Category: Uncategorized

Thune Statement on Announcement That China Will Accept U.S. Beef Imports

“While the agreement is long overdue, it will nonetheless come as welcome news to all of South Dakota’s farmers and ranchers who not only help make agriculture our state’s top industry, but help feed the world.” 

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the Senate Committee on Finance, which has jurisdiction over trade, today issued the following statement after the Trump administration announced that a final agreement has been reached for China to accept U.S. beef imports after a 13-year ban. Today’s announcement follows a May 11, 2017, announcement that China was willing to negotiate reopening its borders to U.S. beef.

“After urging the Trump administration to take quick action on this and other important agricultural trade issues, I’m glad to see that it has been resolved,” said Thune. “While the agreement is long overdue, it will nonetheless come as welcome news to all of South Dakota’s farmers and ranchers who not only help make agriculture our state’s top industry, but help feed the world.” 

On April 5, 2017, Thune joined nearly 40 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States. Thune urged the president to push President Xi Jinping to end the U.S. beef import ban. Thune similarly pressed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Director of the National Trade Council Peter Navarro to find a solution that would allow U.S. beef into China.

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Noem: China’s Acceptance of U.S. Beef Imports Is a Welcome Change for the Market

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem, a member of the House Ways & Means Committee which has jurisdiction over trade policies, today released the following statement after the Trump administration announced the end of a 13-year ban on U.S. beef imports to China:

“Around 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside U.S. borders. As the world’s largest beef producer, gaining market access is critical. I welcome the administration’s proposal and am hopeful this renewed access to Chinese consumers will help boost the long-depressed cattle markets that have threatened many South Dakota cattle operations.”

The U.S. has been banned from China’s beef market since 2003. Until the ban took effect, the U.S. provided 70 percent of China’s total beef intake. Today, Chinese beef imports total $2.5 billion.

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Rounds Statement on End of Ban on U.S. Beef Imports to China

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today made the following statement after the administration announced the end of the ban on U.S. beef imports to China:

“Agriculture is South Dakota’s number one industry, with nearly 3.85 million head of cattle,” said Rounds. “I am pleased with the administration’s announcement and am glad we are now able to export our high-quality beef to China. Opening up this new, lucrative market will create substantial opportunities for South Dakota ranchers and bring a much-needed boost to the ag economy.”

On September 22, 2016, the process was started to end the ban on U.S. beef, which began in 2003.

On April 5, 2017, Rounds joined 38 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump requesting that he prioritize opening up China’s market to U.S. beef exports prior to his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

On May 12, 2017, an agreement was reached to open Chinese markets to U.S. beef no later than July 16, 2017.

On May 17, 2017, Rounds sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, to stress the importance of expanding exports, in particular opening up U.S. beef to China, the world’s second-largest importer of beef.

 

Rounds met with then-U.S. Trade Representative nominee Robert Lighthizer on May 4, 2017, to discuss the importance of trade to South Dakota’s agriculture industry.

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From a my voices column from this past weekend, on behalf of the South Dakota Wildlife Federation, Chris Hesla is arguing against the proposed legislation, operating under the assumption that farmers’ flooded land should belong to everyone but the person who physically holds title to it:

Further, this bill allows mass commercialization of a public resource. Although this bill prohibits landowners from receiving financial compensation in exchange for granting permission to fish closed public waters, it does not prevent other types of compensation; does not apply the same restrictions to lessees; does not prevent an owner from receiving financial compensation in exchange for granting other access including hunting; and does not prevent individuals from forming a legal entity that purchases submerged property and then allows exclusive access to members/shareholders. This is not balance. Balance is either opening public waters to all or closing public waters to all.

SDWF has other concerns still unaddressed, including no specific recognition that recreational use is a beneficial or lawful use of water; not allowing certain recreation activity on the bed of nonmeandered lakes or their frozen surfaces; and amending criminal trespass in the light of inconsistent marking standards. Further, though well-intended, the sunset provision gives SDWF no solace given the political climate where a passed bill would likely be subsequently continued to avoid conflict. Nor does SDWF find solace in the hope landowners will not post public waters closed – under this bill, once public waters are closed they can be closed forever. But, SDWF is willing to work through those issues so long as the public has the right to petition to open closed waters and recognition that if waters are closed, they are closed to all.

Read that here.

If the measure provides that the bill “prohibits landowners from receiving financial compensation in exchange for granting permission to fish closed public waters,” then that’s a serious error that legislators should remedy today.”  Why should someone be denied the ability to rent their own land, especially when they did not ask for millions of gallons of water to be standing on it?

Those conditions could change with a shift in weather patterns – as they did to create the lakes. If they were allowed to obtain a profit from the land when it grew corn or beans, they should be allowed to continue to make a livlihood while that potential lasts.

Another reason that Tim Johnson may not give as much to Billie Sutton as Dems may hope… It’s already over according to many pundits.

From the University of Minnesota based Smart Politics:

In 2018, the GOP has a virtual lock on states like Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming which would put them, at a minimum, over the 30 percent mark across the 36 states to hold elections (with the party favored in several other states).

Read it here.

Being a Dad Means You’re Part of a Team
By Sen. John Thune 

No one ever said that being a dad was easy. I don’t think it’s supposed to be either. From my perspective, being a father to Brittany and Larissa is probably both the toughest and most rewarding job I’ve ever had. And it’s been worth every single minute, which now looking back, they all seem to have flown past me and Kimberley over the years.

The only thing more important to me than being a father is that I’m the best one I can be – that I show up, listen, and love my kids unconditionally. I learned a lot about what it takes to be great dad by watching my own father. In fact, it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t be the man and father I am today without his wisdom, strength, and tenacity to always put his family first.

He was a busy guy, just like everyone else in Murdo who worked hard to raise a family and make ends meet. But he was never too busy to spend time with us kids. He was always up for throwing a ball back and forth in our yard, taking us fishing, and attending our afterschool sporting events. He even put a basketball hoop up in the backyard. Sure, it was a dirt court, but there was a light above the hoop, which meant we could shoot baskets well after the sun went down.

Sports was kind of a metaphor for how we lived our lives. Dad and mom were the coaches, and my siblings and I were all on the team. My parents instilled in us the importance of being a part of that team and that you should always have your teammates’ backs. I remember my dad, in particular, was always willing to have those tough down-by-five, get-your-head-in-the-game-type chats with us, but no matter the outcome, he was always proud of what we’d achieved. He still is today.

When I became a “coach” to Brittany and Larissa and my dad took a seat in the bleachers, I relied on many of his parenting techniques. Throughout our journey, Kimberly, Brittany, Larissa, and I have had a lot of good days together – and a few tough ones every now and then. But looking back, I only hope that I’ve made my girls half as proud of me as I am of the women they’ve become.

Now that Brittany and Larissa are both mothers, I’ve retired myself to the bleachers with my dad. We’re still part of the game, don’t get me wrong. But rather than holding a clipboard and whistle, we’ll be snacking on popcorn as we cheer and support our team, which with God’s blessing has continued to grow over the years.

With Father’s Day right around the corner, I want to wish the happiest of Father’s Days to my dad Harold, my sons-in-law Luke and Scott, and all of the other dads across South Dakota who, as President Reagan once said, “serve as models and guides for their sons and daughters and help to pass on to the next generation the heritage of our civilization.”

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Veterans’ Selfless Service Keeps America Free and Safe
By Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)

We recently recognized Memorial Day to honor the brave men and women who died in combat, as well as the 73rd anniversary of D-Day, where more than 116,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of northern France to free Europe from the Nazis during World War II. These days serve as important reminders of the tremendous sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform and their families. They risk everything to protect the freedoms we enjoy in the United States each and every day.

While our debt to them can never be fully repaid, it is our duty to fulfill the promises we have made to them. I have the privilege of serving on the Senate Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs Committees, where I have been working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advance legislation that will streamline and improve services for our military families. The Senate recently passed the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, which is a bipartisan bill that will improve the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It accomplishes this by further empowering the secretary to hold bad employees accountable for misconduct in the workplace and protect whistleblowers from unfair workplace retaliation and providing assurances to the many hardworking VA employees who are dedicated to the care of our vets. I was happy to cosponsor this legislation that will, when signed into law, remove some of the burdensome red-tape within the VA.

I have also been working on a few other bipartisan bills to improve veterans’ lives after they leave service and transition back into civilian life. The Veterans To Enhance Studies Through (TEST) Accessibility Act will make sure veterans aren’t forced to use up a full month of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits in order to be reimbursed for an inexpensive test or job certification. Under current law, vets are required to use a full month of their Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility to be reimbursed for licensing, certification and national tests, such as those required to be an athletic trainer, fire fighter or medical technician. This legislation would further empower and encourage veterans to use their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to increase their qualifications, which I hope will make veterans more successful when transitioning to civilian life.

I also introduced a bill with Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) to help veterans’ access to capital to start small businesses when their service is up. It would waive up-front fees for veterans who apply for the Small Business Administration’s Export Express, Export Working Capital and International Trade loans of $150,000 or less. This bill would simultaneously help veterans transition to civilian life and promote entrepreneurship.

Most recently, I introduced a bill to allow more flexibility in allocating Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to survivors of service members. The Increasing Transferability of Entitlement to Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Act of 2017 would allow survivors of deceased service members, who had Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits transferred to them, to reallocate those benefits to other designated survivors. I expect this legislation to help the families, who have made enormous sacrifice to our country, to use Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits more effectively amongst a family’s recipients.

These are just a few examples of the bills we are working on to improve the quality of life for veterans and their families. I will continue working with my colleagues in the Senate—on both sides of the aisle—to improve and streamline VA services for our nation’s veterans.  It is but one small way we can thank them for their service to our country.

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Regulatory Rollback
By Rep. Kristi Noem

The number of regulations coming out of Washington has plummeted under President Trump, providing much-needed relief to South Dakotans who have had to carry the burden of the Obama administration’s eight-year regulatory onslaught. In fact, between Inauguration Day and the end of May, the Trump administration has approved just 15 major rules, compared to 93 during the same period under President Obama.

At the same time, Republicans across the Executive and Legislative branches have worked together to repeal or delay more than 90 Obama-era regulations.  The administration has halted the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. proposal, for example, which would have been one of the largest federal land grabs in U.S. history.  We’ve also seen President Obama’s greenhouse gas regulations rolled back, which even he admitted would “necessarily skyrocket” costs for families.

Now more than ever, the federal government is trying to get out of your way.

I’ve worked to make sure Congress does its part as well. Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has the power to repeal certain regulations. While it’s only been used successfully once before, this Congress has gotten 14 Congressional Review Act resolutions signed into law, saving $3.7 billion in regulatory costs and 4.2 million hours of paperwork.

And our work continues.

In January, the House passed the REINS Act, a bill I cosponsored to stop the overreach of federal regulators. If enacted, any regulation with an economic impact of over $100 million would need to be approved by Congress through an up-or-down vote.  If this law was in effect for President Obama, more than 500 regulations would have been subject to a vote in Congress. The legislation is now on the Senate’s doorstep.

Then, earlier this month, we provided relief from the Obama administration’s Dodd-Frank Act. In 2010, President Obama led a 2,300-page rewrite of America’s financial laws. The legislation included more regulations than all other Obama-era regulations combined.  As a result, we’ve seen the “too big to fail” banks – who can afford the paperwork and expensive lawyers needed to navigate this regulatory maze – get bigger, while smaller financial institutions that had no part in the 2008 economic collapse have struggled.  In fact, in the wake of Dodd-Frank, we’re losing one community bank or credit union per day nationwide.

Instead of one-size-fits-all, government-knows-best regulations, we imposed the toughest penalties in history for financial fraud and ensured taxpayers won’t be on the hook for more big bank bailouts.  Additionally, we restructured the unconstitutional Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and repealed the Labor Department’s controversial fiduciary rule, which put new costs on retirees and limited their choices.  Finally, the legislation demands greater accountability and transparency from federal regulators by, among other things, forcing them to come to Congress for approval on all major regulations.

There is a lot that needs to be done to clean up Washington and eliminate the burdens it places on the American people. But by repealing unnecessary regulations and stopping bureaucrats from imposing additional burdens, it may be what Washington isn’t doing that is producing the most good for South Dakota.

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A Good Compromise On Nonmeandered Waters
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

For at least 20 years, the northeastern part of our state has been dealing with the issue of nonmeandered waters. For that entire time, the state has NOT been dealing with the problems that our laws have caused.

This issue arose during the 1990s, when eastern South Dakota received far more moisture than normal. Excessive rainfall created new lakes – called nonmeandered lakes – out of areas that once were farmland, pastures, small sloughs or other watersheds. Nonmeandered lakes come in all shapes and sizes, and offer varying degrees of recreational opportunities. Some, such as Cottonwood Lake in Spink County, are well-developed with several boat ramps and over 100 cabins and homes surrounding it; others may be only a couple of acres and a few feet deep.

As the waters of nonmeandered lakes expanded, so did their recreational use, much of which is tied to exceptional fishing in some of the new lakes. As fishing became more commonplace, so did conflicts between sportsmen and landowners. Complaints emerged about boat trailers blocking roadways, littering, noise and many others.

Unfortunately, our state laws surrounding nonmeandered waters have been ambiguous. While the public has a right to use the water, private landowners also have a right to control their property. Governors and legislators have tried several times to address these issues, but the many competing opinions and interests have made compromise impossible.

Ambiguous laws lead to litigation, and the courts have tried to resolve these ambiguities. But in South Dakota, our courts still understand that it’s not their job to write new laws – it’s their job to ensure the laws are properly and fairly enforced. The South Dakota Supreme Court made that abundantly clear in their Duerre v. Hepler decision this past March. In that decision the Court stated, “it is ultimately up to the Legislature to decide how these waters are to be beneficially used in the public interest.”

Our state legislators heard the Supreme Court’s message loud and clear and the Legislature promptly convened an interim committee to find a solution.

That committee acted quickly. Over the past six weeks, it held four meetings, toured areas inundated with nonmeandered waters, met with affected agricultural producers, sportsmen, and business owners, and heard testimony from over 70 individuals.

The committee was able to mold that mass of information and input into a compromise bill that balances the rights of landowners with the ability of sportsmen to use public waters for recreation. I applaud the efforts of the summer study committee and I support the bill. It will open tens of thousands of acres of nonmeandered waters to public recreation, while respecting the property rights of landowners. You can find it at sdlegislature.gov.

As I write this, I have called a Special Legislative Session for Monday, June 12, to address the recreational use of nonmeandered waters in South Dakota, and I am hopeful that we will finally resolve this issue for the betterment of our state.

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