On January 5, 2011, John Hoeven was sworn in as North Dakota’s 22nd U.S. Senator, following ten years of service as the state’s governor.
Senator Hoeven’s priorities in the Senate include working to implement national policies similar to the ones driving North Dakota’s economic success. He is committed to creating a business climate that fosters job growth and robust economic activity. Equally important to the senator are measures to reduce the nation’s budget deficits and debt. He believes a commonsense approach that fosters free enterprise and empowers people to innovate and invest will strengthen our national economy and create jobs for our country in a sustainable, ongoing way.
The federal government should empower schools, administrators, and teachers to create local strategies that best prepare students to succeed in a global, high-tech economy; not mandate, one-size-fits all regulations. As governor of North Dakota and now as a U.S. Senator, I have supported policies to ensure accountability in education is coupled with adequate local flexibility.
In order to prepare our students to compete, we need to ensure that our teachers have access to the necessary resources and professional development. The future of our nation and our ability to compete in a global economy will depend on solid science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, training, and research. I am a member of the Senate STEM Education Caucus and the Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus, and I sponsored the Innovate America Act, which would increase the number of STEM schools and place increased emphasis on developing STEM education.