Category: Uncategorized

It’s going to be quiet for a while, as I’m on the road to Pierre.

But hang tight- I’ll have some stuff for you shortly.

After Pressure from Noem, USDA Withdraws Portion of WOTUS Rule

Noem urges EPA and Army Corps to ditch the remainder of the rule

Washington, D.C. – Following pressure from Rep. Kristi Noem and others, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) withdrew the “waters of the U.S.” interpretive rule, a portion of the controversial expansion of navigable waters.

“The proposed expansion could be one of the largest federal land grabs in U.S. history,” said Noem. “I was thrilled to see that the USDA withdrew a portion of this proposal, as it unnecessarily introduced a high level of uncertainty. But we aren’t out of the woods yet. I will continue putting pressure on the EPA and the Army Corps to fully ditch the rule and move towards a policy that is workable for South Dakota farmers and ranchers.”

Last year, Rep. Noem helped lead the U.S. House of Representatives in passing bipartisan legislation to prohibit the EPA and the Army Corps from developing, finalizing, adopting, implementing, applying, administering or enforcing the proposed rule to or any similar rule that would expand the agencies’ jurisdiction over these waters. She 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.

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. She also questioned the USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at an Agriculture Committee hearing in June. Here, the Congresswoman raised concerns about the lack of clarity the interpretive rule would provide to producers and questioned why the administration is pursuing the rule when so many are opposed to it (watch the exchange here).

Rounds Cosponsors Obamacare Repeal Act

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today signed on to cosponsor legislation that would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The bill has 44 cosponsors.

“Obamacare isn’t working for American families, plain and simple. Now it’s our job in Congress to clean up the President’s mess,” said Rounds. “Premiums have skyrocketed for many and millions have lost their preferred doctor or insurance plan, despite promises to the contrary. Ideally, we will replace Obamacare with a market-based, patient-centered plan. Repealing and replacing Obamacare needs to remain a priority.”

The Obamacare Repeal Act fully repeals Obamacare effective 180 days after its enactment, and provides Congress and the states the intervening six months to develop and vote on patient-oriented health care reform that will incrementally unravel Obamacare’s structural damage to our health care system and economy.

Congress must demonstrate its commitment to reducing healthcare costs and empowering American families with better innovations that save and improve lives.

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Thune Statement on President Obama’s Budget

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) made the following comment on the president’s fiscal year 2016 budget proposal:

“While the president continues to cling to the same old failed top-down economic policies of spending increases and tax hikes, Republicans are focused on the future. Our budget will focus on growing the economy from the ground-up. Unlike the president’s budget, ours will balance and will reduce runaway spending and waste to make a more efficient, effective, and accountable federal government.”

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Noem Statement on President’s FY2016 Budget

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem today responded to the President’s release of his FY2016 budget proposal. Noem will be questioning the administration on the proposal Tuesday morning during a Ways and Means Committee hearing.

“Our country faces tremendous challenges and they require real solutions, not political rhetoric,” said Noem. “The President’s tax-and-spend budget proposal is nothing more than politics, which is extremely disappointing. South Dakotans deserve a genuine proposal that will fundamentally rebuild our economy from the bottom up, ensuring hardworking folks have the opportunities they need to achieve the American Dream.”

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What’s your spread for the Super Bowl tonight? No, not the point spread. Who cares about the game. It’s all about the food!

There’s 2 types of wings, jalapeño dip, chips, crackers, pigs in a blanket, and Cuban sandwich sliders at the Powers household, conveniently staged by the couch in the basement.

So, what have you got?

I still anticipate slow/light posting here at the SDWC for another few days with my computer on the fritz, as you can see in the picture to the left a multitude of disconnected hard drives, as I try to limp it along enough to do some basic posting.

I think I managed to salvage all of my design work files, but more importantly I salvaged about 275 gigabytes and over ten years of photos off of the drive giving me the most trouble.

So, bear with me. Parts start arriving tomorrow for a rebuild and upgrade, so I should be back up to 100% in short order.   (Just in time to do my taxes. )

From Fox News:

Mitt Romney announced Friday he will not run for president in 2016, after briefly flirting with a third White House run — a decision that only slightly narrows the crowded field of potential Republican candidates.

“After putting considerable thought into making another run for president, I’ve decided it’s best to give other leaders in the party the opportunity to become our next nominee,” Romney told donors on a conference call Friday morning.

Read it here.

If you notice site weirdness today, bear with me. I’m working on some optimization to improve site loading speed.