Jill Schramm/MDN Rick Becker, independent candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks at a joint service clubs meeting in Minot Monday.

U.S. Senate candidate Rick Becker wants to change the spending habits of the American government.

“We find ourselves now so deeply in debt we haven’t just damaged our future, we’ve damaged our kids’ and our grandkids’ future. We’ve lost leverage because of our indebtedness against hostile nations. We’ve put ourselves at risk in so many ways because of this debt spending. We caused inflation,” he said. “That’s why I’m in this race. We cannot fix the problem by sending people back that have caused the problem. We need someone to stand up and say no.”

Becker, who is running as an independent, spoke Monday at a joint meeting of the Minot Rotary, Kiwanis and Sertoma clubs. The clubs plan to also host the other U.S. Senate candidates, Republican John Hoeven and Democrat Katrina Christiansen, before the Nov. 8 election.

A Bismarck plastic surgeon who has served in the North Dakota House of Representatives for the past 10 years, Becker had sought the state Republican Party endorsement, which went to Hoeven.

“I have really stood for the North Dakota Republican Party platform,” he said. “My interest and my enthusiasm for those principles has sort of put me into that independent Republican category. I find myself sometimes at odds with party leadership, but I don’t care because I think it’s important to always put principle above party.

“I’ve always been about principles. I think that’s what’s important. That’s what I look for in any elected official,” he added.

Becker was critical of the votes of Sens. Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, R-ND, for the Democrats’ $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. He said the bill contributes to inflation. It had little to do with infrastructure but had more to do with green energy and carbon credits, he said.

“I suspect that was the strongest reason to vote for it is funneling hundreds of billions of dollars to private companies to develop technologies to shove carbon dioxide underground,” Becker said. “I’m fine with the technology. I’m just opposed to spending hundreds of billions of U.S. taxpayer money on it.”

Becker said he would respect the debt ceiling and not continue raising it. He would vote for a plan that reallocates spending to get to a balanced federal budget. Several such plans have been introduced over the years, he said. 

Becker also responded to questions on a variety of other issues.

— Abortion: Becker said he favors banning abortion and supports using programs in place to ensure childcare, education and other needs are met for families.

— Ukraine: Although he qualified that he could change his mind after seeing the intelligence, at this point, he said, “I’m not so sure that we needed to spend money over there. I’m not so sure that we as a nation severely in debt, unable to completely take care of our own problems, (should be) sending upwards of $60 billion to another country.”

— Immigration: The United States should build a southern border wall but accept immigrants who understand the American dream and see opportunity for their families, he said.

— Federal crop insurance: Becker said he doesn’t want to eliminate federal crop insurance but would like to see private options. “It’s there and it’s going to continue to be there, but we should not be afraid to look at ways to make it better. There are some really simple things we can do to decrease abuse and increase efficiency,” he said.