Author: @SoDakCampaigns

Biden’s Backdoor Death Tax
By: Governor Kristi Noem
June 25, 2021

Over the past year, our farmers and ranchers went to work every day to feed this country during a time of great challenge and uncertainty for millions of Americans.

How does President Biden plan to thank them? By raising their taxes.

The so-called “American Families Plan” would create a backdoor death tax on family farms and millions of other small businesses.

For decades, our tax code has protected farmland from being double-taxed when it is passed on to the next generation by ensuring that a capital gain is not realized at the time of death and transfer – otherwise known as a step-up in basis. But President Biden needs more money to pay for his $1.8 trillion wish list of big government programs, and he’s expecting hardworking Americans to pick up the check. His tax plan would eliminate step-up in basis and impose a capital gains tax of up to 43.4 percent on unrealized gains valued at over $1 million. President Biden claims that this will only impact the wealthiest Americans. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Farmers and ranchers tend to own large amounts of valuable land, equipment, and livestock that makes them appear wealthy on paper, but they often have very little cash on hand. They spend years incurring great costs to make their land more productive, but they never know each year whether they will make any money. By the time that land is transferred to an heir at death it likely will have increased greatly in value, and under President Biden’s plan this would trigger a significant tax burden for the person who inherits it.

I experienced this firsthand when my dad died in an accident on our family farm and ranch. Our family was dealing with a tragedy, and suddenly we were faced with a massive death tax bill. We had land, machinery, and cattle, but we didn’t have any money in the bank. Thankfully, we had support from our small community and were able to borrow on our land and pay off that debt. But it took ten years and a lot of sacrifice. Those less fortunate than us would have been forced to sell the family farm to pay that tax.

That’s why I got into politics in the first place. And when I was in Congress, I worked with President Trump to repeal the death tax for most family farms in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Our farmers and ranchers face challenges every day that few of us can imagine. They work and sacrifice to feed the world while building something that they can pass on to their kids and grandkids. Another death tax will only make it more difficult for young farmers and ranchers to acquire the land and equipment needed to pursue a life in agriculture. As a result, we will see more farm consolidation and the loss of vibrant rural communities.

Prosperity is not created by higher taxes and bigger government. Leaders like Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump knew that. The American people create our shared prosperity through their independence, hard work, and ingenuity. Washington, D.C. should learn to leave that well enough alone.

###

Tomorrow at the Republican State Central Committee meeting, the leadership of the SDGOP will be sitting down to do the business of the party. And one of the things they will be doing is being asked to support a resolution in support of Amendment C to require a higher passage threshold for tax-increasing ballot measures.

According to a letter that went out this week to Central Committee members:

June 18, 2021

Dear South Dakota Republican Central Committee Members:

The ideal that people work hard to earn a stable income for themselves and their families is nothing new. In fact, this tenet is one of the core principles that the great state of South Dakota was built upon. Because of this long-standing philosophy, we believe that the government’s ability to take a person’s hard-earned income through the raising of taxes should be MORE difficult, as a protection to them.

Quite often, current ballot measures are asking for increased spending…but not offering a means to pay for it. This leads to difficult decisions as our state needs to be fiscally sound when budgeting for such necessities as education or roads and bridges.

Furthermore, allowing greater government spending and raising taxes is simply a harbinger of bad things to come for the people of South Dakota. This will eventually lead to greater economic peril for the families of our state, as well as less opportunity.

The precedent is already there: right now, any proposed tax increase requires at least 67% approval by both chambers of our state legislature to pass. Additionally, school bond issues also require a 60% approval vote to pass. Shouldn’t ballot measures be held to a similar standard?

I firmly believe that Amendment C is appropriate as a form of taxpayer protection in our state. Simply put, it will put into play our main point—that raising your taxes should be harder. If successfully passed, Amendment C would require that any state ballot measure or amendment that would increase a tax or that would spend more than $10 million annually in ongoing spending in its first five years would need to receive at least 60% voter approval at the election rather than a simple majority.

Isn’t this what South Dakota values are all about? Isn’t this a central principle of our Republican Party?

We respectfully urge you to stick to our Republican values of lower taxation and limited government spending, and to support Taxpayer Protection Constitutional Amendment C. Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,
Representative Jon Hansen
Speaker Pro Tempore of the South Dakota House of Representatives
Chairman, South Dakotans against Higher Taxes

Also attached was the resolution:

A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE TAXPAYER PROTECTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT C

WHEREAS, Raising your taxes should be harder; and

WHEREAS, With successful passage of Amendment C, if a state ballot measure or amendment imposes or increases a tax or it spends more than $50 million in the first five years, it will need to receive at least 60% approval by voters in the election instead of a simple majority.

WHEREAS, increased taxes and more government spending means less opportunity and more economic harm to people in our state. D.C. has tried higher taxes and more spending – it doesn’t work; and

WHEREAS, Far left East Coast elites often propose ballot measures in South Dakota that involve ideas that are out of touch with South Dakota values; and

WHEREAS, Often ballot measures ask for spending increases without a means to pay for it. This creates some hard choices when budgeting for education, health, and social services. and

WHEREAS, in the South Dakota legislature, any tax increase requires at least 67% approval in both chambers to pass, to protect taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, Even school bond issues require a 60% approval to pass; Let it be

RESOLVED, that the Republican Party of South Dakota strongly supports the passage of Amendment C, the Taxpayer Protection ballot measure.

Given the make-up of the Republican Majority party, the measure is likely to pass tomorrow and will gain the GOP’s official support as organizers move forward to the vote on the measure for the 2022 primary ballot.

Here’s one thing that struck me. Is the State Democrat party going to oppose this measure… because they want it to be easy to raise our taxes?

Because that would be one heck of a bill of goods to try to sell voters.

Johnson, Spanberger Introduce Butcher Block Act for Cattle Producers

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) today introduced the Butcher Block Act, a bipartisan bill to rebalance the cattle market by easing regulatory barriers and offering U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) meat processing grants for small processors looking to expand or add shackle space.

According to a recent Rabobank report, an additional daily packing capacity of 5,000 to 6,000 head of fed cattle could restore the historical balance of fed cattle supplies and packing capacity. The Butcher Block Act would establish a loan program at USDA rural development for new and expanding meat processors and finance producer investment to drive competition within the meat packing industry. Additionally, it would allocate grants to entities to increase hiring and processing capacity.

“Our cattle producers and economists have been clear, there’s supply and demand, but not enough processing capacity,” said Johnson. “The bipartisan Butcher Block Act will help right the ship in cattle country and create more avenues for producers to sell their product. Producers deserve a fair price and our bill will expand market capacity quickly.”

“In Virginia’s Seventh District, livestock and poultry bring in millions of dollars for Central Virginia producers each year — but this vital funding stream is increasingly threatened by supply chain disruptions, as well as the continued consolidation within the meat industry. Particularly in the wake of cyberattacks directed against American processing facilities, we need to make long-term investments in the stability and security of the U.S. food supply,” said Spanberger. “By providing additional USDA assistance and grants for American processors to launch or expand their operations, our Butcher Block Act would both help protect the U.S. meat industry and increase market opportunities for American livestock producers. I am proud to co-lead the introduction of this legislation alongside Congressman Johnson, and I look forward to Members on both sides of the aisle working together to increase processing capacity, meet food demand here at home, and keep American cattlemen and poultry producers competitive in the global ag economy.”

“The Holcomb plant fire and the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a one-two punch to our nation’s cattle growers and the volatility in the cattle markets that followed drove home the need to find solutions to the challenges facing the industry. We appreciate Congressman Johnson and Congresswoman Spanberger for introducing the Butcher Block Act, which aims to diversify processing and create a more resilient food supply chain. Expanding opportunities for America’s ranchers will ensure they are paid fairly for the cattle they work hard to raise while meeting the demands of a growing nation,” said Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau Federation.  

“USCA thanks Congressman Johnson for his leadership in pursuing any and all available solutions to expand and enhance the independent meat processing sector,” said USCA Vice President Justin Tupper from St. Onge, South Dakota. “The Butcher Block Act will provide more opportunities for our small and mid-sized processors to succeed in a business with incredibly high barriers to entry. Through cost-share and grant programs, this bill expands regional processing capacity, which increases competition in the meat packing industry – leading to improved marketing options for livestock producers.”

“From coast to coast, we’re hearing the same need from our producers. More hook space to alleviate the chokepoint in our supply chain must be a part of any solution aimed at putting more of the beef dollar in the pockets of cattle farmers and ranchers,” said NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane. “The Butcher Block Act takes important steps to fund the growth of regional and independent packing plants, giving farmers and ranchers more opportunities to get their cattle sold and processed. NCBA thanks Congressman Johnson for his bipartisan leadership on this critical issue for South Dakota ranchers.”

Click here for a one-pager on the Butcher Block Act. The Butcher Block Act is cosponsored by Tracey Mann (R-KS), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Jim Baird (R-IN), Henry Cuellar (D-TC), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), Frank Lucas (R-OK), and Randy Feenstra (R-IA).

###

Remember last election when the South Dakota Democrat Party was looking for a candidate for Congress? If you recall the early days of the election, Democrats had former state legislative candidate Ellee Spawn chirp up and declare that she was going to take on Dusty Johnson for Congress on behalf of the Democrats.

The only problem with that was the tremendous crash and burn that her campaign had because in a matter of days after a brief google search revealed a number of things in her background, including 3 arrests for DUI, and warrants out for her arrest that remained active for a number of months.

Apparently Spawn hasn’t entirely gone away after her spectacular flame out.

It appears that she decided she didn’t like the Democrat party so much anymore, and now is identifying with a group called the “National Progressive Party.”

After changing her political party last April from Democrat to “I” last April, Spawn has apparently taken on a role with this National Progressive Party group, serving as a spokeswoman for the organization, as you can find in the below videos:

“Spawn: This is a symptom of a bigger problem. The corruption runs so deep in our government that the two-party system hasn’t.. isn’t a two party system. They’re two corporations that have taken charge of our government and our government is being run basically by a monopoly.”

Apparently they weren’t so corrupt when she was running, but afterwards, Republicans and Democrats were bad alike.

I get the distinct impression that after her dumpster fire of a campaign last election, someone felt a little burned, changed parties and was looking for someone to blame for her massive campaign blunders other than herself.

While this group bills itself via twitter that they are “aggressively & nationally organizing a new major progressive party,” their fairly light social media presence seems to be the only record of their existence, and their web domain at nationalprogressiveparty.com doesn’t work.

You know, we’ve seen this level of organization before.

And it was called the “Ellee Spawn for Congress campaign.”

We all know how that went.

Thune Introduces Bill to Bolster Forestry, Seasonal Workforce

Visa set-aside will address tree planting backlog and carbon sinks, while reducing demand on oversubscribed H-2B program

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today introduced a bill to temporarily increase the availability of H-2B visas for the purpose of restoring American forests. The bill would establish an uncapped, but temporary, carve-out of the H-2B program to permit a surge in workers to address a multi-year backlog in forest management, including wildfire restoration, long-term timber supply, and carbon sinks.

“Healthy and resilient forests provide a host of environmental and economic benefits, but we’re losing valuable time to recover from wildfires and other disturbances,” said Thune. “Roughly 10,000 H-2B workers plant 85 percent of the trees planted annually in the United States, and they support over 1 million domestic jobs. We shouldn’t cap this workforce that underpins our forest health and forestry industry.

“The benefits of this bill extend far beyond wildfire and habitat restoration. New trees play a critical role in capturing carbon at a faster rate than older trees, and the responsible and sustainable development of that timber can reduce consumer costs and keep that carbon from being released in wildfires. My bill would also provide additional relief for the annual H-2B cap, which is a vital source of supplemental workers in South Dakota and a well-established, legal pathway for economic migration.”

“The Forest Resources Association applauds Senator Thune’s leadership and efforts in introducing his bill to make additional H-2B visas available for forestry employers,” said Deb Hawkinson, president of the Forest Resources Association. “Additional visas would help forest landowners increase the number of acres planted each year, ensuring healthy forests, improved carbon sequestration, and securing full-time jobs for future generations of Americans. Seasonal workers on H-2B visas have long supplemented the U.S. workforce replanting our forests. Millions of acres of forest and thousands of U.S. workers throughout the forest products supply chain depend on the critical seasonal tree planting performed by H-2B workers each year. Over the past decade, there has been a continual shortage of U.S. workers willing to fill these strenuous seasonal tree planting jobs, and the disruptions caused by the pandemic have made these labor shortages worse. The decreasing availability of H-2B visas is putting the health of our forests at risk.”

The new “H-2C” (conservation) program created by Thune’s bill would be nested within the H-2B program, but exempted from the annual cap of 66,000 visas, for a period of five years. This would simultaneously relieve demand from the oversubscribed H-2B program, which provides a vital, seasonal workforce during South Dakota’s peak tourism months and for construction and landscaping. H-2C activities would be limited to orchard work and seed collection, tree planting, nursery care, forest and vegetation management, wildfire mitigation and brush clearing, timber stand improvement, and other activities with a direct forest health or conservation nexus, such as fish and wildlife habitat or watershed protection.

According to the Forestry Resources Association, there is an approximately three-to-five year backlog in replanting trees to restore forests that have been damaged by wildfire, hurricanes, and delays caused by the pandemic throughout the United States. Nearly 10,000 H-2B forestry workers plant approximately 1.6 billion trees each year, contributing to 85 percent of trees planted annually in the United States (8-9 percent of this acreage is on federal land). These seasonal jobs represent only 1 percent of the total forestry sector, supporting 1.1 million domestic, higher-skilled and higher-paying jobs in the forestry, wood, and paper industries. H-2B workers mostly plant trees following disturbances such as fires, hurricanes, and timber harvests. Tree planting jobs have proven difficult to fill using domestic labor because the jobs are seasonal and change locations frequently, often traveling from state to state.

Under Thune’s bill, H-2C visas could not be used for jobs related to landscaping, recreation, or tourism, although the program would reduce demand for the annual H-2B cap via the exemption. Participating H-2C employers would have to follow the existing requirements for H-2B.

Thune raised the issue of labor shortages affecting the forestry industry in a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing entitled, “Federal, State, and Private Forestlands: Opportunities for Addressing Climate Change.” (Thune question at 1:50:00)

Thune’s H-2C proposal would also directly support the global One Trillion Trees initiative. In October 2020, President Trump signed an executive order establishing the One Trillion Trees Interagency Council to coordinate the United States’ contribution to the effort. Additionally, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack highlighted the need to increase the rate of tree replanting and leverage American forests as a carbon solution, which will require an increase in the current workforce, in his Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Strategy: 90-Day Progress Report.

On April 20, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would make an additional 22,000 H-2B visas available, pursuant to Section 105 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which Congress passed to authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of Labor to provide supplemental H-2B visas for fiscal year 2021. In accordance with Executive Order 14010 on “Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework to Address the Causes of Migration, to Manage Migration Throughout North and Central America, and to Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border,” 6,000 of these visas were reserved for nationals of the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

On March 1, 2021, Thune reintroduced the Prioritizing Help to Businesses Act, legislation to allocate additional H-2B visas to states with the lowest unemployment rates, such as South Dakota.

 
###

Remember the last GOP Convention, where due to COVID, the event held every two years which was set for Watertown was canceled in lieu of a largely on-line event where people gathered behind screens and in small venues? And even in those venues of reduced size, attendees still managed to pick up the highly transmissible disease according to reports.

After Watertown was cheated by circumstance out of the 2020 event because of the pandemic and a COVID Convention was held instead, the following convention (2022) was previously scheduled to be held in Rapid City in 2022.  However, it appears as if this schedule may come under some debate and a do over will be the topic of further discussion by the Republican State Central Committee – the governing body of the South Dakota Republican Party – on Saturday in Chamberlain.

Word went out from the SDGOP earlier this month that a request had been made for a motion to be debated at the next Central Committee meeting to reset the convention hosting schedule and give Watertown the opportunity to host the 2020 State Party Convention they were cheated out of due to the need to break up the convention into socially distant gatherings for COVID.

As I’m told, a motion will be brought to move the schedule forward, giving the convention back to Watertown for 2022, and then committing to Rapid City following in 2024, in effect, pushing things down the line for 2 years.  Of course, this move is not likely to come without controversy. Considering it involves Rapid City, nothing about politics in the state’s second-largest community is without controversy.

I’m more surprised this was not discussed at the time of the last convention but trying to organize last years’ event as a virtual conference was complex enough without throwing in people quibbling about pushing everything back two years.

I do think that it’s only fair to Watertown to at least explore the option of giving them back what COVID took away.  A convention on the Eastern side of the state will likely have better attendance, which is a plus for the Governor’s re-election year (as well as for the nomination of Constitutional Officers).

Further helping the conversation in Watertown’s favor is the fact that Rapid City Hotels summer rates are among the most expensive in the state. Even with convention rates, I believe last time a GOP Convention was out there several years back, if memory serves, they were $200+ a night for the main hotel. I don’t even want to know what it’s going to be after taxes for 2022.

I’m not a Central Committee member, so my opinion is a bit of a moot point. It’s up to them what they’d like to do, and I’m sure they will be presented with much more information in terms of pros and cons.

In anticipation of a strong attendance for the Central Committee Meeting, I am told that the GOP is hosting a shooting event (Trap & Target) on Friday afternoon, and if you want to get in on that, you can send a note to the chairman and let him know you want to attend.

Otherwise, here is a schedule of events as sent out by the party earlier this month:

Schedule of Events (all times Central)

Friday – June 25th
5 to 7 pm Members Reception
Arrowwood Resort Missouri Winds Room
1500 Shoreline Drive
Oacoma, South Dakota 57365
Members of the South Dakota Republican Party and their guests at Missouri Winds located at the Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center

Saturday – June 26th
10 am Central Committee Business Meeting
Arrowwood Conference Center
1500 Shoreline Drive
Oacoma, South Dakota 57365
SDGOP State Central Committee Members of the South Dakota Republican Party regular business meeting with a vote on 2022 State Convention location

12 pm Lunch served during meeting
please RSVP by emailing info@sdgop.com

Stay tuned – lots more to come!

Rounds Introduces Bipartisan Native American Rural Homeownership Improvement Act
Legislation would improve access to affordable capital for Native communities in South Dakota, nationwide

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), members of theSenate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, introduced bipartisan legislation to help Native families living in rural areas achieve homeownership.

The Native American Rural Homeownership Improvement Act would expand an existing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pilot program, in which the USDA has partnered with Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to leverage their deep ties in local communities and deploy loans to eligible Native borrowers. Specifically, the relending program would create a $50 million annual set-aside within the Section 502 program, allowing Native CDFIs to re-lend this money to eligible Native homebuyers. Because of CDFIs’ vast experience operating on Tribal land and their ability to provide financial and homebuyer education, their participation will improve utilization of the USDA loans and help more Native families achieve the dream of homeownership.

“For many Americans, home ownership is part of the American dream and a key step toward creating wealth,” Rounds said. “The USDA Rural Development’s Section 502 Direct Loan program provides home loan assistance to rural families with low or modest income, but this program was failing to reach tribal members in a meaningful way. In order to better serve Native American communities, the USDA launched a 502 lending pilot program in 2018 which partners with Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to help Native American families realize that dream of home ownership. In South Dakota, nearly all the funds from this pilot program have been obligated and are in this process of being repaid. I am introducing legislation with Sen. Smith to permanently reauthorize this pilot program, so even more tribal families in South Dakota can access affordable home loans.”

“I’ve had the great privilege of visiting and meeting with Tribal leaders from Minnesota to hear firsthand about how the affordable housing crisis impacts their communities. I’ve heard over and over again about how high mortgage costs and barriers to capital contribute to disparities in homeownership,” said Smith. “I’ve worked with Sen. Rounds on Native housing issues for several years, and I’m glad to have him as a partner on this effort to expand the role Native CDFIs can play in helping families find a safe, stable place to call home. Helping families achieve the dream of homeownership should always be bipartisan.”

“NAIHC is excited to see efforts to expand the successful USDA relending pilot program that utilizes Native CDFIs to expand homeownership in tribal communities. NAIHC would like to thank Senator Smith, Senator Rounds and all of the cosponsors for their work on tribal housing issues and NAIHC stands ready to help support passage of the Native American Rural Homeownership Improvement Act,” said Adrian Stevens, Acting Chairman of the National American Indian Housing Council.

“The 502 Relending Pilot in South Dakota has allowed Four Bands to unlock federal capital to help our clients buy and build the homes of their dreams.  This opportunity has created an unprecedented homeownership demand which is starting to stabilize wealth for generations to come,” said Lakota Vogel, Executive Director of Four Bands Community Fund.

You can learn more about the legislation—which is also supported by Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)—here and access text of the bill here.

The senators’ bill is endorsed by the United Native American Housing Association, National American Indian Housing Council, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Native CDFI Network, National Rural Housing Coalition, National Low Income Housing Coalition, South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition, Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), Housing Assistance Council, Opportunity Finance Network, Four Bands Community Fund, Mazaska Owecaso Otipi Financial, Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association, National Congress of American Indians, Enterprise Community Partners and Oweesta Corporation.

###

Had a couple people from Sioux Falls point out to me recently that while former Sioux Falls City Councilwoman Theresa Stehly has been living/working in Mobridge, she appears to have missed a notice sitting in her mailbox for some property she has back in Sioux Falls.

According to the Minnehaha County Treasurer (as screenshot today), Stehly is running almost 60 days past the due date for the first installment on her property taxes:

About 15 years ago, I had an empty lot where the notice went to an old address, so I do know it’s tough to keep track of those things when you’re living and working in another town, and not paying attention to a secondary property.

For the sake of the City of Sioux Falls City, the School District, and Minnehaha County, hopefully she’ll get that in sooner than later.

The board of regents put a crimp in the lifestyle of those who want to treat what ails them with pot at their meeting yesterday: