Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria to discuss the court decision ordering the Biden administration to resume oil and gas leasing in North Dakota, the Department of Defense’s (DOD) approach to China-owned entities purchasing U.S. land, and recent bank collapses. Excerpts and full video are below.
On Court Decision Requiring Oil, Gas Lease Sales in North Dakota:
“There’s only been one required quarterly lease over the course of over two years in North Dakota on federal lands. And, Judge Traynor made it very clear to the [Bureau of Land Management] that not only are they in violation of the law, but they have to resume those leases on a regular basis and that this is not a suggestion – this law is mandatory. Somehow this administration just does what they want to do and doesn’t do what they’re supposed to, regardless of what the law says, and [Judge Traynor] slapped them down pretty hard.”
On DOD Approach to Chinese Purchases of U.S. Land:
“In the situation in Grand Forks, North Dakota with Fufeng purchasing acreage within 12 miles of a Reconnaissance Wing of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense and the Department of the Air Force were very late to sound the alarm. In fact, local citizens sounded the alarm originally.
“What I was questioning [Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin] about is, shouldn’t the Department of Defense speak up sooner and be a little bolder? Let’s not let what happened in Grand Forks over the course of the last year-plus, let’s not let that happen anywhere else. Speak up sooner.”
On Calls for More Regulation Following Recent Bank Failures:
“Even these [Banking Committee] witnesses yesterday don’t seem to be advocating for a lot more regulation. The regulations are not the problem here. If anybody is the problem, it’s the regulator. Because even under the current rules, the lack of good risk management with idiosyncratic risk or more localized risk was not appropriate and wasn’t adequate. So, I don’t know how adding more rules to people who break the rules really helps.”