Central ND News

During the POLITICO 2024 Energy Summit on Wednesday, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, participated in a moderated discussion about his environment and energy priorities with POLITICO’s E&E reporter Kelsey Brugger. Throughout the conversation, they discussed his bipartisan PROVE It Act, permitting reform, carbon capture, the Inflation Reduction Act, and more.

Senator Cramer first addressed potential energy-related actions former President Trump might consider if elected for a second term. “You've already mentioned the obvious, some of the executive orders and probably more importantly, how to unravel some executive orders that are being issued right now and rules are being issued now,” said Cramer. “Some of it'll depend on whether they get outside this or inside the 60-day window for a CRA. There are all kinds of things to consider. But thinking back to 2016: Candidate Trump, and then President-elect Trump, was pretty aggressive on some things […] [and legislative leaders] will no doubt work on the legislative side closely with the administration.”

He also spoke about his bipartisan PROVE It Act, which passed out of the Senate EPW Committee at the beginning of the year. The legislation would require the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct a comprehensive study and submit a report comparing greenhouse gas emissions intensity of certain products made in the United States versus those in foreign countries.

“[The bill] empowers the Department of Energy to take existing data and come up with an analysis of the carbon intensity of the 24 most carbon intense products we produce and that our allies and adversaries produce in anticipation of defending our excellence against other countries’ mediocrity in a CBAM or trade situation,” said Cramer. “It’s going to be an interesting one because you do have President Trump, somebody who is clearly not opposed to tariffs, somebody who sees trade as an opportunity to leverage America’s excellence against others’ mediocrity.”

When asked about the Inflation Reduction Act, Senator Cramer said he voted against it but noted there were aspects he supported: “there are some things we like and some we don’t, but I think we need to go after it with a surgeon’s scalpel and not an axe… If we want to have a full assessment of a fuel-neutral tax policy that recognizes the importance of outcomes rather than your desire for or against a fuel source, I’m all for that. But right now we have competing policies and I’m not going to give up or unilaterally disarm my industries – whether it’s ethanol, coal-fired generation, or oil and gas – to benefit a competitor especially one like wind that’s intermittent.”

He highlighted utilizing the 45Q tax credit for carbon capture and enhanced oil recovery but warned against undermining innovators in traditional energy sectors: “before solutions and innovations get to market and become marketable...we will never have [an answer] that provides reliable affordable electricity."

On securing supply chains, Senator Cramer encouraged policies focused on maintaining alliances with countries such as Norway, Ukraine, and Canada. He explained,“We have lots of friends and allies...so that we don't give up both economic advantage...but also strategically decouple from China in particular."

Regarding permitting reform efforts within energy policy frameworks: Senator Cramer expressed support for substantial reform packages while emphasizing federalism principles: "get[ting]the right people at table...[with]right leverage points...not be quite so aggressive...aspiring[to achieve benefits across all sources]."