Sen. Cramer To Serve as Ranking Member on Armed Services Subcommittee, Receives Assignments Overseeing North Dakota Priorities

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced today he will serve as the Ranking Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee's (SASC) Subcommittee on Seapower during the 117th Congress.

"It's an honor to receive a leadership position on the Armed Services Committee," said Senator Cramer. "The Seapower Subcommittee plays a pivotal role in overseeing the military branches responsible for maintaining our presence at strategically important ports and bodies of water, and fending off acts of aggression by adversaries like China, Russia, or Iran. I look forward to leading this subcommittee and to ensuring our Navy and Marine Corps are properly equipped and best positioned for success."

Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), the Ranking Member on SASC, issued a statement on Senator Cramer leading this subcommittee.

"I'm looking forward to working once again with Senator Cramer on the Armed Services Committee for the 117th Congress, where he will take an important leadership role as the Ranking Member of the Seapower Subcommittee," said Ranking Member Inhofe. "Our Navy and Marine Corps play a pivotal role in our priority theater -- the Indo-Pacific -- and Sen. Cramer will help position these forces to push back on threats from China and Russia."

Senator Cramer will also serve on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee and the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee. The Strategic Forces Subcommittee is responsible for overseeing the nation's nuclear forces, allowing Senator Cramer to defend the nuclear deterrent from those who oppose it and to continue his efforts to ensure nuclear modernization efforts, like those happening at Minot Air Force Base, stay on track.

The Strategic Forces Subcommittee is also responsible for overseeing space programs. Senator Cramer, who serves as Senate Space Force Caucus Co-Chair, used his seat on SASC to lead the effort to create the U.S. Space Force in 2019. Since then, he has brought several high-ranking space officials to North Dakota to showcase the state's potential for contributing to the military's future space efforts, highlighting places like the University of North Dakota's (UND) School of Aerospace Sciences and the Cavalier Air Force Station, which has missile early warning and space tracking missions.

With his seat on the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, Senator Cramer has the opportunity to advocate for the Artificial Intelligence and Unmanned Aerial Systems technologies being developed and utilized at the Grand Forks Air Force Base, the Fargo Air National Guard, and UND.

"The members of North Dakota's military community are as strong and capable as any in the country. Serving on the Emerging Threats and Strategic Forces subcommittees gives them a seat at the table as Congress tackles issues such as nuclear modernization, development of advanced technologies, and America's presence in space," said Senator Cramer. "It provides me an opportunity to advocate for our Guardsmen and our military installations at Minot, Grand Forks, and Cavalier; and to promote the great potential they each possess."

"As a member of the Strategic Forces and Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittees," said Ranking Member Inhofe, "Senator Cramer will support additional critical national security priorities: modernizing our nuclear deterrent, incorporating leading edge technologies to advance Armed Forces capabilities, and countering terrorist organizations."

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