BIG Investments
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
August 16, 2024
BIG Update
South Dakota received a presidential disaster declaration for the historic flooding in the southeast portion of the state. Twenty-five counties have received disaster assistance from FEMA and four of those counties qualify for individual assistance for residents and business owners. This is great news for recovery and rebuilding efforts after many homes and buildings were destroyed.
In the aftermath of the flood, I joined Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds in sending a letter to support Governor Noem’s disaster declaration request. I’m glad the President approved this request.
BIG Idea
Project labor agreements (PLA) are a contract between the federal government and construction companies about how workers will be handled on the job site. Recently, President Biden published an executive order that federal construction projects worth more than $35 million use a project labor agreement. These require a union to be involved, which proves difficult in South Dakota because most of the contractors in the state aren’t unionized.
Requiring unionized contractors would mean construction workers at Ellsworth Air Force Base or other projects in South Dakota have to find workers from out of state. This will cost taxpayers more, hurt our state’s economy, and hurt the readiness of our base.
I’m opposed to this rule and have been working to prohibit requiring these project labor agreements on federal construction projects. To learn more, watch KOTA’s story about the roundtable here.
BIG News
What was once a gold mine is now a scientific data mine. At the site of the old Homestake mine, a mile below ground, the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), in partnership with Fermilab and the Department of Energy, is searching for answers to questions we might not even have yet.
For three years, construction and excavation teams have worked to remove 800,000 tons of rock to create a cavern the size of eight soccer fields. Excavation is officially complete, bringing SURF one step closer to beginning research on particles called neutrinos that can hopefully give insight into big questions about our universe.
It was phenomenal to see the facility. I look forward to the great economic impact this will have on our state and to learning what the scientists will discover.
