Author: Pat Powers

I spent most of yesterday on something I’ve been working on for the better part of a month – adding a new member to the Powers family.

No, my wife is not expecting. I’ve been after another dog for the past month or so.  Our Corgi does better socially with a friend, and for our daughter on the Autism spectrum, I wanted the friendliest dog possible.

Having had one a long time ago, I knew that a Golden Retriever would fill the bill. When you get it in your mind that you’d like a Golden Retriever or a Golden retriever/yellow lab mix, you can find them out there on the Internet fairly easily. Sort of.

My attempt had me looking at what South Dakota breeders had, and unfortunately, I kept striking out in either the reasonable price range, or I’d missed their recent litters.  I did find one breeder who had pups in the $17,000 price range, but I took a pass on those.

I did finally luck out on facebook, via the friend of a classmate, and I managed to get the second pick of the females of the litter at a price far cheaper than I’d been able to find even on the pups I’d missed.

So, instead of blogging yesterday, I spent the entire day driving over from Brookings to Pierre with three of my children, who insisted on coming with my for bragging rights, and “exclusive puppy time,” as we added “Ruby” to the family.

Accountability Matters  
By Sen. John Thune

My goal as an elected member of Congress is to deliver to you the most efficient, effective, and accountable federal government possible. Accountability is a hallmark of our democracy, and without it, the American people would rightfully lose faith in their elected representatives and our system of government. I have an extremely high standard when it comes to accountability, which is why I take seriously my responsibility of holding the executive branch and its agencies and employees accountable for their actions. While it’s often the bad decisions or overreaching regulations that make the headlines, sometimes it’s the lack of action or turning a blind eye that can have the most devastating result.

By now, you may have read the shocking reports of conditions at Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities throughout the Great Plains area. Dirty and unsanitary equipment, patients being prematurely discharged from the hospital, and babies being born on bathroom floors. Each of these would be shocking enough on its own, but taken together, along with the litany of previously known failures at IHS facilities, they paint a pretty bleak picture of the care our tribal citizens are receiving and the astonishing lack of commitment by IHS officials to delivering the care these citizens deserve.

While systemic failures at IHS aren’t new, the cases described in these recently released reports are unacceptable. As far back as 2010, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs uncovered similar instances of negligence and a breach of trust between IHS leaders and the patients they were supposed to serve. These failures, which were well documented, required attention that IHS bureaucrats unfortunately denied for years.

Last December, when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notified me of the new allegations, I immediately took action and demanded answers from IHS and HHS. At the time, we were informed that a majority of these issues had been addressed and resolved, but the rosy explanation didn’t match reality. Hours later, we were told that because of the severe problems at the Rosebud Hospital, its emergency department was no longer allowed to accept patients, forcing them to be diverted to nearby facilities.

I recently participated in an important oversight hearing on Capitol Hill that examined these systemic failures. One thing became abundantly clear: a pervasive lack of accountability has seeped into nearly every facet of IHS, and it is past time for us to take meaningful action to correct the root cause of these problems. That doesn’t mean we should throw more federal money at the issue or play musical chairs with IHS employees. We need a committed, willing partner at IHS who takes these issues as seriously as I do. One way or another, on behalf of the tribal citizens who depend on IHS, I intend to get to the bottom of this.

###

Indian Affairs Hearing a Call to Action
By Senator Mike Rounds

Lack of adequate and timely health care in Indian Country has been an ongoing issue for many years. The Indian Health Service (IHS) of the Great Plains region, which is responsible for providing health care to all nine tribes in South Dakota, is failing to live up to the federal government’s responsibility to deliver

quality health care to Native Americans.

Troubling reports from a number of IHS facilities—including Rosebud and Pine Ridge – have found gross mismanagement, dirty medical equipment, broken sanitizers and blatant corruption. This has led to inexcusable suffering by patients and – in some cases –even death. In one outrageous case, a woman gave birth to hear baby on a bathroom floor with no nurses or doctors around to help her.

When the Rosebud IHS facility diverted its emergency room services last year—without notifying the Rosebud tribal leaders ahead of time – patients had nowhere to go for emergency care. My staff was made aware of a patient who had been transported to Winner due to the diversion and was treated there. However, upon release, the patient had no transportation back home to Rosebud and had to spend the night in the Winner jail just to stay warm. This kind of treatment is inexcusable.

These and other stories were highlighted during a recent Senate Indian Affairs Committee haring entitled, “Re-examining the Substandard Quality of Indian Health Care in the Great Plains.” Earlier this year, I led my colleagues in a letter requesting this hearing to understand firsthand the problems within IHS so we can begin to address them. Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wy.) also provided me the opportunity to participate in the hearing along with Senator John Thune. During the hearing, we heard more concerning stories of medical neglect and substandard patient care. Chairman Barrasso, a physician himself, called these problems “malpractice.”

Even more troubling, Indian Health Service has known about these problems for years. In 2010, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee issued a report citing chronic mismanagement, lack of employee accountability and financial integrity at IHS facilities. The report identified five IHS hospitals in the Great Plains area at risk of losing their accreditation or certification from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Six years later, IHS facilities continue to fail at reaching basic benchmarks for providing proper health care.

Providing health care to members of the Native American community is a trust responsibility of the federal government. Clearly, IHS is failing to uphold this responsibility. The hearing was a step in the right direction toward finding a solution to the problems at IHS, but until we help to facilitate a plan of action to remedy the situation and to properly execute the plan, we won’t get the results we want and the results the community should expect.

No South Dakota citizen, whether they are a member of a tribe or not, should be denied access to quality health care from qualified medical professionals because of the incompetence of a federal agency. I think all South Dakotans can agree that this situation must be resolved.

###

Raising Standards, Saving Lives
By Rep. Kristi Noem

It’s hard to believe that today there are medical facilities in South Dakota where staff are washing surgical instruments by hand because the sterilization machine has been broken for six months – where no infection control measures were taken for a patient with a history of an untreated, highly infectious disease – where a pregnant young woman was left to give birth unattended on the floor of the hospital bathroom.  But these situations have occurred.  They’ve occurred within the last year at an Indian Health Service unit in South Dakota.

The federal government is responsible by treaty for providing health care to tribal members and it does so through the Indian Health Service – or IHS.  Sadly, there are deep-rooted problems within IHS that have gone unresolved for a decade or more, leaving tribal health care in the state of emergency we find it in today.

Over the last four years, funding for IHS has increased by more than a half-billion dollars and yet the system as a whole stands in a state of disrepair. What is needed more than anything is reform.

First, IHS priorities must be realigned.  Too much money is being spent on administration and anecdotal evidence of waste is extensive.  This question of where the money is going is something I’ve been aggressively working to uncover. I issued a formal request on this to IHS in December and I’m hopeful a response will arrive in the coming weeks.

I would like to see less of a financial emphasis on administration and more on mental health.  I was glad IHS shifted another $1.8 million toward suicide prevention efforts recently, but still, questions remain about how they intend to use that money.  Currently, much of it is expected to go toward an intensive behavioral program in Rapid City, hundreds of miles from the people it is designed to help. Is this the best way to leverage these dollars?  We’re still working through the answer to that question.

Second, we need to improve the physical condition of IHS hospitals.  The broken equipment and crumbling infrastructure has a significant impact on care. Knowing this, we adjusted the budget breakdown for 2016 to reflect a 12 percent funding increase for maintenance and repairs.  More will likely need to be done, but this is a necessary start.

Finally, patients deserve a dedicated and fully trained medical staff.  In a 2010 Senate Indian Affairs Committee report, Senator Byron Dorgan described instances in which health care providers were under the influence of drugs or alcohol while on the job.  More recent reports have shown physicians practicing with expired licenses and nurse practitioners without the proper certifications. While the problems are known, little has been done to improve the situation. This must change.

I recognize part of the challenge is recruiting the right individuals.  We’re looking at multiple options in this area.  For instance, currently if you work for IHS, the federal government helps pay your student loans.  The employee, however, is then taxed on this benefit, diminishing the incentive.  Perhaps we could lift that burden and make the student loan repayment benefits tax free, as it is for employees at other agencies.

Fixing the situation at IHS is personal.  As many of you reading this know, Bryon and I have three children.  When they’ve gotten sick or hurt, we’ve been able to take them to a hospital that was clean and safe.  The young people I’ve met in Rosebud and Pine Ridge don’t have that option.  There are no excuses for the kind of care being delivered.  The time to resolve this issue is now, and the faster we turn it around, the more lives we will save.

###

Expanding Outdoor Opportunities In Spearfish Canyon
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

Over the last few months, the Spearfish Canyon Foundation has been working with the state Game, Fish and Parks Department to acquire a beautiful property from Homestake Mining Company. Within just a few weeks the Foundation will donate funds to Game, Fish and Parks for the purchase of 73 acres in Spearfish Canyon, including Spearfish Falls. That land, along with two other adjacent state-owned parcels including Roughlock Falls, is the genesis of an opportunity for our state.

My hope is to establish Spearfish Canyon State Park in the northern Black Hills. The proposed state park would contain iconic natural features in the canyon including Roughlock Falls, Spearfish Falls, Spearfish Creek, Little Spearfish Creek and fishing ponds. Game, Fish and Parks would improve existing camping, hiking, fishing and sightseeing opportunities and upgrade facilities and roads.

Spearfish Falls and the hiking trail that leads to it is currently owned by Homestake and closed to the public. One benefit of creating a state park in Spearfish Canyon is the opportunity to reopen the trail and make improvements at Spearfish Falls similar to those that have been made at Roughlock Falls. I believe it is imperative that the public has the opportunity to enjoy the unspoiled beauty found in Spearfish Canyon. A modest user fee would allow the state to maintain these facilities in Little Spearfish Canyon and insure that they are available for future generations. At the same time, my plan does not include a park entrance fee of any type to drive the scenic byway through Spearfish Canyon.

Spearfish Canyon is a special place. Our family has visited many times. Whether on a snowmobile ride in the winter, a hiking trip in the summer, or a day enjoying the beautiful colors of the fall foliage, many people from across the state and nation have fond memories of Spearfish Canyon. The famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, said this after his visit in 1935:

“But how is it that I’ve heard so little of this miracle and we, toward the Atlantic, have heard so much of the Grand Canyon when this is even more miraculous? My hat is off to South Dakota Treasures.”

I am very excited about making Spearfish Canyon more accessible as our newest state park; but we have many steps to go before this vision becomes a reality. Sen. Thune is leading an effort by our congressional delegation to authorize a federal-state land exchange. This isn’t a certainty, but we’re working on it, and I’m hopeful. The state has been instrumental in improving Spearfish Canyon in the past and I believe this plan will carry on that tradition to preserve this jewel for future generations.

-30-

Looks like being an utter douche bag apparently stops short of criminal activity in Hartford, South Dakota tonight, according to KDLT news. The city councilman who forged a letter faking an attack on himself managed to dodge a bullet when the States Attorney declined to prosecute him for falsifying an item placed in the public record:

Johnson originally denied changing the email, but at last night’s city council meeting, a confession and apology letter from Doyle Johnson was read aloud.

The letter states that the email he read during the Dec. 1 meeting “was authored by myself, under the guise of a fake email. I regret the negative impact upon the city and the council itself, and I have fully accepted the consequences of my actions.” 
And…

“The disappointing part of that [letter] was that it wasn’t an apology to “Growing Hartford” or an apology to any business owners in Hartford who were specifically mentioned in the original email,” says Kuehl.

Johnson’s forged email involved insensitive language toward his special needs son, and wished that Johnson would “choke on a turkey bone.” 

“The email was extremely disturbing, extremely offensive,” says Kuehl. “Then when it came to light that it was drafted by Mr. Johnson, it was even more disturbing. It was a sad day for the city of Hartford.” 

Read it here.

And more of the story comes out. And it just looks worse and worse.

To make a local community group look bad, this guy falsified a letter making it look like the group was not just attacking him, but invoking his son with special needs in the disparaging letter he falsified? Wow.  And the best he could manage was a “non-apology?” Again, wow.

The best part? According to a blurb at the end of the story, he’s a teacher, in the classroom, influencing kids.  

Good god, I’m not sure what’s worse. His having been on the Hartford city council, or his being in a classroom full of kids. 

They got rid of him on one. They would do well to take a strong look at the other.

Steve Barnett was pleasantly gifted with a new member of the team this week…

  

Steve and his wife welcomed Lillian Jean last Friday 1/29 at 8:28pm. She weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and measured 20 inches long. 

Mother and child are doing well, although Steve may need to start shopping for a mini-van!

AFP Applauds Medicaid Accountability Bill
Encourages Passage of Bill Introduced Today Requiring the Express Approval of the Legislature Before Changing Medicaid Program

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Americans for Prosperity today is applauding the introduction of H.B. 1234 by Representatives Haggar (Don), Anderson, Bolin, Gosch, Heinemann (Leslie), Hunt, Langer, Qualm, Stevens, Westra, and Wollmann and Senators Holien, Ewing, Haggar (Jenna), Heineman (Phyllis), and Otten (Ernie).

The bill would require that any attempt to expand or change South Dakota’s Medicaid program receive a full and separate up-or-down vote by the legislature. Americans for Prosperity South Dakota State Director Ben Lee offered the following statement:

“Medicaid Expansion under Obamacare bears too many risks on our state taxpayers for it to be lumped in with funding for schools and roads.  We are thankful to see lawmakers introduce a bill that will help bring extra accountability to the debate. Other states who have tried these Obamacare Medicaid Expansion plans have been forced into tax hikes or massive budget cuts when costs and enrollment have surged far beyond the state’s wildest expectations. This bill will help raise the debate from the fog and ensure taxpayers know exactly where their legislators stand. We applaud them for their efforts and look forward to its swift passage by the state legislature.”

AFP South Dakota and its citizen volunteers across the state have been pressuring lawmakers for weeks through phone calls, emails, and radio ads to hold a clean vote on Medicaid Expansion, rather than including it as a part of the state’s 2016 budget.

From the legislature comes twin measures in both the House (Sponsored by Latterell) and the Senate (Sponsored by Greenfield) to amend the state constitution to strip the Governor of the ability to choose a temporary replacement for an open US Senate Seat, and hand it off to the legislature, to be picked from their own:

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION   NO.  1001  

Introduced by:    Representatives Latterell, Bolin, Campbell, Craig, DiSanto, Greenfield (Lana), Marty, May, McCleerey, Qualm, Schoenbeck, Stalzer, Verchio, Wiik, and Zikmund and Senators Jensen (Phil) and Olson

A JOINT RESOLUTION, Proposing and submitting to the electors at the next general election an amendment to Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, relating to the powers and duties of the Governor.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN:
Section 1. That at the next general election held in the state, the following amendment to Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, as set forth in section 2 of this Joint Resolution, which is hereby agreed to, shall be submitted to the electors of the state for approval.
Section 2. That Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, be amended to read as follows:
§ 3. The Governor shall be responsible for the faithful execution of the law. He may, by appropriate action or proceeding brought in the name of the state, enforce compliance with any constitutional or legislative mandate, or restrain violation of any constitutional or legislative power, duty or right by any officer, department or agency of the state or any of its civil divisions. This authority shall not authorize any action or proceedings against the Legislature.

and…

The Governor may convene the Legislature or either house thereof alone in special session by a proclamation stating the purposes of the session, and only business encompassed by such purposes shall be transacted. Whenever a vacancy occurs in the representation of South Dakota in the United States Senate, the Governor shall convene a special session of the entire Legislature. The Legislature shall, by process of voting, fill the vacancy from among the duly elected Legislators.

The Senate version uses the following language, which basically says the same thing:

    If a vacancy occurs in an office of United States senator for the state, the Governor shall convene a special session of the Legislature. The Legislature shall vote to fill the vacancy from among the current members of the Legislature, to hold office until the next election.

Are they kidding?

So, not only do they want to change the existing process that has been in place for quite a few years, they want it to be a legislative popularity contest?  What if there’s nobody good to pick from?

I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me, but this comes of as legislative elitism, and limits the universe of possible appointees. No one has been asking for a change, so why would we even consider it?