Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak challenges North Dakota to lead in AI revolution
Bismarck, ND — Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) addressed the North Dakota State House and Senate yesterday, emphasizing the need for fiscal responsibility, energy security, and regulatory reform to drive economic growth. She highlighted the state’s role as a leader in energy innovation and production and called on North Dakota to seize the opportunity to provide the much-needed power to fuel the AI revolution.
“AI requires vast computing power, which means it requires abundant, reliable, and affordable energy. North Dakota should lead these efforts. We have more gas in the Bakken than we can use. Let’s turn it into electricity, power AI computing at sites near the gas source, and make more room in our pipelines for additional gas production. This will grow our production, solve our gas challenge, create a new industry, and help America lead in AI. I’m leading a working group in the House to focus on the energy needs of AI,” Fedorchak said.
She also pointed out how “Dakota common sense” is in high demand in Washington right now, and praised the rise of Doug Burgum, Kristi Noem, John Thune, Kirsten Baesler, and Andrea Travnicek to top leadership posts in the Trump administration and Senate.
“Dakota common sense is in high demand. The Dakotas are home to two Cabinet secretaries, two nominated assistant secretaries, and the Senate Majority leader,” Fedorchak added.
Below are her remarks before the State House as prepared for delivery:
Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker, members of the House, and all those gathered here today.
It is an honor to stand before you in this chamber, where the work of governing North Dakota takes place.
Thank you to Majority Leader Lefor, Assistant Majority Leader Bosch and Minority Leader Ista, and Assistant Minority Leader Dobervich for allowing me to address the body today.
It feels like just the other day I was a 25-year-old standing in the back of the House Chamber listening to Ed Schafer give his State of the State speeches that I helped to write when he was Governor of North Dakota.
I have to admit, I never expected to have a party of one, two, or any party escort me to the floor of this chamber to give all of you a speech. It’s surreal.
I’m one of you now. A legislator!
Except things in Congress operate much differently than they do here. Only a few bills ever see the light of a committee hearing, and even fewer an actual vote on the floor.
Just last week I gave a speech to the House about the reliability challenges facing our nation’s electric grid—and the House chamber was mostly empty!
More of my colleagues watched it on C-SPAN and YouTube than live on the House Floor.
I like your tradition of legislators showing up for floor sessions!
It’s nice to have you as a captive audience for a few minutes.
Let me start by thanking each of you for your dedication and leadership in North Dakota. Public service is not easy.
The long hours, the tough decisions, and the responsibility you carry on behalf of your constituents can be heavy.
Yet, you leave your families at home to stand up for the people you represent, and to build a stronger future for this state.
I respect and deeply appreciate your sacrifice and service.
We are at a defining moment—not just for North Dakota, but for our entire country.
Our federal government is bloated, inefficient, and wasteful, and as a result, we are going broke. $36 Trillion in debt.
Meanwhile our adversaries, most notably China, are becoming stronger, more emboldened, and increasingly aggressive.
These are not separate problems—they are two sides of the same coin.
A weak, irresponsible America creates openings for our adversaries, and they are taking full advantage.
But we are not standing idly by.
With unified leadership in Congress and the White House, we are turning things around.
We have renewed energy and urgency behind efforts to modernize our government, eliminate waste and abuse, and restore fiscal responsibility.
Hardworking taxpayers should be respected, not treated as an endless source of funding for reckless policies and billions in unaccounted for waste.
We have the opportunity, and responsibility, to put America on a stronger footing, this means rooting out fraud—like millions of people marked alive to receive social security payments.
This means cutting programs that serve no real purpose — like creating a Pakistani version of “Sesame Street,” and it means redirecting agencies to their core mission—not expanding their reach.
Fixing our fiscal crisis is not just about reducing waste—it’s about rebuilding America’s economic foundation.
Energy dominance, regulatory reform, and pro-growth tax policies are the keys to unleashing the economy, right-sizing the federal government, returning power to the states, and ensuring America is strong for generations to come.
POWERING THE FUTURE OF AI
North Dakota’s energy industry is one of our greatest strengths.
We are a leader in oil, gas, coal, wind, power generation and emerging technologies. These will shape the future of energy production.
Yet recently, Washington has treated American energy like a problem instead of an asset.
Burdensome regulations have slowed development, driven up costs, created risks and made us more dependent on foreign sources.
That must change.
Energy security is national security. It is also the foundation for lowering prices, increasing growth, and developing new technologies.
One of the most significant national security challenges of our time is the race for artificial intelligence supremacy.
AI requires vast computing power, which means it requires abundant, reliable, and affordable energy.
If we want to outpace China and other global competitors, we need energy policy that ensures American innovation is fueled at home.
North Dakota should lead these efforts.
We have more gas in the Bakken than we can use.
Let’s turn it into electricity, power AI computing at sites near the gas source right in the Bakken, and make more room in our pipelines for additional gas production.
This will grow our production, solve our gas challenge, create a new industry and help America lead in AI.
I’m leading a working group in the House to focus on the energy needs of AI.
Our country has the resources to power this revolution, and to export our energy technology to our allies as well.
To do that, we must remove barriers to domestic production, expedite permitting processes, and invest in energy technologies like carbon capture and the domestic production of critical minerals that allow us to compete globally.
Washington’s overreach doesn’t just hinder energy—it stifles the entire economy.
Farmers, ranchers, small businesses, and manufacturers across North Dakota face unnecessary regulations that drive up costs and slow down growth.
Government should exist to serve the people, not the other way around.
That’s why I am working to:
Streamline permitting so businesses and infrastructure projects aren’t stuck in endless loop of permitting review.
Eliminate duplicative and outdated regulations that do nothing but drive-up costs.
Hold federal agencies accountable when they push rules that harm industries and communities.
For North Dakota to thrive, Washington needs to get out of the way.
PRO-GROWTH TAX POLICY
For decades, Washington’s approach to taxes has been backwards.
They punish economic success rather than encouraging it.
The more you work, the more you produce, the more you invest, the more Washington wants to take.
That is the opposite of what we need right now.
Rather than raising taxes, we need to focus on policies that:
Minimize burdens on businesses so they create more jobs and pay higher wages.
Let families keep more of what they earn instead of sending it to Washington to waste.
Make America the best place in the world to invest and grow a business.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 delivered historic tax relief for individuals and businesses, boosting job creation, wages, and investment.
However, if Congress does not act this year, these tax cuts will expire at the end of 2025, leading to the largest tax increase in U.S. history.
Marginal tax rates for individuals would increase. In fact, the average American family will pay $1,700 more in taxes if the TCJA expires.
Deductions would shrink, and small businesses would face higher tax burdens—dealing a major blow to entrepreneurship and innovation.
The expiration of these tax cuts would hurt middle-class families the most, reducing their ability to save for the future, buy homes, or invest in education.
We cannot allow this to happen.
I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to extend the TCJA provisions.
The simple truth is Washington does not have a revenue problem—it has a spending problem. And as we’ve become aware, it also has a transparency and accountability problem.
The solution is not taking more money from families and businesses.
The solution is reducing waste and increasing growth—expanding the workforce, raising wages, and creating more opportunities.
That is how we rebuild North Dakota’s foundation, and this is how we rebuild America’s fiscal foundation.
And those are the solutions I’m working to enact in Washington.
NORTH DAKOTA: A MODEL FOR AMERICA
North Dakota is proof that fiscal responsibility, pro-business policies, and common-sense leadership work.
Our state runs efficiently. Our state budget is balanced.
Well, maybe not at this point in the session—but it will be!
We invest in our future without mortgaging it.
These are the common-sense principles I am advancing in Washington, D.C.
North Dakotans don’t wait for Washington to fix our problems—we lead.
We don’t rely on government handouts—we build, innovate, and grow.
We turn food products into fuel.
We don’t let uncertainty define us—we embrace opportunity and we move forward.
We turn waste products like CO2 into commodities.
When other states struggle with out-of-control spending, North Dakota builds a world class business climate and grow our economy.
When Washington gets tangled in bureaucracy, North Dakota cuts red tape and gets things done.
North Dakota is powering the nation—literally and figuratively.
Our energy industry fuels homes and businesses across America.
Our farmers and ranchers feed the world.
Our businesses prove that entrepreneurship thrives where government steps aside.
We are a state of doers, problem-solvers, and leaders.
We believe in hard work, personal responsibility, and community.
We take care of our own, we support our neighbors, and we never back down from a challenge.
The rest of the country could learn a lot from North Dakota.
And actually, they are!
North Dakota common sense is in high demand.
The Dakotas are home to two cabinet secretaries, two nominated assistant secretaries, and the Senate Majority leader.
And another thing I’ve come to appreciate, our Governor Kelly Armstrong, he could very well have been speaker of the House if he had so desired.
He was respected and adored by everyone. And they loved his North Dakota common sense.
As your representative in Congress, I could not be more honored—nor more motivated—to work my heart out to advance our values and our industries, and see that North Dakota people are protected, respected, and prioritized—because when North Dakota succeeds, America succeeds.
A COMMITMENT TO NORTH DAKOTA
I take this responsibility, this honor, very seriously.
I will never stop fighting for North Dakota—because this isn’t just a job for me.
North Dakota is my home. You are my family.
And I will do everything in my power to make certain that our state—and nation—remain strong, prosperous, and free.
The road ahead is challenging. But I believe in North Dakota. I believe in our people. And I believe the North Dakota way will help Washington be stronger.
And I know that if we seize this opportunity to make strong choices, restore power to the people and to the states, and stand together, our state and nation will be stronger than ever and a beacon of hope and opportunity for the world.
Thank you for your time, for your service, and for your commitment to this great state.
May God continue to bless North Dakota, and may God continue to bless our beloved United States of America.
CLICK HERE to watch the full speech.
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