About

John Hoeven was sworn in as North Dakota’s 22nd U.S. Senator on January 5, 2011. He ran for re-election in 2016 and received the largest margin of victory for a U.S. Senate candidate in North Dakota history.  He served as the state’s governor from 2000-2010. 

Senator Hoeven was born in Bismarck. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1979 and a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University in 1981. He served as executive vice president of First Western Bank in Minot from 1986 to 1993, and served on many civic, community, and economic development groups. From 1993-2000, he served as president and CEO of the Bank of North Dakota, which grew from $900 million to $1.6 billion under his leadership.

Hoeven and his wife Mical (Mikey) live in Bismarck. They have two children, Marcela and Jack, and seven grandsons.

Senate Highlights

The two biggest drivers of North Dakota’s economy are agriculture and energy. During his time in the United States Senate, Senator Hoeven has proven that he is a champion of both.

Agriculture

As Chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Committee Senator Hoeven secured disaster assistance to get farmers and ranchers through flooding, drought, and the Chinese trade war.

  • Senior Member on Agriculture Authorizing Committee 
  • At the table to write the last farm bill (passed December, 2018) and will be there for the next
  • Leader on crop insurance 
  • Led fight against WOTUS 
  • Worked to uphold the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act providing relief for farmers and ranchers. 

Energy

As a Senior Member of the Energy Committee, Senator Hoeven created the Empower ND Energy Plan to make North Dakota an "all of the above" energy powerhouse.

  • Put ND in the lead to “crack the code” on carbon capture for base load coal fired electricity 
  • Passed the 45Q tax credit 
  • Led the effort to build oil and gas development in the Bakken 
  • Fought tirelessly for pipelines like DAPL, North Bakken Expansion, and the Keystone XL 

North Dakota Accomplishments

UAS

  • Passed legislation to make Grand Forks the UAS center of the country
  • Northern Plains Test Site was first of its kind in the nation 
  • Enhanced use lease with USAF to establish Grand Sky technology park 
  • Added LEO (low earth orbit) satellite space missions

Flood Protection

  • Passed 16 different pieces of legislation for comprehensive flood protection in the Red River Valley 
  • Passed legislation for authorization and funding Minot regional flood protection 

Help for Homeowners

  • Passed legislation so homeowners could own their land and keep their lake homes 
  • Jamestown reservoir  
  • Lake Patterson 
  • Lake Tschida 

New Airport Facilities

  •  New terminals in Minot 
  • Secured more than $114 million in federal funding to relocate and develop the new Williston Basin International Airport. 

Conservative Judges

  • Worked to confirm many conservative judges as Senator and appointed many conservative judges as Governor

Champion for North Dakota National Guard and Veterans

  • Secured enhanced ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) and REAPER missions 
  • Passed legislation to enhance National Guard and Reserves access to educational benefits and the GI Bill 
  • Secured a National Veterans Cemetery near Fargo through the VA Rural Cemetery Initiative 

Improved Transportation

  • Secured funding to create four lane highways on 2 and 85 

Secured Air Force Bases

  • Passed legislation to enhance missions at Minot and Grand Forks bases (Bombers & missiles at MAFB / Global hawk at GFAFB)

Committee Assignments

Appropriations 

  • Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee (Ranking Member)
  • Homeland Security
  • Defense
  • Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Subcommittee 
  • Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
  • Energy and Water Development Subcommittee

Energy and Natural Resources 

  • Energy Subcommittee (Ranking Member)
  • Water and Power
  • National Parks

Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry 

  • Commodities, Risk Management and Trade (Ranking Member)
  • Conservation, Climate, Forestry and Natural Resources
  • Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics and Research

Indian Affairs 

Governor Highlights

 John Hoeven’s time in the North Dakota Governor’s office was marked by many successes, including: job creation, economic prosperity, and a budget surplus. North Dakota reduced taxes, spent within its means and created a pro-growth legal, tax and regulatory environment to empower people and businesses to grow and expand. 

Under his leadership, the state expanded and diversified its economy and gained thousands of new jobs. North Dakota’s wages and personal income today continue to grow faster than the national average, and in recent years the state has led the nation in export growth. North Dakota has a balanced budget, has set aside more strong reserves for the future, cut taxes, and invested in priorities like education, law enforcement and infrastructure. 

As governor, Hoeven also placed a strong focus on developing North Dakota’s vast energy resources. Beginning in 2002, he initiated EmPower ND, a comprehensive energy plan for the state that includes all energy resources as well as a conservation component. Today, North Dakota stands as an energy powerhouse and one of the largest energy producing and exporting states in the nation. Currently, North Dakota produces more than one million barrels of oil a day and ranks as the second largest oil-producing state in the country.