In third virtual town hall, Fedorchak lauds 'big beautiful bill'

BISMARCK — North Dakota’s sole member of Congress, Republican Rep. Julie Fedorchak, hosted her third virtual town hall on Tuesday, June 10, where she fielded questions and concerns from residents about the “big beautiful bill” that recently passed in the House.

“There’s a lot of misinformation that’s been spread about this legislation, and what is and isn’t included in it, and what the overall goal is,” Fedorchak said while opening the town hall just after 7 p.m. “I want to set the record straight on a couple of those things.”

The federal legislation, which is on its way to the Senate after passing in the House by a single vote May 22, outlined more than $1 trillion in spending cuts that have sparked uproar across the country.

Of the cuts to federal agencies and their programs, North Dakotans shared concerns Tuesday related to regional Veterans Affairs hospitals, JobCorps and state Medicaid programs.

A Minot resident named Thomas asked if the philosophy of government is to “shut something down” instead of “fix it” with regard to

the closing of the JobsCorps campus in Minot.

The program provides free career training and education for late teens and young adults.

Fedorchak said she supports the program’s mission and shares concerns about its status in Minot.

After meeting with Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer to discuss the changes, however, Fedorchak said she wasn’t able to obtain further details due to the pending legal cases related to the program — lawsuits filed against the Department of Labor after the cuts were announced.

As for the VA cuts, Michelle of Fargo said she was “disheartened” by

the decision to eliminate federal funding to related care facilities.

Veterans will still receive health care, the changes merely cut out the bureaucracy created by the Biden administration, Fedorchak assured her.

Dan in Bismarck said he’s worried about

cutting back on Medicaid

and that there’s “not enough savings” in doing so “to justify the amount of cuts they’re (Congress) proposing.”

The changes include a laundry list of exceptions and are meant to save the program for people who “need it the most,” Fedorchak responded, not able-bodied people and those without permanent legal status who are currently receiving the benefits, she said.

She also emphasized her support for new work, volunteer and education requirements within the program.

When it comes to increased spending, one resident was curious about how North Dakota’s international border would be impacted by more funding for the military and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Sky from Fargo expressed concern about the state’s dependency on workers who lack permanent legal status, namely for agriculture industries.

“A lot of our farmers, we’re an ag state, depend on a lot of these illegal immigrants. What’s going to be done so they can continue staffing so our economy doesn’t take a hit?” she asked.

Fedorchak said she hopes farmers are hiring legal workers, and that she is a proponent of making the visa process more efficient.

Alternative energy sources and how they relate to regional grid stability also came up intermittently.

Gordon, a wind turbine technician based in McKenzie, pointed to Trump’s distaste for wind energy and asked if Fedorchak felt the same. It was not clear if Gordon was from McKenzie County, or the unincorporated community in Burleigh County. Another caller from Fargo, Paul, was curious about moving to geothermal energy to strengthen the grid, pointing to the state’s “treasure trove” of it as a resource.

While Fedorchak said she supports eliminating existing tax credits for wind and solar energy, she also supports making the permitting process of all energy resources, including that of wind and geothermal resources, faster.

“Each resource has pros and cons and having a mix of them and a blend of them is best,” she said.

There were fewer viewers on Facebook during Tuesday’s town hall compared to the previous live streams, with the listener count not exceeding 50. The comment section was turned off by Fedorchak’s Facebook page.

Fedorchak is the only member of the state’s federal delegation who has hosted town halls since President Donald Trump was elected. Republican Sens. Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven have not announced any plans to host public forums in the near future.