Author: Pat Powers

What Recent Trade Wins Mean for South Dakota
By U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)

As any South Dakota farmer or rancher will tell you, having a market to sell their products is vitally important to the success of their operations. In South Dakota, we produce some of the highest-quality crops and meat in the world. However, trade uncertainty—coupled with low commodity prices and poor weather conditions—has made life difficult for ag producers. After years of being at the tip of the spear in ongoing trade disputes, South Dakota’s farmers, ranchers and manufacturers saw some major victories in recent weeks that will begin to reestablish and grow markets for them to sell their products.

I recently had the privilege of joining President Trump at the White House for the signing of “phase one” of the U.S.-China trade agreement. Under this agreement, China will purchase at least $40 billion dollars of additional U.S. ag products. The phase one agreement comes at an especially good time for American pork producers. African swine fever has killed millions of pigs in China, driving up demand for pork products exported from the U.S. We still have more to do to make sure China lives up to its obligations under the deal—including stopping them from stealing our intellectual property and technologies—and phase one is the first step in that process.

I recently cast my vote in favor of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade deal, which passed the Senate with broad bipartisan support after months of delays by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It will replace the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The USMCA will give South Dakota’s farmers, ranchers and manufacturers greater opportunities to sell their products in Mexico and Canada, two of our nation’s closest allies and our top trading partners. Trade with our North American neighbors supports 37,700 jobs in South Dakota, and in 2018, our state exported $924 million of goods and ag products to Canada and Mexico. Under the USMCA, Canada will revise its grain grading policies to treat U.S. wheat in a way that is “no less favorable than that it accords to like wheat of national origin.” This will level the playing field for South Dakota wheat farmers, by not allowing either country to have country of origin on wheat quality certificates. Finalizing the USMCA will also provide us with better leverage to negotiate fair deals with other countries around the world. It now awaits action in Canada’s parliament before it can go into effect.

These trade wins come on the heels of the unilateral trade agreement we made with Japan, which took effect at the beginning of January. The U.S.-Japan agreement paved the way for more sales of American beef and other agricultural products. Additionally, the European Union trade negotiator recently called for a reset on trade talks with the U.S. so we can work to increase our markets in Europe. This progress is important for South Dakota farmers, ranchers and manufacturers, who have dealt with trade instability for far too long.

Senate Republicans and President Trump have remained focused on advancing policies that will help to grow the economy, and so far the economy in nearly all sectors aside from agriculture has improved. The stock market has reached record highs, we’ve cut taxes for American families—including costly Obamacare taxes—and rolled back thousands of burdensome, duplicative regulations that slowed business growth. I believe that finalizing trade agreements that give farmers and ranchers a fair deal for their products is one of the final pieces of the puzzle that will allow the economy to reach its full potential.

Free and fair trade is critical for our producers. We are making significant progress toward securing better, fairer trade deals for South Dakota’s ag community than what they’ve had in the past.

###

Burning of the Beetle
By Rep. Dusty Johnson

Click here to watch Rep. Johnson’s floor speech on the Mountain Pine Beetle

Since 2014, every January marks the “Burning of the Beetle” in Custer, South Dakota. What’s turned into a fun tradition and artistic celebration, stemmed from a bleak time in the Black Hills.

The Black Hills National Forest is one of South Dakota’s treasures, but if you traveled there several years ago, you’d see a much different forest than you’ll see today. For years, the Mountain Pine Beetle infected more than 430,000 acres of forest, leaving millions of trees dead in its path.

Pine beetles thrive in an overly crowded forest – they crave density. So, in order to tackle the problem, federal, state, local governments, and private citizens joined together to determine the best course of action.

From the beginning, state and local partners were proactive and engaged, but in recent years, federal policy has helped, as well. The U.S. Forest Service utilized categorical exclusions from the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bill to tackle the pine beetle with local partners. The federal government gets in the way far too often, but these categorical exclusions laid out in the Farm Bill allowed the Forest Service to more quickly utilize certain practices. Proper forest management practices, like tree thinning and controlled burning, played a key role in improving the resiliency of our forest.

When you go to the Black Hills today, it’s clear which areas have undergone proper forest management and which areas have not – you’ll notice which areas have healthy trees and which areas have too many dead trees.

Today, the Black Hills are recovering from the pine beetle outbreak, but this is not the time to take our foot off the gas. We must continue to push for and meet prescribed forest harvest targets to prevent further outbreaks of the pine beetle. The Black Hills doesn’t need to face devastation again.

The “Burning of the Beetle” reminds South Dakota of an enemy we need to continue to keep at bay. As South Dakotans burn the beetle in effigy, we should remember that continuing to actively manage our forest will ensure its resilience for years to come.

###

South Dakota is OPEN for Business
By Governor Kristi Noem

While I was growing up, my dad often talked about building a better tomorrow. He dreamed of all four of his kids being able to stay on the family ranch if we wanted to. Whether that was developing the family farm and ranch into something all of us kids could one day work on or instilling godly values in us that we could one day pass those along to our kids, at the end of the day, he just wanted to give the next generation an opportunity to thrive.

My vision for South Dakota is the same.

We must ensure that every person can build a life in South Dakota and make a good living to provide for their families. This is why I have committed to four pillars of protection: keeping taxes low, limiting government regulation, fighting government intrusion, and keeping government open and honest.

After a year of serving as governor, I’m proud to say we stuck to these pillars in 2019, and we made a lot of progress, too.

One of our main priorities last year was recruiting new industries to South Dakota and helping businesses who are looking to grow or expand. And people have responded. It’s not hard to understand why. There are so many reasons why South Dakota is the best place in the nation to do business.

Our state has the best people – our work ethic and values are second to none.

We don’t have a corporate income tax. And there’s also no business inventory tax. We are one of the few remaining states with no personal income tax, and I am committed to keeping it that way. We also don’t burden our citizens with a personal property tax or an inheritance tax.

The taxes that we do have to fund state government are stable and predictable. In addition to my commitment to not raising taxes, our constitution requires a 2/3rd vote in both chambers of the legislature to raise taxes. In short, if you’re worried about tax increases, you don’t need to be.

Government in South Dakota lives within its means. We balance our budget without accounting gimmicks or tricks. And we believe in smart regulation. We roll out the red carpet, not the red tape.

Our part-time legislature is one of just a few that is a true citizen legislature. Our legislators come to Pierre, tackle the problems that need to be tackled that session, and then go home to their jobs, their families, and their communities.

I have traveled all across this country and around the world, and I can tell you, there is no better place to operate a business and raise a family than in South Dakota.

My goal is to make sure folks across the country and around the world know that South Dakota is THE PLACE to do business. Whether you’ve owned and operated a business for four generations, or you’re looking to start, expand, or even relocate your current operation, my message is crystal clear: South Dakota is OPEN for business.

###

Here’s a story on the Argus’ website tonight that seems to be a bit of a broken record we’ve heard before:

A group of Fall River Republicans are demanding that Dan Lederman resign as chairman of the South Dakota Republican Party due to his lobbying work for Saudi Arabia.

and..

The resolution also alleges that Lederman was registered as a Democrat in Iowa beginning in 1998 and was “inappropriately” elected as Republican Party chairman because “he was a registered Democrat at the same time.”

Read that here.

Ugh. Apparently some people just can’t let it go.  Why do I say that? Because we’ve seen this stupid before.  The far-right group Citizens for Liberty and their allies, when they’re not getting kicked out of Pizza Ranch, are back attacking one of their primary targets, SDGOP Chair Dan Lederman.

If you recall, back in early 2018, the group was circulating a petition attacking SDGOP Chair Dan Lederman because they didn’t like the fact he won election. Back then, their petition read in part…

CFL Hates Lederman 2018 by Pat Powers on Scribd

We, the undersigned duly elected Republicans, Republican County Central Committee members, delegates, candidates, and/or registered Republicans, having become aware of the confirmations that you maintained your Iowa residency and voter registration as an active Iowa Democrat from October 02, 1998, till you filed your request to cancel your Iowa Democratic registration on October 12, 2017, require you to immediately cease and desist any and all involvement, all representations of claimed official involvement, and any attempts to influence the South Dakota Republican Party by claiming to be the Chairman of the South Dakota Republican Party.

They had 3 petitions, and gathered a total of 50 signatures… out of over two hundred thousand Republicans in the state (that’s about .019% of Republicans), with such ‘GOP Luminaries’ as Lora Hubbel, Tara Volesky, Mike Mueller, James Biolata, Jack Heyd, Florence Thompson, Rick Kreibel, etcetera. Basically, they were circulated in the at a CFL meeting in Rapid City, Lora Hubbel did her usual awful job of signature collection, and one was circulated around the Hanson County area.  And that’s all they could do.

Republican-Independent-Constitution Party wrecker Lora Hubbel lead the charge with the media, if you recall the stupidity and false claims that were easily disproven back in 2018, and ended up looking like a bit of an idiot.

Why are we talking about it now? Well, apparently, the same cast of characters can’t let it go and are taking another run at it, recycling the claims.

This past Saturday, Tonchi Weaver of Citizens for Liberty popped up at the Pennington County Republican Party meeting with the following resolution prepared, which starts off with the claim that was debunked two years ago claiming…. “WHEREAS, Dan Lederman was elected South Dakota Republican Party Chairman in 2017 at the same time he was registered as a democrat in Jasper County, Iowa, since 1998.”

Yes, you can insert a *groan* here.   Please note that this one isn’t signed. For good reason.

What happened at Pennington County on Saturday the 11th?  I’m told the words barely had left Tonchi Weaver’s mouth before she was gaveled down and scolded by the Pennington County Chair Jeff Holbrook for bringing this stupidity.  Denied.

A few days after they were shut down hard and lost that battle in Rapid City, on January 14th, it appears the same silliness was shopped to Fall River County, and they managed to sell the bill of goods to those few present:

You’ll notice there’s no list of names, just a proclamation that it was “unanimously passed by those members present.”

We can assume that Tonchi will be creeping to other GOP meetings to try to sow discord with their resolution including the false claims they couldn’t peddle in 2018. But, it’s maybe good to remember who else Tonchi Weaver and her crew at Citizens for Liberty have been trying to “take out.”

Continuously, they’ve been hammering legislators with scorecards they’ve cherry-picked for issues, despite not showing up to testify on the legislation they’re claiming is important to them.  (My favorite was the scorecard where they ranked their chairman’s wife the highest.)

In 2018, they got in the middle of the race for Attorney General, poking at Sheriffs for endorsing a candidate.  In 2017, they went after a number of Republicans for having been registered as Democrat at an earlier point in their lives. Even if they hadn’t been.

“If a person changes their party affiliation and doesn’t change their philosophy, I think that’s something their constituents deserve to know,” said Tonchi Weaver, a lobbyist for the group.

and…

“I’ve never registered as a Democrat. I’ve always been a Republican,” said Rep. Jean Hunhoff, R-Yankton, who was named in the report. “I’ve never even heard of that group.”

Read that here.

And the list of their goofiness goes on. (Don’t even get the Lt. Governor going on them..)  If the same people who have attacked legislators for years and have already taken one failed run at Lederman are back taking another shot at him, I can’t help but roll my eyes, and say “here we go again.”

If they spent as much energy into electing Republicans as they did attacking them, they might be able to actually accomplish something besides throwing rocks.

But, let’s not hold our collective breath. I really doubt it’s going to happen anytime soon.

From the Federal Elections Commission, Looks like we have a new candidate. Or maybe, a not so new one.  Clayton Walker appears to be back as a Independent Candidate for US Senate, filing a statement of organization at the end of December, 2019.

Clayton Walker Statement of Organization by Pat Powers on Scribd

If you’ve forgotten who Clayton was, he was the … “other” candidate that had some petition issues in 2014.

Walker, 33, was arrested Wednesday on three counts of threatening by electronic device after authorities say Walker made repeated calls to several state offices in which he threatened state employees, according to Jackley.

and..

Walker was indicted in June on felony charges of perjury and filing false documents. Walker, an Independent candidate whose name will not appear on the November ballot, was arrested initially after his nominating petitions were successfully challenged on grounds that they included unregistered voters and had other discrepancies.

Read it all here.

And don’t forget this..

Walker has been fighting his case from several angles.

In January, he fought to keep his then court-appointed attorney from being able to withdraw from the case.

“My attorney only wants to wiggle out of my case because he found out how highly politicized this case is with election fraud by the state and a cover-up by a state university,” Walker said in a letter to the court earlier this year.

Read that all here.

I think we can already assume it’s going to be one of those years.

Thune, Carper Lead Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Chronic Disease Management Effort 

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) this week introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) that are used with health savings accounts can cover care related to chronic disease management prior to a beneficiary reaching their plan deductible. The Thune-Carper bill builds off legislation they introduced in June 2019, and it follows the administration’s updated guidance issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in July 2019.

In addition to Thune and Carper, the bill is cosponsored by Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.).

“The administration’s work this summer was welcome news and makes important progress in helping patients with chronic conditions using HDHPs access high-value medications and services to manage their health,” said Thune. “This bill will ensure that the Department of Treasury’s expansion of what constitutes preventive services exists in law.”

“More than 20 million Americans have a high-deductible health care plan with a health savings account,” said Carper.“This bipartisan bill helps ensure that those individuals, especially patients with chronic conditions, can get better access to the basic care they need without the fear of triggering their deductibles. This bill can help improve health care outcomes and, at the same time, save patients money. It’s a true win-win for patients, and I’m proud to reintroduce this common sense bill with Senator Thune.”

“High-deductible health plans help people avoid the burden of skyrocketing premiums and allows them to take greater ownership of their health care decisions,” said Cramer. “Our legislation builds on the Trump Administration’s work to provide greater health care access by making these plans a viable option for those with chronic conditions.”

“Arizonans living with chronic diseases often face cost barriers in getting the medical care they need,” said McSally. “Our bipartisan bill would allow individuals with high deductible health plans to exercise greater flexibility, more effectively use their plan, and better manage their health at lower costs.”

“Allowing high-deductible health plans to cover more preventative care will save Arizona families thousands of dollars in medical costs every year, making health care more affordable for everyday Arizonans,” said Sinema.

“I’ve heard from so many Minnesotans with diabetes who struggle to afford the life-saving insulin they need to survive,” said Smith. “This bill would help lower costs for people with diabetes and other chronic diseases who have high-deductible health plans. I’m glad it has bipartisan support, and I will push to get it over the finish line.

In July 2019, the IRS issued a notice expanding its interpretation of what constitutes preventive care to include certain items and services that are prescribed to someone with certain chronic conditions. Those items or services can be considered preventive when they are prescribed to an individual with certain chronic conditions and if they are low-cost and prevent the worsening of a chronic condition or the development of a secondary condition. The notice also contains a list of specific items and services that meet the new criteria for preventive care for chronic conditions, not to include other items at this time.

###

Noem, South Dakota Producers Join Trump for Signing of U.S.-China Trade Deal

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem, accompanied by two South Dakota producers, today joined President Donald Trump at the White House as he signed the first phase of the United States-China Trade Agreement. The finalized deal is expected to double the ag goods China buys from American producers and includes a purchase of approximately $80 billion of ag products in the next two years.

“The agreement President Trump locked in today is an incredible economic victory for South Dakota producers,” said Noem. “This historic deal opens up new markets and advances opportunities for farmers and ranchers to do what they do best: feed the world.”

“The pioneer spirit lives on in South Dakota agriculture, and today’s agreement could very well be the new horizon we need to extend our operations and continue producing the food, feed, fiber, and fuel for the world,” said Jerry Schmitz, a South Dakota soybean and corn producer and Executive Director of South Dakota Soybean. 

“I applaud the administration for its hard work in negotiating a deal that includes U.S. agriculture purchase commitments by China,” said Craig Andersen, a South Dakota pork producer and board member of the National Pork Producers Council. “It’s no secret China is facing a pork shortage, and we urge China to support the purchase commitments it has made through this agreement.”

The agreement signed by President Trump requires structural reforms to China’s economic and trade regime in the areas of agriculture, financial services, intellectual property, technology transfer, and currency and foreign exchange.

Congressional ‘explorer’ Neal Tapio was back at it again last night, pursuing his personal crusade against Muslim immigrants at the Sioux Falls City Council, demanding that the Sioux Falls City Council vote to “keep them the hell out of our country:”

Some raised concerns about the perception that higher crime rates follow new Americans to Sioux Falls, and former U.S. House of Representatives candidate Neal Tapio urged the council to “pause” Sioux  Falls’ acceptance until the federal government takes more steps to vet refugees.

For instance, Tapio said no more refugees should be welcomed to the United States until immigrants who subscribe to Sharia Law, which holds Islamic traditions above modern laws, are not allowed.

“Keep them the hell out of our country,” he said. “Our current system does not do that.”

Read that here.

Neal must have thought this would be some sort of moment for him, as he live-streamed his speech on Facebook.  And while it got him a few lines in the paper… that was about it.

Council members passed a measure to continue accepting refugees. And that was that.

Rounds Attends Signing of U.S.-China “Phase One” Trade Deal at the White House

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today attended the signing of “phase one” of a trade agreement between the United States and China at the White House.

“The ‘phase one’ deal signed today is great news for South Dakota farmers, ranchers and manufacturers,” said Rounds. “Under this agreement, China has agreed to purchase at least $40 billion of our agricultural products. This will provide some much-needed relief to our farmers and ranchers who have been at the tip of the spear throughout the trade negotiations by reestablishing markets for them to sell their products. We still have more to do to make sure China lives up to its obligations, and phase one is the first step in that process. I thank President Trump for his efforts to make sure our farmers, ranchers and manufacturers are getting a fair deal.”

WATCH: Video of President Trump thanking Rounds for standing up for South Dakota’s farmers:

###

Johnson’s Tribal Parity Bill Passes Out of Committee

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously passed the Tribal School Federal Insurance Parity Act (H.R. 895), which was introduced by U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.)earlier this year.

This legislation would amend Section 409 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to clarify that tribal grant schools are eligible to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program and the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program.

“Tribal schools have enough challenges without having to deal with confusing and inconsistent government rules,” said Johnson. “Employees of two types of tribal schools qualify for federal employee benefits. Surprisingly, employees of the third type of tribal school don’t qualify for those benefits. My bill will end this disparity, and I’m grateful for the committee’s action today.”

“This simple and clean legislative fix would directly benefit our schools by allowing them to access lower cost insurance options for their employees at significant overall savings – a benefit that is already provided at all other BIE system schools,” said Cecelia Firethunder, President of the Oglala Lakota Nation Education Coalition.

Background:

In 2010, Congress reauthorized the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. A provision was included in Section 409 of this law that allows tribes and tribal organizations, including schools, operating programs through P.L. 93-638 contracts to be eligible for insurance coverage for their employees through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program and the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program. This provision did not explicitly mention P.L. 100-297 and, therefore, the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services, determined that tribal grant schools are ineligible to purchase insurance coverage for their employees through FEHB and FEGLI.

The Tribal School Federal Insurance Parity Act would improve the recruitment and retention of professional educators in tribal and rural communities and would allow tribal schools to spend less on health care and more on their students. Tribal grant schools would still be required to pay the government’s contribution toward the insurance premiums and the employees would be responsible for the remaining balance.

###