Democratic-NPL Party U.S. Senate candidate Katrina Christiansen, center, speaks to Roswell Henke of Bismarck during a campaign event in Bismarck on Sept. 11, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
(Michael Achterling – North Dakota Monitor) -Democratic-NPL Party U.S. Senate candidate Katrina Christiansen believes the top issue facing North Dakotans in Congress is passing a new farm bill – something she says her opponent hasn’t prioritized during his six years in the Senate.
Christiansen is looking to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer in the Nov. 5 general election and become the first Democrat elected to statewide office since 2012.
She is an agricultural engineer and an assistant professor at the University of Jamestown.
If voters send her to Washington, Christiansen said her other top priorities would be passing the bipartisan border security bill that stalled in the Senate earlier this year and lowering prescription drug costs. She also talked about fixing the Social Security program without raising the age eligibility and getting the U.S. debt under control.
Farm bill
Adjusting reference prices, having dual enrollment for different crop insurance programs and reinstating country-of-origin labeling are necessities for a new farm bill, Christiansen said.
“It’s incredibly imperative that we have something that is appropriate for the current market,” she said. Christiansen added that recent wildfires in western North Dakota highlighted the need for having support for indemnity and disaster relief for the agriculture community included in the farm bill.
Christiansen said farmers will not have answers this winter when they are deciding how to sell their 2025 crops, which will affect operating loans and applications for farm programs. She also criticized politicians for promising to deliver a farm bill and failing.
Congress in 2023 extended the current farm bill and could do that again this year.
Border security
Christiansen ranked her second priority as securing the southern border
“We need to bring back the border bill and secure the border,” she said. “And make sure we are stopping fentanyl and human trafficking, and that our border patrol has resources, and our immigration system can process asylum claims quickly.”
Christiansen also suggested that career politicians didn’t support the border bill earlier this year because they needed something to campaign on during the election.
“We are dealing with the least productive Congress in modern history,” she said.
Prescription drug prices
Christiansen said she wants to cap the cost of insulin at $35 per vial and lower prescription drug prices.
“It really is incredibly unacceptable that there are people who cannot afford insulin in North Dakota,” she said.
Christiansen added she met a Minot man while campaigning who had lost his vision because he was rationing insulin.
“This is real and his insulin cost him $1,500 a month. That’s ridiculous,” she said.
She added the Minot man was not the only person, but one of many North Dakotans, who have raised the issue of insulin costs with her on the campaign trail.
Social Security
Christiansen said about 25% of Social Security beneficiaries in North Dakota rely on those benefits for more than 90% of their income. Unless the Social Security fund funding formula is fixed in coming years, mandatory cuts in benefits could become a reality, she said.
“A 20% cut, that’s a significant decrease in revenue, particularly for rural communities or aging communities, like the one I like in,” she said. “The threat is real.”
She said removing the income cap on taxable wages would go a long way in fixing the benefit’s solvency.
The current taxable income cap on Social Security is $168,600 for 2024. If the cap is removed, income earned above that level would still be subject to Social Security taxes, putting more money in the fund.
“I don’t believe in increasing the age for full retirement benefits,” Christiansen said.
She said many people who retire at age 65 are not guaranteed long lives and, if the retirement age is raised, they will receive a lesser amount of an earned benefit they have spent a lifetime paying into.
“My dad worked 10-hour days putting tires on a trailer and you wanted him to do that for four more years? No,” Christiansen said.
She said privatization of the Social Security fund is also not the answer to the problem and cited the 2008 financial collapse that caused 50% of her 401(k) retirement money to disappear.
U.S. debt
Christiansen said politicians who criticize the nation’s debt but then approve legislation that further increases it should be voted out of office. She added increasing the corporate tax rate would be a good first step in addressing the national debt.
“We can make sure that the ultra-wealthy are paying their fair share and … grow the economy because that increases revenue,” she said.
She said Republicans like to use the debt as a “cudgel,” but they have added to the debt during their recent congressional majorities.
“You are not going to cut your way out of this,” Christiansen said.
She added the last time the U.S. had a surplus was during President Bill Clinton’s administration and pointed out that the corporate tax rate during those years was much higher than it is now.
Abortion
During a recent debate, Christiansen said it’s important that North Dakota’s ban on abortion be overturned. She advocated for federal protections to ensure women’s access to health care, including in vitro fertilization.
She also highlighted examples of women who were denied care in states that have implemented strict abortion bans.
“We need to have access to health care as women,” she said.
Christiansen challenged North Dakota Republican U.S. Sen. John Hoeven for his seat in 2022. She was defeated after garnering 25% of the vote in a three-way race that saw conservative independent candidate Rick Becker collect 18% of the vote.
FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!
