Category: Uncategorized

Undoing the Obama Legacy of ‘Government Knows Best’
By Senator Mike Rounds

It has been three months since President Trump took office with a Republican-led Congress in place ready to help him advance policies that grow our economy and allow hardworking Americans to keep more of their paycheck each month. Almost immediately, we have been delivering on that promise by undoing a number of Obama-era regulations, regulations that take much-needed capital away from families and small businesses. Under the Congressional Review Act, the Senate has passed 13 resolutions undoing Obama-era regulations. The savings that come from undoing these regulations, combined with the president’s executive actions and formal rule delays, will save Americans more than $65 billion total in regulatory compliance costs and roughly 52 million hours of paperwork annually, according to the American Action Forum.

For example, we have been able to reverse the Obama administration’s education mandate, which would have imposed federal education standards on how to assess schools at the state and local level. We also stopped an Obama regulation that would have imposed burdensome new restrictions on internet service providers that did nothing to increase privacy protections for consumers.

In all, the Senate has passed 13 bills undoing Obama-era regulations under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), an important oversight tool that allows Congress to undo federal regulations issued by unelected bureaucrats at federal agencies. We expect to use the Congressional Review Act to undo even more regulations in the near future, further delivering on our promise to provide regulatory relief to the American people, who are currently saddled with $1.9 trillion in regulatory compliance costs each year.

The Trump administration has also been busy using the tools available to it to undo burdensome regulations. It put a halt to the overreaching Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps to review the WOTUS rule to make certain it promotes economic growth and minimizes regulatory uncertainty. This is a victory for South Dakota farmers, ranchers and landowners who would otherwise be forced to spend countless hours filling out paperwork to get permits from the EPA and Army Corps just to conduct normal agricultural activities or spray for weeds along our county roads.

The administration was also able to stop the Obama administration’s costly Clean Power Plan, which would have required states to completely rework their electric grids and led to dramatically higher electricity bills for every single American in the country. It also reversed a harmful regulation known as the “fiduciary rule” that would have negatively impacted South Dakotans saving for retirement by limiting the availability of retirement investment advice.

I’m the first to admit that not all rules are bad – some rules are necessary for government to operate in an orderly fashion and to keep Americans safe. But too much regulation is costly and stifles innovation. Under the eight years of the Obama administration, Americans saw an unprecedented amount of new rules and regulations issued by unelected, unaccountable Washington bureaucrats. In 2016 alone, the last year he was in office, the federal register which prints all the new rules being promulgated surpassed 97,000 pages, by far an all-time record. This is unacceptable and unsustainable.

At the end of the day, overregulation hurts families the most because they are the ones forced to pay more for goods and services. As the 115th Congress moves forward, I will continue working with my colleagues on ways to provide regulatory relief for South Dakota families and businesses.

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Protecting Life
By Rep. Kristi Noem

I still remember the first time Bryon and I heard our oldest daughter Kassidy’s heartbeat. There was no baby bump – yet. No baby clothes in the closet. No name picked out. I’m not even sure how many people in our family knew we were expecting at that point, but with the rapid, muffled thuds of our baby’s heartbeat in the background, we knew our lives were already changed.

I believe every life, including an unborn baby’s life, has dignity and value.  But more than 40 years ago, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in direct contradiction to those principles. In the decades since, I – along with many in South Dakota – have been fighting to undo the damage.  While there’s still a long way to go, we’ve recently taken some meaningful steps forward.

President Trump came into office with a promise to nominate a Supreme Court Justice who would protect the constitutional rights of the unborn.  I’m hopeful the confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch fulfilled that promise and I was glad to see him take the Oath of Office this April.

Days later, the president signed H.J.Res.43, which empowered states to defund abortion facilities, like Planned Parenthood. Now, states can instead choose to use this money to support non-abortion-providing clinics that offer greater accessibility and a broader range of preventive health care services to women.

In South Dakota, there are more than 100 federally qualified health centers or rural health clinics that could benefit from these funds, but only one Planned Parenthood center. To say that we must fund Planned Parenthood or deny thousands of women care is a false choice. We can support women’s health – and specifically, health care for low-income women – without supporting abortion providers. I was proud to cosponsor this legislation, which notably doesn’t take a penny from women’s health initiatives, and was thrilled to see it earn the president’s signature.

But more must be done.  Time and again, Congress has opposed taxpayer-funded abortions with bipartisan support.  Annual provisions, including the Hyde Amendment, have been passed repeatedly, saving an estimated 2 million innocent lives.  Even with this provision in place, however, Obamacare has allowed your tax dollars to flow to over 1,000 abortion-covering health plans.  That’s unacceptable. We need to make the Hyde Amendment permanent and government-wide. The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which I cosponsored and the House passed, would accomplish that.

Additionally, I’m working to protect doctors, nurses and others who don’t want to participate in abortions. In some cases, these individuals have faced discrimination and retribution for sticking to their principles. That shouldn’t happen. I’ve cosponsored legislation to protect these individuals and I’m fighting to see it pass the House and hopefully be signed into law soon.

Bryon and I knew our lives had changed when we heard Kassidy’s heartbeat for the first time and I hope she knows just how proud we are of the generous, compassionate person she’s become. She’s grown up quickly and I love to think back on those days when I was still taller than her.  We read a lot together back then.  One of our favorites was Dr. Seuss’s “Horton Hears a Who,” which reads, in part: “A person is a person no matter how small.”  Each time we read that line, I’d think back to those first muffled thuds.  “A person is a person, no matter how small.

Earth Day: A Time To Celebrate SD’s Farmers And Ranchers
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard: 

In 1973, a woman by the name of Beverly Gabriel decided to leave her profession to get back to her roots. She had received a teaching degree from Black Hills State University a few years earlier and had taught in Rapid City and Wyoming. Her parents were growing older and it was becoming difficult for them to manage their two operations in separate parts of the state. When Bev’s father approached her about managing Blue Bell Ranch near Clear Lake, she readily accepted.

The year Bev took over Blue Bell Ranch she met Herb Hamann, who was out deer hunting with his brother. Herb saw Bev standing near the gate to her property and his brother introduced the two of them. Two years later, the couple married and began to jointly run Blue Bell.

Today, Bev and Herb continue to operate Blue Bell Ranch with the help of their children Breck and Arla. They’ve multiplied their land operation by almost eight times and they’re regarded by their friends and neighbors as being honest in their business dealings. The Hamanns are also known for their conservation practices.

Each year around Earth Day, the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association, South Dakota Grassland Coalition and Sand County Foundation bestow the Leopold Conservation Award^® upon a farming or ranching family for outstanding natural resources conservation leadership. The award is named for conservationist Aldo Leopold.

This year’s Leopold Conservation Award recipients are Herb and Bev. They demonstrate their deeply-held conservation ethic by taking voluntary action to improve the health of the land and habitat that sustains wildlife. The Hamanns have developed diverse native vegetation on the land, and they graze their cattle in a manner that considers ecological impacts to accommodate wildlife needs at critical times, such as nesting.

No one understands the importance of being good stewards of the land better than our farmers and ranchers. Their livelihoods depend on it. Because the vast majority of land in our state is privately owned, conservation efforts employed by those in agriculture are integral to the quality of our natural resources.

I thank the Hamanns as well as every farmer and rancher who is committed to improving the natural resources in their care. Their efforts ensure the preservation of our natural resources for generations to come.

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Sorry for the delay in posting these, but I had an open house yesterday, followed by a trip to pick up some camera equipment I bought (I’m always interested in Nikon stuff), as well as picking up and delivering signs. And then it was time for prom.

Suffice it to say, I had a busy Saturday.  But, I did get some of the processing work ahead of time, so I can get these posted without further delay:

Here’s US Senator Mike Rounds speaking with State Senator Larry Tidemann immediately prior to the meal…

SDGOP Chair Dan Lederman watches as the ceremony kicks off..

Here, my graduating senior and Teenage Republican Sydney is called on to give the Pledge of Allegiance before the meal.

Master of Ceremonies and Congressional Candidate Dusty Johnson addresses the large crowd…

And it was a large crowd….  They ended up adding extra tables which were quickly filled.

Congressional Candidate & Secretary of State Shantel Krebs is at the podium, where she gave her talk, and introduced her husband, Mitch.

Here Senate President Pro Tempore Brock Greenfield laughs at one of the speakers’ jokes..

Attorney General and GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Marty Jackley addresses the group …

…as does Congresswoman & fellow Gubernatorial Hopeful Kristi Noem (Whom I got a chance to sit down with earlier in the day)

Senator Tidemann presented Brookings Co GOP Chair Jim Gilkerson with a well deserved award for his work for the party.

I had more than one State Official comment to me how well the dinner was ran this year, noting it has been the best one they’ve been to, and I’d agree. It was nice and tight, timewise, and you didn’t start looking at your watch wondering when it would be over.

Afterwards, the candidates milled around and spoke with the crowd..

And another great Republican event is put to bed!

 

Stu Whitney’s big Huether interview is up at the Argus, and apparently Mike Huether thinks a lot about Mike Huether.

Ever since he was easily re-elected in 2014 and saw term limits looming next year, speculation has raged about Huether’s next move. When the longtime Democrat announced at a December press conference that he was registering as independent, it seemed a calculated move to trumpet his moderate credentials in a heavily conservative state.

The 54-year-old Yankton native admitted in a wide-ranging interview this week that South Dakota governor, not Sioux Falls mayor, is his ultimate dream job, and the one he first considered before running for City Hall.

And…

The problem, of course, is that the last non-Republican elected South Dakota governor was Dick Kneip nearly half a century ago. Huether is well aware of that historical hurdle and may lean toward a 2018 bid for U.S. House, a race in which voters have been more willing to stray from partisan norms, especially without heavyweight GOP contenders in the hunt.

“When you look at races where you can ultimately succeed and make a difference, the strategists and odds makers will tell you that the U.S. House race is the one that holds the most potential for me,” says Huether, stopping short of referring to Republican candidates Dusty Johnson and Shantel Krebs by name.

And…

“There are people who have known Mike Huether for a long time who still don’t know what drives him,” says Hildebrand, who has been mentioned as a possible Sioux Falls mayoral candidate. “Some might argue that he’s been a strong leader, but saying ‘my way or the highway’ is not being a strong leader. That’s being a strong dictator.”

And..

“Running for statewide office as an independent is a very bad idea,” says longtime Democratic political figure Drey Samuelson, who served as Johnson’s chief of staff for nearly 30 years. “What a Huether statewide race would do would be to divide Democrats and independents, and almost certainly elect the Republican nominee.”

Another option, with many of the same hurdles, would be to challenge a possibly vulnerable Rounds for his Senate seat in 2020. Huether could also choose to make another run at Sioux Falls mayor in 2022.

Read it all here.

Huether thinks he can run and win with no organization… And Huether, a former Obama delegate, thinks he has a path to victory by being third man against what will certainly be two major party candidates in any race after abandoning his former party? 

Two words…. Larry Pressler. 

Here’s a little chart from Wikipedia how that race turned out:

Pressler HAD some loose infrastructure, some loyal former aides, and some loyalties from former voters who remembered him. And he was a former Republican.

Huether? Aside from his massive ego and serving as mayor in his own dictatorial fiefdom in Sioux Falls, Huether is saddled with his former association with the Democrat party and Barack Obama in the state that was among those that detested the former President the most.

Not only is that dog not going to hunt now or anytime soon, but Republicans would salivate at stripping the bark off of him in a statewide race; Governor, Congress, or whatever.

Bring it on.

Are South Dakota Democrats saying it is time to dump Tornburg? (Or maybe we call it the “Ban Ann” movement.) 

Either way, it appears that the SDDP is going to be voting on bylaw changes to be offered at a meeting next week to trigger a new election for democrat state party chair. And if it passes, the vote will be the very same day.

The SDDP will hold a state Central Committee meeting in conjunction with the dinner. Constitutional amendments, which could lead to an election of state party officers at this same meeting, have been introduced. To quote from a letter from Rachelle Norberg summarizing the proposed amendments, “One of the most important changes in the proposed amendment is the moving of State Officer elections to a spring window on odd-numbered years, typically held at the same time as the McGovern Day fundraiser. If passed, this change causes an election of new officers to be held April 29th, 2017. Please ensure all potential officer candidates are given adequate notice to the best of your ability”

There could be fireworks at the Central Committee meeting, folks!!! Rumor has it that Paula Hawks wants Ann Tornberg’s job.

I am not a big fan of the current SDDP Chair, but a snap election, initiated in this manner, with almost no notice, seems deeply arrogant on the part of the conspirators and very wrong-headed. This appears to be a palace coup by Powers behind the throne. Changing one Queen for another is not progress even if the new Queen would be substantially taller. Change requires changing the Powers that be.

Read it here at the Sioux Falls Drinking Liberally group.

Sioux Falls Drinking Liberally is noting that it seems that the people who put Tornburg in power simply want to switch the bobble head on the mantle from Tornburg (who did an awful job on the state elections) to Hawks (who ran an awful Congressional campaign) without changing the awful campaign philosophies that have kept the SDDP in the doldrums for close to a decade now.

With their ED abandoning ship, it’s probably a convenient time to “Ban Ann” as well, but if the SDDP continues in not registering voters and blowing money on petition campaigns instead of candidates, nothing is going to change – especially at a time when the Democrat party is viewed as drifting farther and farther to the left, and away from mainstream South Dakota. (Having Keith Ellison as their big dinner speaker underlines that point.)

And all of this democrat drama will be taking place in the shadow of the South Dakota Republican Party Freedom Rally in the hall next-door.

When your kids are cleaning up a ditch, painting their faces and listening to speakers proclaiming earth day, you might want to consider the hippie liberal co-founder of the annual event…..who murdered his girlfriend and stuffed her in a trunk:

Ira Einhorn was on stage hosting the first Earth Day event at the Fairmount Park in Philadelphia on April 22, 1970. Seven years later, police raided his closet and found the “composted” body of his ex-girlfriend inside a trunk.

And…

It wasn’t until 18 months later that investigators searched Einhorn’s apartment after one of his neighbors complained that a reddish-brown, foul-smelling liquid was leaking from the ceiling directly below Einhorn’s bedroom closet. Inside the closet, police found Maddux’s beaten and partially mummified body stuffed into a trunk that had also been packed with Styrofoam, air fresheners and newspapers.

After his arrest, Einhorn jumped bail and spent decades evading authorities by hiding out in Ireland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and France. After 23 years, he was finally extradited to the United States from France and put on trial. Taking the stand in his own defense, Einhorn claimed that his ex-girlfriend had been killed by CIA agents who framed him for the crime because he knew too much about the agency’s paranormal military research. He was convicted of murdering Maddux and is currently serving a life sentence.

Although Einhorn was only the master of ceremonies at the first Earth Day event, he maintains that Earth Day was his idea and that he’s responsible for launching it.

Read it all here.

“Happy compost your loved one” day!

Sioux Falls Man Charged with Terrorism Threat

PIERRE, S.D.– Attorney General Marty Jackley and Lincoln County State’s Attorney Tom Wollman confirm today that Ehab Abdulmutta Jaber, 45, Sioux Falls, has been arrested by the Sioux Falls Police Department and charged with one count of terrorist threat, class 5 felony, punishable by up to 5 years in the state penitentiary and/or$10,000. During a search of Jaber’s residence law enforcement seized firearms as well as methamphetamine.

Charges stem from an alleged incident on April 9, 2017, involving Jaber at a hotel in Sioux Falls. He was observed to have been videotaping an ongoing event with his cell phone and carrying a handgun. He was escorted out of the event, but later was found to be live streaming terrorist threats to the public and brandishing a number of firearms and ammunition.

Jaber is presumed innocent until such time as proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Sioux Falls Police Department and being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office and the Lincoln County State’s Attorney. The possession of methamphetamine case is being prosecuted by the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney.

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If you recall when I was out in our nation’s Capital a week or so ago now, I had attempted to visit with Congresswoman Kristi Noem as my first stop, but the weather interfered.  I was three hours late flying in, and Kristi was 12 hours late flying out (Luckily, none of us met the same fate as others flying United), and I was unable to catch up with her.  However, her Deputy Chief of Staff/ Communications Director offered to try to put us together in-state before she headed back.

This morning, I was fortunate enough to catch Congresswoman Noem for coffee in-between stops on what seemed like a frenetic run up and down I-29 today, where she was flanked by her chief of staff and long-time confidante Beth Hollatz. (I brought my #4 Daughter Sydney, because I think it’s a good thing for her to see that she could be in Congress or higher someday herself).

Kristi had been in Sioux Falls, had meetings in Brookings, another in Watertown after our discussion, hoped to catch a bit of her son Booker’s sports activities, and was then back to Brookings for tonight’s Lincoln Day Dinner  (Whew!)

Since her time was limited, I jumped right in asking about what was currently going on for work with the Ways and Means Committee, the panel which Congresswoman Noem was appointed to by Speaker Paul Ryan with her most recent term of office.

Kristi noted that much of the current workload of the Ways and Means committee was working on the tax credit portion of the health care bill, with various parties and areas of interest all weighing in, such as the Speaker Ryan, the White House, the Freedom Caucus as well as “the Tuesday Group” of Congress.

Kristi stated that “the White House is concerned with Tax Reform first, but Congress wants Obamacare first.” Much like Senator Thune had noted when I spoke with him, Kristi reiterated that it’s important that the work with Obamacare be completed prior to broad tax reform, as it affects two trillion in budget dollars.  If it can be resolved, then there’s a hope that tax reform can be close to being revenue neutral.

It’s not a leap of faith to say that taxes are a big topic of discussion in Washington and the Congresswoman remarked that we need to become more competitive on a worldwide basis, as One of the challenges we face is that America has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world.

She also highlighted the balancing act the committee must do, as “the Ways and Means committee are looking at lowering rates down to 20% for corporations and 25% for small business… but the White House is talking about pushing it down even further,” which opens up questions about pushing rates down past what’s necessary to pay for the Government we currently have. Congresswoman Noem pointed out that we “can’t afford only to pick around the edges on tax reform, but we still have to keep government funded.”

Kristi noted that this White House is aggressive when it comes to tax reductions, putting everything on the table, and even mentioning an across the board flat tax as one possible proposal.

Congresswoman Noem reflected that while it may seem like there’s a charged atmosphere in Washington these days, she find that these are “exciting times.. and better now than back when she started, with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in charge.”

With time running short, I did make a point to ask her about her campaign for the Republican nomination for Governor where she’s set to face Attorney General Marty Jackley, as well as potential others, and she seems to be enjoying the campaign trail. She remarked that “with primaries, you’re running against a person who you agree with 80-90% of the time, and you’re trying to draw a difference based on those few items of disagreement, as well as the difference in backgrounds.”

It’s clear Congresswoman Noem is passionate about her work, and it’s demonstrated by her commitment to South Dakota, and her ability to deliver for the state on such important things such as the Farm Bill, as well as a myriad of other successes.

The challenge now is translating that into a successful campaign for Governor in 2018.

Attorney General Explanation Released for Initiated
Measure Regarding Same-Sex School Facilities

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today an Attorney General Explanation for a proposed initiated measure has been filed with the Secretary of State. This statement will appear on a petition that will be circulated by the sponsor of the measure. If the sponsor obtains a sufficient number of signatures (13,871) by November 6, 2017, as certified by the Secretary of State, the measure will be placed on the ballot for the November 2018 general election.

The measure is entitled “An initiated measure requiring people to use certain rooms designated for the same biological sex.”

Under South Dakota law, the Attorney General is responsible for preparing explanations for proposed initiated measures, referred laws, and South Dakota Constitutional Amendments. Specifically, the explanation includes a title, an objective, clear and simple summary of the purpose and effect of the proposed measure and a description of the legal consequences. The Attorney General Explanation is not a statement either for or against the proposed measure.

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Attorney Generals Statement for Initiated Measure.same-sex School Facilities by Pat Powers on Scribd