Central ND News

The Senate has approved funding measures aimed at supporting North Dakota’s military infrastructure and enhancing services for veterans in the state. Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that he secured several provisions in the Fiscal Year 2026 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (Milcon-VA) appropriations bill.

The legislation includes directives for the Air Force to focus on security improvements at Minot Air Force Base’s Weapons Storage Area. It also requires the development of a construction timeline for Sentinel launch facilities, coordinating simultaneous construction efforts across all three missile bases.

For the North Dakota National Guard, $1.5 million in additional funds will go toward the Jamestown Readiness Center. The bill contains language ensuring that Army National Guard lodging needs are met at locations such as Camp Grafton’s Regional Training Institute. The housing project at Camp Grafton is currently being planned and designed with $2 million previously secured by Hoeven in Fiscal Year 2024.

On veterans’ issues, the legislation supports building more infrastructure at Rural Initiative national cemeteries like Fargo National Cemetery. It emphasizes that the Department of Veterans Affairs should prioritize investments where there are state and local contributions, referencing ongoing work by a group led by Hoeven on projects such as the Veterans Memorial Center.

The bill also seeks to improve veterans’ access to long-term care by encouraging recruitment and retention of more providers and pressing for permanent exemptions from certain Department of Labor contracting requirements that can hinder service delivery. Additionally, it promotes expanded access to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), urging continued research into its effectiveness for post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury, while allowing case-by-case referrals through VA Community Care programs.

“We secured provisions in this bill to keep our nuclear modernization efforts on track for Minot Air Force Base and to advance the construction of Guard facilities in Jamestown and at Camp Grafton,” said Hoeven. “This legislation also helps keep our promise to care for and honor our veterans with our provisions to keep the momentum going to construct infrastructure at the Fargo National Cemetery, and improve veteran access to critically-needed health care services, like long-term care and HBOT.”