The media narrative surrounding the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) has been filled with misinformation and political theater, leaving most North Dakotans confused about what this legislation means for our state. As leaders representing North Dakota’s two most vital economic sectors, we want to set the record straight about how this “Big Beautiful Bill” delivers transformational benefits for agriculture, energy, and every working family in our state.

We thank Senator Hoeven, Senator Cramer, and Congresswoman Fedorchak for their leadership in securing passage of this critical legislation.

For too long, federal policies have picked winners and losers, demonizing North Dakota’s agriculture and energy industries with harmful regulations, unworkable permitting processes, and policies that favored intermittent energy sources while imposing costs on individual North Dakotans and discouraging investment in our primary economic drivers.

Both oil and gas and agricultural products are commodities that face price swings and volatility in global markets. Meanwhile, our input costs and regulatory compliance expenses remain mostly fixed, creating razor-thin margins that make it extremely difficult to break even or operate profitably. Previous federal policies seemed designed to undermine our success by adding layers of bureaucracy and uncertainty that drove up costs. The BBB fundamentally changes this dynamic, creating a level playing field and new opportunities for North Dakota industries.

North Dakota agriculture receives long-overdue support through significant farm policy reforms. It’s been decades since farmers have been able to update base acres that reflect modern crop rotations, allowing producers who adapted to market demands to finally receive program benefits on acres they’ve been farming. The legislation strengthens the agricultural safety net with enhanced coverage programs, increased payment limits, and improved disaster assistance for livestock operations. Beginning farmers receive extended crop insurance assistance and enhanced premium support, ensuring the next generation can enter and stay in agriculture, especially with the increased capital requirements to operate and service debt.

The energy provisions shift from regulatory hostility to genuine support for American energy production. After years of federal land access delays and bureaucratic obstruction, the bill mandates guaranteed access to federal lands with known oil and gas deposits, establishes binding timelines for environmental review, and eliminates the indefinite delays that have plagued energy infrastructure projects. Federal loan programs provide substantial funding for energy infrastructure development, while the legislation preserves crucial tax policy and eliminates competing subsidies that created unfair market conditions. The changes have the potential to double Bakken oil recovery and extend the play’s productive life for decades through enhanced oil recovery projects.

The BBB delivers substantial tax relief directly to North Dakota workers through overtime tax exemptions, enhanced standard deductions, and tip income relief. When workers have more take-home pay, they spend money at local businesses, support their churches and schools, and strengthen the economic foundation of North Dakota. When farms are profitable and oil fields are active, Main Street businesses thrive, schools remain open, and young people have reasons to stay in North Dakota.

Agriculture and energy drive North Dakota, and with the passage of this bill, it supports food security, economic security, energy security (energy independence), and the royalties received from mineral development are deposited into the Federal Treasury to help lower our national debt. It builds a brighter future for this generation and the next.