Central ND News

Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota addressed the House Floor to discuss the impact of federal regulations on families and businesses in her state. She emphasized the importance of passing the Midnight Rules Relief Act, which was recently approved by the House, to counteract what she described as a regulatory spree by the Biden administration.

Fedorchak criticized executive branch agencies for imposing regulations without practical experience. "We are crippling our businesses. We are smothering new ideas before they can even take flight," she stated. As a former energy regulator, she acknowledged the necessity of smart regulation, citing North Dakota's least-cost planning for electric utilities as an example.

She expressed concern over federal staffing requirements for nurses in North Dakota nursing homes, suggesting that such rules hinder local organizations' operations. According to Fedorchak, federal regulations cost more than $3 trillion in 2022, impacting small businesses and consumers alike.

In response to these challenges, Fedorchak's first action in Congress was sending a letter identifying burdensome energy regulations created by federal agencies. She commended the Trump administration's efforts to repeal these regulations and its policy requiring agencies to remove ten rules for every new one introduced.

The Midnight Rules Relief Act aims to enable Congress to rescind multiple agency rules issued during a President’s final year using Congressional Review Act authority. Fedorchak highlighted specific concerns about recent Bureau of Land Management plans affecting coal and oil leasing in North Dakota and neighboring states.

"We must start reining in bureaucratic overreach and putting power back where it belongs —with the American people," she concluded, pledging continued collaboration with her colleagues and the Trump administration.