Author: Pat Powers

 

Concerns over School Lunch Rules Continue to Grow, Says Noem 

New GAO report shows participation in National School Lunch Program declines by 1.4 million in last four school year

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Kristi Noem today expressed continued concern after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an updated study showing National School Lunch Program participation declined by 1.4 million children – or 4.5 percent – between the 2010-11 school year and the 2013-14 school year. The non-partisan agency also reported that “new federal nutrition requirements contributed to the decrease.”

“My husband and I work hard to make sure healthy food goes on our kids’ plates at home, but we understand that if it doesn’t taste good, our kids aren’t going to eat it. I think that’s something most parents have experienced,” said Noem. “This report once again shows that if families can afford it, more and more are sending their kids to school with a sack lunch, but if finances are tight, kids are forced to stay in the program. I remain very concerned that the new regulations scheduled to take effect in the coming years will only make this phenomena worse.”

The new GAO report, which was an update to a study requested by Noem and Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline, shows a continued decline in school meal program participation since the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act took effect in 2010. Prior to the 2010-11 school year, participation in the program had been increasing steadily for many years. Click here to view a copy of the full report.

Noem has been vocal about her opposition to the new regulations. While she agrees we must do all we can to make sure kids are healthy, Noem opposes the one-size-fits-all solution that can leave kids feeling hungry and impose increased costs on local school districts.

In March 2015, Noem introduced the Reducing Federal Mandates on School Lunch Act, which would:

· Allow schools to maintain the previous whole grain requirements. Without this change, 100 percent of the grains that schools are required to serve students would be whole-grain rich, pushing items like tortillas and pasta largely off the menu. Noem’s bill would restore the requirement back to 50 percent, meaning at least half of the grains served would be required to be whole-grain rich.

· Maintain Target 1 sodium requirements. Absent a change, schools would have a difficult time serving healthy foods that include milk, cheese, meat and other foods with naturally occurring sodium.

· Give administrators flexibility on some of the rules that have increased costs for school districts, including the school breakfast program, a la carte options, and school lunch price increases.

· Make the USDA’s easing of the meat and grain requirements permanent through law, rather than regulations. This would give certainty to schools that they’ll be allowed more flexibility in serving meats and grains while still staying within calorie maximums.

Noem introduced similar legislation in the 113th Congress as well. The bill has been endorsed by the National School Board Association and the School Superintendents Association.

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There’s a tour of the pot facility in Flandreau today, and Dana Ferguson at the Argus noted who showed up from the Legislature to take the tour.

4 of them.

Wollman and Parsley from District 8, which includes Flandreau, are there. Elizabeth May came from across the state, and Spencer Hawley from Brookings took the 20 minute drive to tour the facility.

Obviously, the District 8 reps will be facing constituent questions on it. Hawley will as well, given the pot growers have announced their intention to bus people from surrounding communities such as Brookings.

But all in all, it’s probably a good indicator that they aren’t going to find a lot of friends in the South Dakota Legislature, as they use lax federal law enforcement of drug laws to try to circumvent South Dakota State Laws.

(Update – Dana notes via Twitter that Paula Hawks is there, but didn’t sign in.)

Sioux Falls city councilor Michelle Erpenbach is often said to be planning to run for Mayor of our state’s largest city. Which makes it quite interesting that she’s planning to propose an ordinance as intrusive as banning cell phone use in cars:

A proposal to ban handheld cellphones while driving faces a bumpy road at city hall.

Sioux Falls City Councilor Michelle Erpenbach plans to introduce a measure Tuesday to prohibit the use of any handheld electronic devices, including cellphones, while operating a vehicle on Sioux Falls streets.

Read it all here.

I’m kind of surprised that someone would propose something so intrusive, especially someone who has been mentioned as being a mayoral hopeful. Huether is bad enough, but this puts her firmly to his left.

The thought that comes to my mind is that if she’s going to be this far to the left on what we can do in our cars, how far off is she from proposing limitations on personal ownership of guns within Sioux Falls City limits?

Because it’s pretty obvious that restricting personal rights are not a problem for her.

From Today’s KCCR – AG Marty Jackley reminds residents that he’s not going to turn a blind eye to the proposed Flandreau pot lounge, and that any non-tribal members using pot there will be arrested and subject to prosecution:

Regardless, the tribe has begun growing marijuana on the reservation and is looking at a New Years Eve opening for their resort. However, Jackley says, anyone breaking state law will be arrested.

Jackley says tribal members would be within their right to use marijuana on their own tribal lands, however non-Indians would not.

 Should there be probable cause; Jackley says state law enforcement officials have the right to enter the reservation and arrest individuals who are committing a crime. Search warrants would be needed.

Read it all here.

(I believe this is for Sioux Falls. -pp)

Greg Neitzert To Make Announcement For City Council

Tomorrow October 13th, 2015 at 11:00am in the Carnegie Town Hall Overflow Room located at 235 W. 10th Street, I will make an official announcement regarding my candidacy for City Council Northwest District.

I had a note and a photo from one of my spies today.  

Apparently the Democrat activist and candidate training camp held by the SDDP this weekend fell a bit flat, as you can see from this photo showing maybe 20 people (assuming there aren’t a few speakers there) in attendance at an event set up with seating for 100 or more.
  
Perhaps it’s a good indicator that reality falls far less than expectations, given SD Democrat’s far left agenda in South Dakota?

While I am flying back to South Dakota, it looks as if Congresswoman Kristi Noem is also traveling this weekend as she meets with officials regarding the problem of ISIS:

“We’ve always been supporters of our allies in Egypt and Greece,” Noem said in a phone interview Friday.“We went there to build relationships and to reassure them that the U.S. still has some strong policy.”

Noem met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Hassan Shoukry to assure them that the United States would continue to be an ally.

Read it all here.

WOTUS Rule Continues to Crumble, says Noem

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Kristi Noem today praised a federal appellate court decision to temporarily suspend the nationwide implementation of the controversial “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule. In August 2015, a U.S. District Court suspended the rule for select states, including South Dakota, but today’s ruling applies nationwide.

“Today’s announcement is a tremendous victory for homeowners, farmers and ranchers, and small businesses,” said Noem. “The EPA’s proposal would be a historic federal overreach, but it is crumbling after judicial examinations. Nonetheless, today’s announcement provides only temporary relief. We must continue our efforts to offer a lasting reprieve from the federal government’s heavy regulations and fines by fully and permanently ditching this rule. This is a significant step forward, but our fight is far from over.”

Noem has been an outspoken critic of the WOTUS proposal, which she calls “one of the largest federal land grabs in U.S. history.” In May 2015, Rep. Noem helped the U.S. House of Representatives pass the bipartisan H.R. 1732, the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015, which would send the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers back to the drawing board on the WOTUS rule.  

Noem has also called on the EPA to define regulated navigable waters on a map after an alarming graphic was released that has raised questions about how extensive the EPA’s regulatory authority could become. Read more and view the graphic here.

Additionally, in May 2014, Rep. Noem joined 231 Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle on a letter urging the EPA and the Secretary of the Army to withdraw the proposed rule.  

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Rounds Supports Court Decision on WOTUS

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and Chairman of the EPW Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management and Regulatory Oversight, made the following statement on today’s Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to stay the Obama Administration’s recent changes to the definition of “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS). The final WOTUS rule was released earlier this year. “I support the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision today to suspend the Administration’s final WOTUS rule,” said Rounds. “Today’s decision is a victory for states’ rights and every landowner in the United States. In South Dakota, we rely on our vast land and natural resources for nearly every aspect of our lives: to provide clean water, maximize agricultural production, provide recreation, bring in tourism and more. We are already good stewards of our land without unelected bureaucrats in Washington saddling us with expansive new regulations, permitting and reporting requirements. Today’s decision pushes back on the Obama Administration’s extreme regulatory overreach. This is not the first time EPA’s overreach has been challenged in court. There are also cases pending regarding new fracking regulations and the Clean Power Plan. I will continue to fight to protect South Dakotans from these and other instances of overregulation from the Obama administration.””

On October 9, the United States Court of Appeals in the Sixth Circuit issued a nationwide stay of the final WOTUS rule. In issuing the stay, the court determined that “petitioners have demonstrated a substantial possibility of success on the merits of their claims.” A federal judge in North Dakota had previously blocked the WOTUS rule in 13 states, including South Dakota.

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Thune Statement on Nationwide Stay of Obama EPA’s WOTUS Implementation“The Obama EPA’s WOTUS rule – one of the largest federal land grabs in history – was dealt another legal blow today.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement in response to a nationwide stay of the implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule:  

“The Obama EPA’s WOTUS rule – one of the largest federal land grabs in history – was dealt another legal blow today,” said Thune. “I’ve heard from farmers and ranchers from every corner of South Dakota who are concerned that the overreaching arm of the federal government will drive up compliance costs and expose homeowners and property owners across the country to massive new fines. I applaud today’s ruling and will continue to work with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that South Dakotans are protected from what amounts to yet another massive Obama administration overstep.”

The decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals extends to all 50 states an earlier injunction by a federal district court that blocked implementation in 13 states, including South Dakota.  

Thune is a cosponsor of the Federal Water Quality Protection Act, a bipartisan bill that would direct the EPA to scrap its current proposal and ensure future proposals do not include ponds, ditches, agriculture water, storm water, and certain other areas not typically regulated under the federal Clean Water Act. 

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