Category: Congresswoman Kristi Noem

Do More with Less
By Rep. Kristi Noem
April 24, 2015

This March, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen admitted that the IRS planned to ignore more than 60 percent of taxpayers’ phone calls during tax season.  The statistic in and of itself is infuriating, but the decisions that led to this “abysmal” level of customer service, as Commissioner Koskinen called it, are inexcusable.

On April 22, the House Ways and Means Committee, of which I am a member, released a report showing the IRS deliberately diverted funding away from customer service – a decision that left millions of taxpayer questions unanswered.

More specifically, the IRS collects nearly $500 million in user fees each year.  The agency has the flexibility to use this money as it sees fit.  In FY2014, the IRS spent 44 percent of the user-fee account – or about $183 million – on customer service. These numbers are similar to previous years.  But in FY2015, the agency expects to spend just 10 percent of the account on customer service – or $49 million.  That’s a 73 percent reduction in one year.

Hardworking taxpayers deserve an answer from the IRS as to why the agency diverted so much funding away from serving taxpayers.  I took it up with Commissioner Koskinen at a recent hearing and he responded by alleging the IRS’s poor customer service was Congress’s fault, as we had cut the IRS’s budget.

It amazes me that in the past the IRS has found millions of dollars to spend on extravagant conferences, training videos, and a Star Trek parody video while also dedicating countless resources to targeting organizations based on their ideology, but when it comes to customer service, the agency can’t find the funds.  Yes, Congress scaled back the IRS budget, but those cuts have been reflective of the IRS’s waste and abuse of your taxpayer dollars.

Ultimately, I’d like to see a tax code that is much simpler – a tax code that wouldn’t require tens of millions of Americans to dial up the IRS for help filing their taxes on time.  But until we can simplify the tax code, the IRS needs to reassess its priorities.

Across the country, families are doing more with less.  Yet the IRS Commissioner brazenly said the IRS has “no choice but to do less with less.”  I see it differently.

Just weeks after his appointment, Commissioner Koskinen reinstated a generous bonus program within the IRS that costs taxpayers $60 million a year.  Additionally, IRS employees spend 500,000 hours – worth around $20.7 million in staff time – on union activities each year and the agency used $2.1 million to hire an outside law firm even though it has a legal division staffed with tax lawyers.  Had the IRS not wasted this money and continued investing user-fee dollars into customer service, the agency could have answered 25.9 million more calls from American taxpayers.   But its leadership chose differently.

The IRS needs to get its priorities straight.  Taxpayers must come first

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Noem’s Anti-Trafficking Legislation Passes Senate

Washington, D.C. – Representative Kristi Noem today applauded the U.S. Senate for passing a sweeping anti-trafficking package, which includes legislation the congresswoman authored to help ensure shelters and facilities looking to provide housing for trafficking survivors have access to critical funding, among other things.

“Trafficking victims and survivors have been exposed to the worst of humanity,” said Noem.  “We have a fundamental responsibility to protect these young people, and when such efforts fail, we must help intervene and assist victims in the healing process.  I’m hopeful my legislation and the additional provisions passed by the Senate today will help facilitate prevention, intervention and recovery efforts to protect those involved or at risk of becoming involved in this criminal industry.  I applaud the Senate for today’s step forward.”

Rep. Noem’s language was first introduced as the Human Trafficking, Prevention, Intervention and Recovery Act in 2014. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives in both 2014 and 2015, but was not taken up by the Senate until now. The Congresswoman’s legislation takes a three-pronged approach in combatting human trafficking:

• Improves existing Department of Justice grants, ensuring the grants support shelters for survivors.  Currently, there are just 200 beds available in the United States for underage victims.
• Launches a review by the Interagency Task-Force to Monitor and Combat Traffickingthat will look into federal and state trafficking prevention activities.  The review will be done in consultation with nongovernmental organizations and will work to identify and develop best practices to prevent trafficking.
• Requires an inventory of existing federal anti-trafficking efforts by the non-partisan Government Accountability Office to make sure all federal agencies and programs work together and that federal resources are being targeted where needed.

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Taxing Tragedies
By Rep. Kristi Noem
April 17, 2015

When I was 21 years old, I got a call late one afternoon from Joanie, who worked with my family on our farm. She said, “Kristi, your dad is stuck in a grain bin.” I knew instantly what she meant by that. I told her to turn on the fans and I was on my way.

By the time I got there, neighbors and friends had taken payloaders and ripped down the grain bin trying to find him. When they finally did, they started doing CPR. I followed the ambulance to the hospital with my family and the doctors fought to save him for hours into the evening. After he passed away, I remember opening the door to the little room they’d kept our family in and there was a crowd of people standing in the emergency room. It wasn’t just a tragedy to me and my family. It was a tragedy to our entire community. Their support is something I’ll never forget.

We were a family that grew up with a man who could do anything. To me, he was invincible. It was impossible to imagine how we were going to pick up the pieces.

My dad’s number one dream in life was to pass his family farm onto us kids. That’s why he got up at 5:00 almost every morning. He wanted to give us the opportunity to farm together, if we wanted to.

Shortly after the accident, my family got a letter from the IRS telling us that we owed the death tax because we had experienced a tragedy. We could see that we had land that my dad had started buying while he was still in high school and land that my grandpa had bought. We had cattle. We had machinery. And we had a family that needed to make good decisions.

What we didn’t have was enough money in the bank to pay the IRS the death tax. All I could hear in my head was my dad saying, “Kristi, don’t sell the land. God isn’t making any more.” We were fortunate to get a loan. It kept our family’s American Dream going, but it also impacted nearly every decision we made for a decade.

I have never understood why the federal government thought it was appropriate to go after families with this double tax – especially in a time of crisis. My dad had already paid taxes on the equipment, the land, and any other assets. Now, we had to pay taxes on it again because he had died. It’s not right.

On April 16, the House passed a full and permanent repeal of the death tax – the first time we had done so in a decade. The administration has already threatened to veto it if the Senate decides to put it on his desk, however, which saddens me. No family should have to go through what ours did.

Through the death tax, the IRS is jeopardizing the American Dream for just two days’ worth of government spending each year. They’re doing so at a time when a family is still grieving and trying to figure out how they’ll move forward without this person in their lives. It’s wrong and I’m committed to repealing it.

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Noem Helps Lead House on Permanent Death Tax Repeal

Washington, D.C. – Representative Kristi Noem today helped lead the House in passing a full and permanent repeal of the death tax with bipartisan support.  Noem’s family farm was hit by the death tax after her father passed away.

“Shortly after my dad passed away in a farming accident, my family got a letter from the IRS telling us that we owed a tax because he had died,” said Noem.  “I have never understood why the federal government thought it was appropriate to go after families with this double tax – especially in a time of crisis.  My dad had already paid taxes on the equipment, the land, and any money we had in the bank.  Now, we had to pay taxes on it again because he had passed away.  It’s not right.  No family should have to go through that.  I am committed to repealing the death tax and today we took a big step toward accomplishing that.”

A member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Noem joined Reps. Kevin Brady (R-TX), Sanford Bishop (D-GA) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) in introducing H.R.1105, the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015, on February 26, 2015.  The bill fully repeals the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes – more commonly known as the “death tax.” The legislation will now be sent to the Senate.

Watch Rep. Noem’s Powerful Testimony on the Death Tax
(Ways and Means Committee Hearing, 3/25/15)

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An early fundraising report out of the Noem camp informed me this morning that South Dakota’s Republican Congresswoman took in more than $360,000 for the quarter; resulting in raising her cash on hand to $1,040,000 – officially moving the needle past that million cash on hand figure.

But there’s more to it. According to a post election story:

The result, he said, is her campaign finished with $800,000 in remaining cash and “is well-positioned to surpass” $1 million by mid-2015. All of which seems like a message to any possible challengers considering 2016: I am ready and waiting.

Noem anticipated passing the million mark by the second quarter.

And that didn’t happen. She did it in Q1, fully three months ahead of schedule.

Taxed If You Do, Taxed If You Don’t
By Rep. Kristi Noem
April 10, 2015

When Benjamin Franklin said “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” I don’t know if even he knew the extent to which that would become true in America.

After the President’s health care law was enacted, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the mandates were in fact taxes on hardworking Americans.  The most notable tax included was a tax on those who don’t have health insurance, but over the next few years, another tax will come into play: a tax on those who do have insurance.

It’s called the health insurance tax – or HIT.  The President’s health care law included an annual multi-billion-dollar “fee” on health insurance companies, the costs of which will largely be passed directly on to consumers to the tune of $350 and $400 per year for a family plan.

Earlier this month, I met with local small businesses – many of whom helped pay for their employees’ health coverage long before the President’s mandates went into place.  Now, they’re wondering how they can afford to continue providing it.  Then again, they can’t afford not to either.  One employer told me:  “We can’t afford the insurance.  We can’t afford the fine [if we don’t provide insurance].  And so, if we have to cut them to 30 hours, for them that means what?  A third job?”  He didn’t see that as a good option either.

These taxes have real-world implications on small businesses, on families, on folks’ financial independence. That’s something the administration doesn’t seem to understand.

Over the last few years, Congress has passed and the President has signed nearly a dozen reforms to the health care law that give people some relief.  I want to do all I can to continue offering that relief, keeping in mind that my ultimate goal is to replace the President’s health care law with a patient-centered approach.

Currently, much of the focus centers on an ongoing Supreme Court case, King v. Burwell.  As written, the law only provides subsidies to those who purchase insurance through state-run exchanges.  But only 14 states opened their own exchanges.  The other 36 states, including South Dakota, use the federally run exchange.

Through regulations, the IRS made the subsidies available to everyone who purchased health insurance on an exchange – regardless of whether it was a state- or federal-run exchange.  The question before the Court now is whether the IRS broke the law in doing that.  If the Court rules that they did, millions could lose the financial assistance they’ve been getting from the federal government to help pay for health insurance.  The loss of that subsidy could undermine the President’s health care law, requiring that it be replaced.

A final decision will be issued by the Supreme Court in June, but Republicans in Congress are working on an alternative now.  I’m hopeful this will allow us to move quickly and purposefully if the Court rules against the President.

Regardless of what happens in King v. Burwell, this debate is not over.  I will remain committed to protecting hardworking taxpayers from the President’s health care law, which taxes you if you do and taxes you if you don’t.

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Unlocking Leadership
By Rep. Kristi Noem
April 3, 2015

President Ronald Reagan once said, “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things.  He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”

Leadership isn’t about you.  It isn’t about being loud or a showman.  Leaders don’t look for credit; they find victory in creating a meaningful change.  They unlock opportunities for those around them.  They start each mission by listening and learning.  They tap into the potential of others and focus it on a common goal, a worthy purpose.

On April 8, I will hold my second annual Lead Now! Youth Leadership Conference for high school juniors and seniors.  Here, students from across the state will have the opportunity to learn from those who help unlock South Dakota’s potential – in everything from science to academia to social media and more.

What impresses me most about each of this year’s speakers is their proven ability to inspire other people to do great things.  Each leads by building, rather than destroying – and that’s a much needed example of leadership in today’s culture.

Our Founding Fathers did the same thing.  Colonial leaders didn’t inspire Americans by focusing on a defeat of the British; they asked the American people to fight for freedom, independence, and representation – principles that still inspire Americans to do great things today.

Consider the Declaration of Independence.  Yes, it contains a long list of grievances against King George that made clear what the American people were against at the time, but few of us could recite more than one or two of those grievances today.  Instead, we remember – and many can still recite – the sentences our Founding Fathers chose to begin that document: “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Inspired leaders – including the leaders who will be presenting to students at the Lead Now! conference – focus attention on the values they fundamentally support, whether it’s greater equality through social media, opportunities for South Dakotans in science, or the pursuit of happiness.

Our state and our country will face some tremendous hurdles in the coming years – hurdles that could define a generation.  We will need strong leaders who look beyond their own capabilities and wrangle the potential of others in our community and our country – leaders who focus on building, rather than destroying – leaders who recognize that the greatest leader is one who gets the people to do the greatest things.

My hope is that the Lead Now! Youth Leadership Conference plays a role in inspiring our next generation of leaders.  I wholeheartedly believe South Dakota’s young people carry with them great potential.  Once it’s unlocked, I know they can change our world.

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Noem Urges USDA & HHS to Base Food Guidelines on Nutrition, Not an Environmental Agenda

Washington, D.C. – In a letter to the Secretaries of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) Tuesday, Reps. Kristi Noem, Vicki Hartzler and more than 65 other Members of Congress urged the agencies to base upcoming food guidelines on nutrition factors, not an environmental agenda.  The congressional attention was sparked after the administration revealed it was taking a food’s carbon footprint into account when developing recommendations for new dietary guidelines – the first time such considerations have been made in U.S. history.

“The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Council has no business entering into environmental activism,” said Noem.  “The new environmentally friendly nutrition guidelines would largely leave meat – especially beef – out of what is considered to be a healthy dietary pattern.  This is not based on the work of nutritionists or epidemiologists, but the belief that the carbon footprint left by animals is too large.  It’s a misguided approach to nutrition that undermines the trust folks put into these recommendations.”

Every five years, USDA and HHS review the dietary guidelines for American food consumption. The new report recommends what should be included in the final dietary guidelines that will be issued later this year.  Once approved, the guidelines will be used as an educational tool and to help develop federal nutrition policy.  Today’s letter raises concerns that the report exceeds its Scope of Work by straying from purely nutritional evidence and venturing into areas like sustainability and tax policy.  It also highlights concerns that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Council, which is responsible for drafting the proposed guidelines, may have subjectively hand-picked data to support pre-determined conclusions when making dietary recommendations for the report.

“The USDA is currently accepting public comments on these new guidelines and I encourage you to participate,” continued Noem.  “Just visit www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines and submit a comment by midnight on April 8, 2015.”

Scroll down for a full copy of the letter.

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March 31, 2015

The Honorable Tom Vilsack
Secretary
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, D.C.  20250

The Honorable Sylvia Mathews Burwell
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, D.C.  20201

Dear Secretaries Vilsack and Burwell:

We are writing today to express our sincere disappointment with the recent report issued by the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) and certain recommendations for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA).  The DGA play a critical role as the scientific basis for federal nutrition policy development and form the basis of Federal nutrition policy, education, outreach, and food assistance programs used by consumers, industry, nutrition educators, and health professionals. Therefore, it is essential that the DGA be based on sound nutrition science and not stray into other areas outside of this specific discipline.

However, after reviewing the DGAC report that was released February 19, 2015, we believe that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee greatly exceeded their scope in developing recommendations for the Secretaries of USDA and HHS to the detriment of the American diet. It is the responsibility of the Secretaries to ensure that this advisory committee stay focused on nutritional recommendations and not the wider policy realm of sustainability and tax policy, in which members of this committee had neither expertise, evidence, nor charter.

We are disappointed with reports from observers that the approach of the 2015 DGAC suggests studies were either selected or excluded to support pre-determined conclusions.  For example, the DGAC’s recommendation on lean red meat directly contradicts years of peer reviewed scientific research on the benefits of lean red meat as a high quality source of protein in a healthy diet.  It is crucial for HHS and the USDA to recognize the need for flexibility in the American diet that reflects the diverse population of this country.

It is extremely difficult to reverse or change public policy, once enacted, without causing consumer confusion. Inaccurate and conflicting dietary guidance messages are detrimental to consumer understanding of nutrition and the ability to build healthy diets. At a time when consumers are already subjected to conflicting and often contradictory nutrition and health information, providing the public with science-based, realistic and achievable information is more likely to contribute to improved public health outcomes.

We encourage you to focus the development of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines based on a “preponderance” of current scientific and medical knowledge and to ensure that the 2015 DGA are irrefutably science-based, consistent with advice from other federal agencies, and are communicated in terms easily understood by the public.

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Setting the Priorities
By Rep. Kristi Noem
March 27, 2015

One of my favorite authors, John Maxwell, wrote: “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.”  On March 25, the House passed a reform-minded and conservative budget that will serve as an outline of where your tax dollars should be going – and to be clear, I believe more of those dollars should stay in your pockets.

The budget we passed was put together under one assumption:  The money being used to formulate this budget is not the federal government’s; it’s yours.  Therefore, we ought to spend every dime budgeted responsibly and respectfully – as if it was our own – free of waste, fraud, and abuse.

With that in mind, the House budget would eliminate $5.5 trillion in spending over the next 10 years, allowing us to balance the budget within the next decade.  Those are big cuts, but we have a big budget that has grown increasingly out of control and stands in the way of a healthy economy.  We need to create economic opportunity, achieve genuine accountability and make the bold choices that are necessary to get more control over this budget.

Unlike the President’s budget proposal, which calls for a $3.5 trillion tax hike without ever balancing, the House’s budget is balanced without raising taxes.  Rather than increasing your taxes, it begins to lay the groundwork for a fairer and simpler tax code that could lower your annual tax bill, enabling you to keep more of your hard-earned dollars at home instead of in Washington’s pockets.

While spending has been cut, we’ve continued to make investments in areas that the federal government has a legitimate responsibility to do so.  For instance, we increase defense spending above the President’s levels, ensuring our men and women in uniform have every piece of equipment and knowledge necessary to successfully take on threats from the Middle East and elsewhere.

Conversely, in areas where control rightfully belongs in the hands of states or local communities, we introduce new limits on the federal government and even repeal programs that the federal government has no business managing, including the President’s health care law.

These are our priorities and this budget will serve as an outline for the House to follow as we fund the federal government for FY2016.  It’s an important mark to make.

Both the Senate and the President have put out their own budget proposals.  While the President’s budgets have always included higher spending and additional taxes or fees, the House has leveraged its conservative budgets time and again to get spending cuts for hardworking taxpayers.  Since I’ve been elected, we’ve been able to eliminate $165 billion in spending, which are the most significant reductions in modern history.  We’ve also enacted the largest deficit control bills since 1981 – with no new tax increases.  It’s progress, but we’ve got a long way to go to achieve a government that is effective, efficient and accountable.

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