. As the airmen in Grand Forks continue their excellent performance, we continue to make the case for new and expanded missions in Grand Forks, including the next generation of air refueling tankers.”    » read more »

Projects include construction at military installations, Grand Forks airport, Minot industrial park

December 14, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Congressman Earl Pomeroy announced today that Congress has given final approval to an appropriations bill that includes support for a number of projects that will boost North Dakota’s economy – including construction at our military installations, high-tech research at UND and NDSU, a key construction project at Minot’s industrial park, and support for a new terminal at the Grand Forks airport.    » read more »

December 7, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- On the first day of the Copenhagen climate change conference, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) reiterated his support for passing a bipartisan energy bill before taking up climate legislation. Dorgan urged the President and the Congress to take up a bipartisan energy bill that he helped write earlier this year that would reduce carbon emissions while increasing our nation’s energy security.    » read more »

New Command Will Streamline Nation's Nuclear Capabilities, Delegation says

December 1, 2009 -- Washington – Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Congressman Earl Pomeroy today applauded the official transfer of the nuclear missile wing at Minot Air Force Base to the new Global Strike Command.

“Streamlining the chain of command will help maintain the extraordinarily high standards necessary for the day-to-day stewardship of the nation’s nuclear forces,” the delegation said in a joint statement. “As a key component of the Global Strike Command mission, Minot will demonstrate, once again, why it continues to play a leading role in our nation’s defense.”    » read more »

As WTO Ministerial begins in Geneva, Senators, President of United Steelworkers, Advocates Outline Steps to Address Deficit, Strengthen U.S. Economy

November 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Marking the ten-year anniversary of the World Trade Organization (WTO) demonstrations in Seattle and the Nov. 30-Dec 2 WTO ministerial in Geneva, Switzerland, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) today announced that they will reintroduce the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment (TRADE) Act. Brown first introduced the TRADE Act in 2008.    » read more »

November 21, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) released the following statement today on his vote to begin debating health care reform legislation in the Senate:

“I voted tonight in favor of the Motion to Proceed, which simply allows the Senate to begin debating and amending a proposed health care reform bill.

“I’ve made no decisions about the legislation itself because there will be many amendments to the plan offered by myself and other colleagues in the next several weeks that will change the legislation.    » read more »

Bill will help North Dakota's 57,000 veterans and their families

November 19, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The U.S. Senate has approved a bill co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) that will improve health care benefits to American veterans and their families.

“We have 57,000 veterans in North Dakota who answered the call and served their country. We have an obligation to ensure they have access to quality care,” Dorgan said. “This is a bipartisan bill that will expand and improve veterans’ health care services, and I believe it will help our nation fulfill its obligation to the men and women who served in our armed services.”    » read more »

Legislation invests in new military facilities in Minot, Grand Forks, Bismarck and Fargo

November 17, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- The U.S. Senate approved an appropriations bill today that includes funding secured by U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad to construct new military facilities in Minot, Grand Forks, Fargo and Bismarck. Dorgan and Conrad said the bill will give a boost to North Dakota’s military missions.    » read more »

Senator has pushed for action to investigate and prosecute financial fraud

November 17, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said today’s announcement that the Justice Department will ramp up efforts to crack down on financial fraud “is critical to bring these modern day bank-robbers to justice, necessary to restore confidence in our financial system, and I applaud the Department of Justice for taking this action.”

Dorgan has been pushing for increased investigations and prosecutions of those who wrongly profited from the financial collapse. In January, Dorgan introduced the Taxpayer Protection Act (S. 195), which would, among other things, investigate and prosecute financial fraud that contributed to the collapse of our financial markets.    » read more »

Says FTC Investigation Of CVS/Caremark Merger Is Necessary To Ensure Fair Competition

November 6, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) today welcomed the news that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating the 2007 merger of CVS and Caremark, saying it is necessary to ensure fair competition in the prescription drug market.

In July, Senator Dorgan, along with Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), sent a letter to the FTC stating that the combination of Caremark and CVS “created a heightened opportunity for anticompetitive conduct in the prescription drug market.” They requested that the FTC investigate the merger because it was hurting Main Street pharmacies.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- Nov 5, 2009 – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Al Franken, and Byron Dorgan today sponsored legislation to prohibit the use of personal wireless communication devices by the flight crew while operating commercial aircraft.

Klobuchar, an Aviation Subcommittee member, and Franken joined Commerce Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Byron Dorgan to introduce the legislation in response to the recent Northwest Airlines incident in which pilots claimed they were distracted by working on their computers and did not respond to radio calls for 91 minutes. The plane flew 150 miles past its destination of Minneapolis-St. Paul.    » read more »

Appropriations bill contains $66.3 million for tribal colleges; $4.6 million for UTTC

October 29, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said today that the $7 million increase in funding for tribal colleges nationwide represents a strong commitment to Native American higher education that will benefit students at tribal colleges in North Dakota.

The Interior Appropriations conference agreement includes $66.3 million for tribally controlled community colleges, which is $7 million more than last year’s level. In addition, the bill includes a provision proposed by the President including $50 million to forward fund tribal colleges so they can better plan for the academic year.    » read more »