News Releases for November 2003
November 21, 2003
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Hoeven Continues To Push For Energy Bill, Medicare Reform Bill
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven today continued to work for passage of both the federal Energy Bill and the Medicare Reform Bill.
“North Dakota is the sixth largest energy producing state in the nation, with a broad range of traditional and renewable energy sources, including coal, oil and gas, wind, ethanol and other renewables,” Hoeven said. “With solid provisions for clean coal technology, wind power and ethanol, the new bill will help us to make significant progress in expanding all of these vitally important resources in our state.”
Hoeven has worked on the bill in his role as Chairman of the International Oil and Gas Compact Commission and Chairman of the Governors’ Ethanol Coalition.
“We still have a few wrinkles to iron out before the bill is reconciled, but I’m encouraged to see it so close to passing,” Hoeven said. “We’re hopeful that Congress will work out the glitches over the weekend and we’ll have an energy bill by next week.”
On the Medicare Prescription Drug and Reform Bill, Hoeven said the new legislation will help modernize the current Medicare program.
“For the first time, we have a bill that provides a prescription drug benefit for our seniors, which is vitally important to us as a state and as a nation,” Hoeven said. “It improves the reimbursement rates between rural and urban hospitals, but does not yet go far enough to create real equity, which is an issue we’ll continue to work toward. Although the bill is not perfect, it represents a great stride forward for our seniors and should be signed into law.”
Hoeven today spoke with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson at a meeting with other Republican governors and pushed for an increased reimbursement rate for North Dakota’s hospitals. “I told the secretary that we are supportive of increasing the reimbursement rates for rural hospitals, and we encourage applying those increases to all hospitals in North Dakota,” Hoeven said.
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