Category: Uncategorized

138 Thanksgivings Ago
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard: 

Linda and I are thankful for many things this year. We are thankful for our children and grandchildren, for the friends old and new we’ve made across the state, and for the opportunity to serve as governor and first lady.

I am also thankful for a Yankton dinner table conversation that took place 138 Thanksgivings ago. John Andrews recounted the story in a South Dakota Magazine article released prior to South Dakota’s 125^th anniversary of statehood.

A few of Dakota Territory’s most prominent leaders gathered around the dinner table that Thanksgiving Day in 1879 to do more than break bread. The home belonged to a local Congregational minister, Rev. Stewart Sheldon, and among his guests were territorial Gov. William Howard, U.S. Attorney Hugh Campbell, General William H.H. Beadle, Edward P. Wilcox and his brother-in-law Rev. Joseph Ward.

The conversation began around a school lands question. The men present wanted to ensure school lands would be valued and sold at a high enough price, at no less than $10 per acre. Some residents thought the land should be sold for $2.25 per acre to a large syndicate. This was of particular concern to General Beadle who was the superintendent of public instruction.

As they discussed the issue, the idea arose to divide Dakota Territory into northern and southern portions to protect the value of the lands, and to make the southern part of Dakota its own state. It is believed this was the conversation that sparked serious statehood efforts, as these men spent the next few years leading the movement.

Nearly 10 more years passed before South Dakota became its own state. It took three bills passed by the territorial legislature, two constitutional conventions, two votes from the people and two congressional bills. Finally, a newly-elected president with Republican majorities in Congress signed South Dakota into statehood. As Andrews noted in his article, the dinner discussion served as a catalyst of the statehood movement. As he put it, “We owe a debt of gratitude to the men who shared ideas around the Thanksgiving table and committed themselves to creating a new and better home.”

Considering where our state is today, I think that’s true. There’s no better place to live, work and raise a family. In fact, Site Selection named South Dakota as the number one state for achieving the American dream. With our low tax burden and reasonable regulatory environment, you can make a good living in South Dakota and you can rest assured that your tax dollars are being well managed. We have balanced the budget every year since statehood and our sound financial practices are affirmed by all three credit rating agencies, which have awarded us with AAA status. We also have a high quality of life: an abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities, safe communities, good schools and post-secondary opportunities, and clean air and water.

More than anything though, our state is made up of good people. South Dakotans are friendly, humble and hardworking. Here, we still hold open doors, say hello to passing strangers and shovel our neighbors’ driveways. For these things and for the individuals who made South Dakota what it is today, we have reason to be very, very thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving, South Dakota.

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Dusty Johnson Announces Record $500K Raised for Congressional Bid

MITCHELL, SD – The Dusty Johnson for Congress campaign announced raising a record breaking $500,000 in South Dakota’s Republican primary. The sum is more than has been raised by any non-incumbent at this stage in a congressional primary.

This announcement comes after Dusty Johnson received national recognition as “On The Radar” by the National Republican Congressional Committee as a part of their Young Guns program. The program identifies competitive campaigns based on certain performance metrics including fundraising.

“Thanksgiving has come early this year,” said Dusty Johnson. “We have been working hard to spread my positive message about improving our communities and infrastructure, taking power back from DC for South Dakota families, and finding a way to end the dysfunction in Washington. The level of investment that we have received thus far is proof that South Dakotans know that only I have the experience to make sure that Washington gets back to work for South Dakotans.”

Dusty Johnson grew up in a working-class family in Central South Dakota and graduated from USD Vermillion. A former policy staff member for Governor Mike Rounds, Dusty learned early on he had a passion for public service. After serving on the Public Utilities Commission, Dusty became Governor Daugaard’s Chief of Staff and helped lead the state out of a $127 million deficit. Dusty currently works as Vice President at Vantage Point Solutions in Mitchell where he helps telecommunications companies deploy fiber and broadband into rural communities.

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With Noem’s Leadership, House Passes Tax Reform Proposal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a landmark tax reform proposal, drafted in part by Rep. Kristi Noem. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which has found support from many South Dakotans, is expected to increase wages by 3.1 percent, add nearly 1 million jobs, and raise after-tax incomes by thousands of dollars, according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation. Meanwhile, the Joint Committee on Taxation found there would be “a tax benefit to all income categories.”

“I have worked hours going line by line through this legislation to make sure the policies contained in it are going to work for families, that they’ll increase wages for folks, and create more opportunity in America,” said Noem.

On the House Ways & Means Committee, which has primary jurisdiction over tax reform, Noem has championed many of the bill’s family-centered policies. Noem was vocal about the need to significantly expand the Child Tax Credit and led efforts to ensure the Child Care Credit and flexible spending benefits remained in the House proposal.

“I am extremely proud of the steps we’ve taken to strengthen families in this bill,” continued Noem. “South Dakota has the highest rate of working moms in the nation. Parents are already stretched thin, so the provisions in this bill are designed to help them – help them pay their bills, take care of their kids, go to work, and maybe at the end of the day, take a weekend where they can go and do something fun with their kids. That’s important to South Dakota.”

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also includes a handful of provisions Noem has previously introduced as stand-alone legislation. More specifically, the House tax reform proposal fully and permanently repeals the Death Tax by 2025, based on Noem’s Death Tax Repeal Act. Additionally, the bill excludes the Indian Health Service’s Student Loan Repayment program from tax, a provision that was pulled from Noem’s 2016 HEALTTH Act. Moreover, as one of the only members of the House Ways & Means Committee with a background in agriculture, Noem championed efforts to give farmers, ranchers, and small businesses better expensing tools and drive down the tax rate for small businesses.

“If we’re going to keep kids in South Dakota, we need to create opportunities in South Dakota,” Noem explained. “This tax reform package protects family farms from one generation to the next and makes it easier for South Dakota’s hardworking job creators to thrive.”

The Senate continues to debate their version of tax reform. Once passed, the House and Senate will go to Conference to merge the two documents before both chambers take a final vote and put the legislation on the president’s desk.

VIDEO STATEMENT

POLICY HIGHLIGHTS

Simplifies the tax code so an individual or family can file their taxes on a form as simple as a postcard.

Significantly lowers individual tax rates to Zero, 12%, 25% and 35%, while also nearly doubling the standard deduction to $24,000 for married couples and $12,000 for single filers. High-income Americans will maintain the 39.6% rate.

• 0%: Married couples making less than $24,000 / Single filers making less than $12,000 (the increased standard deduction protects these families from taxation)
• 12%: Married couples making $24,000-$90,000 / Single filers making $12,000-$45,000
• 25%: Married couples making $90,000-$260,000 / Single filers making $45,000-$200,000
• 35%: Married couples making $260,000-$1,000,000 / Single filers making $200,000-$500,000
• 39.6%: Married couples making more than $1,000,000 / Single filers making more than $500,000

Provides unprecedented support for families after strong leadership from Noem on the issue:

• Increases the Child Tax Credit to $1,600 per child (60% larger than under current policy).
• Eliminates the “marriage penalty.”
• Creates a new Family Flexibility Credit, which provides a credit of $300 for each parent and non-child dependent.
• Preserves the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (also known as the Child Care Credit) to better support working parents.
• Allows unborn children to be named beneficiaries of 529 education savings plans

Phases in full and permanent Death Tax Repeal by doubling the Death Tax exemption levels for the first seven years and then fully repealing the Death Tax by 2025. The provision is based on Noem’s Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017.

Preserves and strengthens the Earned Income Tax Credit with provisions to stop widely reported fraud. 

Gives support at important milestones in life:

• Preserves the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction for existing mortgages and maintains the home mortgage interest deduction for newly purchased homes up to $500,000.
• Retains popular retirement savings options, such as the 401(k)s and IRAs.
• Streamlines higher-education benefits.

Excludes the Indian Health Service’s Student Loan Repayment program from tax to help in recruiting. It’s based on Noem’s HEALTTH Act. 

Continues the deduction for charitable contributions.

Allows businesses to immediately write off the full cost of new equipment, which is critical for South Dakota’s agriculture community and was a priority Noem made known during Ways & Means Committee debates.

Creates opportunities to create more jobs and raise wages.

• Creates a separate and historically low small business tax rate.
• Lowers the corporate tax rate to a globally competitive 20%.

If you are seeing a couple of errors here and there on the website, I’d just ask you for your patience.

Nothing is wrong, but I’m doing some long overdue chores on the back-end of SDWC to coincide with the latest WordPress update that came out today.  A plug-in stopped talking to the server, and I’m trying to fix a mobile app that talks to the website for posting thats been broken for a while. I’ve been putting it off, but I’m making another run at troubleshooting.

Noem Pushes for Tax Reform Passage ahead of House Vote

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem spoke on the House floor this evening, urging her colleagues to vote in favor of the House tax reform package she helped draft. Noem pointed to key provisions she’s helped champion, including lower tax rates, a dramatically expanded Child Tax Credit, the Child Care Credit, and the repeal of the Death Tax. The House is expected to vote on the legislation Thursday.

South Dakota’s senior US Senator John Thune spoke yesterday about how Republicans are including Obamacare’s individual mandate repeal in the tax reform package….. well, because it’s a tax:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday that the Senate tax bill will include language to repeal ObamaCare’s individual mandate, which could make it tougher for moderate Republicans to support.

Conservatives led by GOP Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Tom Cotton (Ark.) pushed hard to include the provision, which would eliminate the federal penalty on people who do not buy health insurance. President Trump has also pushed for the provision to be part of the tax bill.

and…

Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the Senate’s No. 3 Republican, told reporters there has been a whip count and he is confident Republicans can pass a tax bill that includes a measure to repeal the mandate.

Thune said a compromise bill negotiated by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), aimed at stabilizing ObamaCare markets, would be brought up separately. That bill funds key payments to insurers for two years in exchange for more flexibility for states to change ObamaCare rules.

and…

Thune said that repealing the individual mandate would be germane.

“My understanding is the individual mandate is a tax collected by the IRS,” he said.

Thune also said the Alexander-Murray bill would be brought up separately, while the bill’s GOP sponsor, Alexander, said that his legislation to temporarily stabilize the ObamaCare insurance marketplace “seems to be an indispensable companion to repeal of the individual mandate.”

Read it here.

From Twitter:

Read my full statement on CFPB Director Richard Cordray's decision to step down by the end of the month. pic.twitter.com/IMzR9fF7OD

— Senator Mike Rounds (@SenatorRounds) November 15, 2017

Noem Discusses the Impact of Faith during National Bible Week

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In celebration of National Bible Week, Rep. Kristi Noem spoke on the House floor about the impact of faith in her life, as a mom, a citizen and a policymaker. This week marks the 76^th annual National Bible Week.

Noem describes growing up in a church-going family and sharing that faith with her children. She also explains that “so many times, people try to navigate policy debates … by fighting to change another person’s mind.” Instead, she argues, policymakers should seek to change people’s hearts.

Hot off the press from the Hill, Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has been hindering lenders in America from serving consumers through draconian regulation, (and is the subject of multiple lawsuits for operating in an unconstitutional manner) has announced his resignation from the agency:

The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced his resignation Wednesday, giving President Trump the chance to reshape an agency that has long been the target of Republican ire.

Richard Cordray expects “to step down from his position here before the end of the month,” he wrote in an email that was sent to CFPB staff.

and..

Cordray’s departure came as welcome news to his detractors, who called for sweeping changes at the bureau under the next director.

Hensarling said “we are long overdue for new leadership at the CFPB,” which he called “structurally unconstitutional and completely unaccountable to the American people.”

“The resignation of the Bureau’s director is an excellent opportunity to enact desperately needed reforms,” Hensarling said. “Properly designed and led, it can truly protect consumers by ensuring they have access to competitive markets that are vigorously policed for fraud.”

Read it here.

With the departure of the director, this would be a great opportunity for President Trump and Congress to rein in the rogue agency, and place it back within constitutional authority.

From Twitter:

The individual mandate is an unpopular tax from an unpopular, unworkable law. We’re glad to see the Senate #taxreform bill eliminates the individual mandate in its latest draft. pic.twitter.com/F2NcAjitqy

— Senator Mike Rounds (@SenatorRounds) November 15, 2017