Author: @SoDakCampaigns

South Dakota Republican Party chairman Dan Lederman, Vice Chair Linda Rausch, Secretary Marilyn Oakes, and Treasurer Justin Bell were all re-elected on a unanimous ballot this morning at the SDGOP biennial party elections held today in Pierre.

With nearly 100 of the party faithful participating in person or over zoom, the party quickly disposed of the election formalities, and moved into reorganizing their regional leaders for participation in the party’s executive board.

The Sad Story of Keystone
By: Governor Kristi Noem 

It may seem cliché, but energy independence is a matter of national security. The United States is a net exporter of energy, which means that we can guarantee our ability to provide for our own energy needs, no matter what situation that the world may throw at us.

With that in mind, I was terribly disheartened to hear that President Biden cancelled the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have helped secure America’s energy independence for years to come.

This issue strikes close to home for us here in South Dakota. Last year, TC Energy – the company building the pipeline – estimated that the project would bring 3,500 jobs to our state. Many of those jobs were already in place, as crews were laying the groundwork for the eventual pipeline itself.

But the impact to the South Dakota economy extends far beyond the direct pipeline jobs. Local businesses – hotels, gas stations, restaurants, and more – benefited from the business brought by these workers.

One such business was the Stroppel Hotel and Mineral Springs in Midland. Laurie Cox, the owner of that business, has said that the Keystone workers who stayed at her hotel for months have become like family. She says that she and other local business owners “responded to a need that was in the community” when they invested and grew these small businesses. And now, it doesn’t appear that those investments will pay off for her or her neighbors.

But the impact of this decision goes beyond even the communities directly next to the proposed pipeline route. The pipeline would have helped every family in South Dakota because it would have saved them money on gas for their car, or their gas bill at home. Instead, citizens across South Dakota – and Americans nationwide – should expect to see their gas prices increase in the months and years to come as a result of the Biden administrations actions on oil and gas policy.

We all remember the days when gas was three dollars-per-gallon or higher. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened since 2014. But it appears that we can expect far higher gas prices in the very near future.

Cancelling the pipeline is the wrong policy on national security. It’s the wrong policy on jobs. But it’s also the wrong policy on the environment.

Opponents of Keystone claim that they’re supporting the environment. But the pipeline would have made it safer to transport oil from an environmental standpoint. The alternative is to transport it by truck or train – far riskier methods of transit. And the pipeline itself would have been Net-Zero emissions from the day it began operations, according to TC Energy.

Congressman Dusty Johnson is taking the lead on legislation that would get the Keystone XL pipeline reauthorized, and he has my support in this endeavor. We’ll continue to fight to defend South Dakota communities from federal overreach. And I promise to work every day to help South Dakota small business owners like Laurie Cox.

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People Over Partisanship
By Sen. John Thune

President Biden pledged to be a president for all Americans. He reiterated that sentiment at his inauguration, stating, “On this January day, my whole soul is in this: Bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation.” But it’s not enough to talk about unity. It has to be matched with action. And too many of the president’s actions so far have been more calculated to appeal to the far-left wing of the Democrat Party than to unite Americans.

In his first two weeks in office, the president has signed off on a long list of executive actions, many of which read like a wish list of liberal priorities. In a nod to the far-left environmental wing of the Democrat Party, the president issued a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and called a halt to the Keystone XL pipeline. On day one of his presidency, President Biden effectively fired 2,000 pipeline workers and told another 9,000 to never show up.

Then, of course, there’s the president’s order halting construction of the wall on our southern border. The Biden administration has plans for sweeping immigration reform, but does not seem to be placing much of an emphasis on border security. Instead, they’ve reduced the wall to a symbol of the Trump administration and chose to satisfy immigration activists by halting construction – without offering alternate ways to secure our borders against a flood of illegal immigration or drug and human trafficking and other criminal activity.

Then of course there’s the president’s decision to overturn the Mexico City policy, which prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions in other countries. The majority of Americans do not believe in unrestricted abortion, yet the president has acted to ensure that American tax dollars can go to fund overseas abortions – whether Americans want them to or not. In addition, this administration has given every sign that it intends to pursue a radically pro-abortion agenda that is out of step with the views of the majority of Americans.

And most recently, the president teamed up with Senate Democrats to push through a partisan budget resolution designed to pave the way for a partisan COVID relief measure – despite the fact that Congress has produced five prior COVID relief packages and appropriated trillions of dollars on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis.

Now is the time for President Biden to show whether he really intends to live up to his inaugural pledge and unify our nation. That means not just talk, but action. It means working with lawmakers of both parties to develop legislation – not pushing exclusively Democrat measures. It means urging Democrat congressional leaders to actually negotiate with Republicans, instead of trying to force through an agenda that lacks the support of half or more of the country. And it means focusing less on checking off the priorities of the far left and more on actually representing the views of a majority of Americans.

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South Dakota Republicans gathered today in Pierre for SDGOP Day at the Capitol, and here’s the ‘official’ photo. (Apparently I was the one with a camera, so I was nominated to take it).

The Lt Governor greeted those gathered this morning, and Chairman Lederman handed out some swag for the early risers. I’m running late to a photo right now, so I’m just going to post these quickly, and head out!

 

From the Rapid City Journal, former State Senator & life-coach Lynne DiSanto apparently has another life lesson to impart as – according to the Rapid City Journal – she’s served with a stalking order for harassing a missing Wyoming man’s wife:

The lawyer accused DiSanto of breaking Nebraska law by acting as a private detective without a state license. He said she also broke stalking and harassment laws in Wyoming.

Thune Announces Committee Assignment for 117^th Congress

“It is my privilege and honor to continue serving the people of South Dakota on three prominent committees in the U.S. Senate.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after the announcement of the U.S. Senate committee assignments for the 117^th Congress. Thune will continue to be a member of the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; and the Finance Committee.

“It is my privilege and honor to continue serving the people of South Dakota on three prominent committees in the U.S. Senate: the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; and the Finance Committee. These assignments give South Dakotans a seat at the table as we work to solve the most pressing issues for our state. These positions give me an opportunity to craft policy on a wide range of issues including agriculture, infrastructure and broadband investment, health care, tax, and trade—issues that impact all South Dakotans in one way or another.

“As the Biden Administration pursues new policies that will impact our state, I will continue to fight for a better future and stronger economy for South Dakota families.”

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Thune Introduces Amendment to Relieve Mobile and Remote Workers of Unfair Tax Burdens Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, today introduced an amendment to the budget resolution that would provide Congress a means to better protect mobile and remote workers from unfair tax burdens caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Doctors and nurses who voluntarily crossed state lines to help during the pandemic – in some cases sacrificing vacation time to do so – should not be at risk of facing a much higher or unexpected tax bill as a reward for their service and sacrifice,” said Thune. “This situation is even worse for residents of states like my home state of South Dakota that don’t have a state income tax against which a credit can be claimed. This amendment ensures these mobile workers are not unfairly taxed, while also providing certainty for those who are working remotely.”

Thune’s amendment is based on his bipartisan legislation, the Remote and Mobile Worker Relief Act, that would ensure that medical professionals from around the country who supported areas hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic do not face unexpected or increased state income tax bills. The bill would also address potential problems remote workers are facing during the pandemic, including the possibility of having their state income taxes become out of balance because they worked from home in a different state than their ordinary place of employment.

Thune wrote an op-ed last June in the Wall Street Journal highlighting the urgent need to prevent unexpected tax bills for remote and mobile workers, and he spoke on the Senate floor in December about how his legislation would spare workers from tax misery this year.

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Rounds Discusses MCOOL and Ethanol with Ag Secretary Nominee

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) issued the following statement today following a discussion with Tom Vilsack, who President Biden recently nominated to be Secretary of Agriculture. Vilsack previously served as Governor of Iowa and Secretary of Agriculture under President Barack Obama.

“South Dakota’s farm and ranch families are among the best producers in the world,” said Rounds. “They are great stewards of the land and need to be recognized for their efforts in feeding a growing population.

“Today, I had a productive conversation with Governor Vilsack. I expressed to him the need to re-engage in trade discussions so we can bring back Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) and other issues related to beef markets. For example, we must close a current loophole so that only beef born, raised and slaughtered in the United States should receive the “Product of the U.S.A.” label. He agreed with me that consumers have the right to know where their meat comes from.

“Additionally, we discussed the importance of ethanol, creating new markets for state-inspected meat processing facilities and the need to reform the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service.

“I thank Governor Vilsack for taking the time to meet with me today and I look forward to working with him to address these issues critical to South Dakota should he be confirmed.”

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In e-mail correspondence sent to Republican county leaders today by SDGOP Vice Chair Linda Rausch, Governor Kristi Noem made it clear that she wants the SDGOP to stay the course as they prepare for the 2022 election cycle.

In the letter obtained this afternoon by dakotawarcollege.com, Governor Kristi Noem set out the mission of Republican leaders for the 2022 election; that they “will have brand new legislative districts to campaign in, and we have even more Republicans to elect to office. We will be defending a U.S. Senate seat, a U.S. House seat, the Governor’s Office, and several other statewide offices.”

In the same letter, Governor Noem endorsed the current GOP Leadership team of Chairman Dan Lederman, Vice Chair Linda Rausch, Secretary Marilyn Oakes, and Treasurer Justin Bell to return for another term of office at the election that will be held at the State Republican Party Central Committee meeting this coming Saturday in Pierre.

The current team, led by Lederman, has managed to win a record number of legislative seats for the party, reducing Democrats to their slimmest number of elected seats in recent history.