Keeping Washington Out of South Dakota
By Rep. Kristi Noem
It never ceases to amaze me how far Washington wants to reach into our personal lives. I have always believed in a limited federal government – one that defers to the states and individuals to make the vast majority of decisions. But that isn’t the way Washington bureaucrats operate.
Most recently, the federal government attempted to micromanage how South Dakota 4-H formats its rodeo. All three of our kids competed in rodeo growing up, and I volunteered with the program for more than 16 years. When you’re part of rodeo, it’s clear the sport is heavily dependent on the skill of the contestants, but the inherent differences between sexes can have an impact on the winner in many cases. Nonetheless, the federal government sought to force “gender neutral” competition, putting political correctness above the rodeo experience for the kids involved.
After phone calls, texts, and letters to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Secretary Sonny Perdue, the agency finally listened to those actually involved, hit pause, and allowed South Dakota youth rodeo to continue to operate as it has for decades.
But this is just one example. A few years ago, the EPA considered regulating dust to the point that it would have been hard for farmers to dig their fields unless it had rained that week. In response, I introduced the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act, which passed the House and helped force the administration to reverse course.
In 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor handed down a new proposal that would have undermined traditional family agriculture. Many South Dakotans hire their nieces or nephews to help during the summer, but these requirements would have put new and unnecessary limits on what they could do. Safety on farms and ranches is imperative, but we need to have a commonsense approach to how we address the issue. I put pressure on the Department of Labor, and they withdrew their proposal.
A couple years later, OSHA tried to circumvent the law and regulate “post-harvest” activities, such as storage, fumigation, and drying. Once again, I pushed back. Under pressure, the agency revoked its guidance.
Career bureaucrats will always try to push the bounds of their authority, and if they succeed, individual liberty is often the price paid. I do believe the Trump administration understands this, and the willingness of Agriculture Secretary Perdue to listen to South Dakota rodeo families speaks volumes. In total, we’ve repealed more than 1,600 regulations under the Trump administration with more being rolled back each week. I’m hopeful the deregulation, coupled with historic tax cuts, is just the beginning of a shift to a smaller, more limited federal government.