Senate Democrats Vote to Expand Government Into Americans’ Backyards
“At the president’s urging, Washington bureaucrats have issued a rule governing Americans’ backyards without regard for the negative effect it has on communities that depend on the land.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after the Senate attempted to override the president’s veto of the Obama Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, which places burdensome regulations on farmers, ranchers, and businesses across the country.

“At the president’s urging, Washington bureaucrats have issued a rule governing Americans’ backyards without regard for the negative effect it has on communities that depend on the land. Unfortunately, rather than listening to the American people’s objections, the president and Senate Democrats have persisted in their efforts to expand the reach of the federal government. We will continue to fight this thinly veiled land grab this year and beyond.”

WOTUS is under fire from Americans across the country, who are pushing back against a rule that allows the federal government to regulate ponds, ditches, agriculture water, storm water, and other bodies of water not historically regulated under the federal Clean Water Act. In November 2015, the Senate passed a resolution of disapproval to overturn WOTUS, and 31 states have filed lawsuits against the rule. An October decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals extended to all 50 states an earlier injunction from a federal district court that blocked implementation in 13 states, including South Dakota.

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As I’m in the middle of rearranging a few things on the website in preparation of the election season, I wanted to take just a moment and remind you of the two groups of College Republicans who are raising money to help their membership attend CPAC in March.

The Augustana University College Republicans are at 52% of their $5000 goal as we come to the end of January. They have a huge group they’re trying to send, so click here, and add to the total to help get this very active group of CR’s there.

The University of South Dakota College Republicans are a beacon of conservatism in that liberal institution that wishes it could be as great as South Dakota State. They’ve raised $220 of the $1000 they’re trying to raise to send members of their organization to CPAC.  C’mon readers – we can do better than that! $1000 collectively isn’t that much – Click here and see if we can put them over the top.

Many of these students will be running Republican campaigns, if not running as candidates in the very near future. Help them with what they’re not getting in college – exposure to conservative values, and the opportunity to network with conservative leaders from around the country.

Rounds Supports New North Korean Sanctions

WASHINGTON— U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) cosponsored legislation to impose new sanctions against North Korean officials involved in nuclear program and proliferation activities, as well as human rights abuses.

“While much of our attention has been on conflicts in the Middle East, we must not forget the military aggression from North Korea, as well as their human rights violations,” said Rounds. “The North Korean regime continues to threaten the U.S. and our allies with violence, weapons of mass destruction and cyberattacks. Such actions must not be tolerated. Increasing sanctions will apply pressure on the North Korean regime.”

The North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act would:

• Explicitly state that it is the policy of the United States to pursue sanctions against the North Korean government in order to peacefully disarm the North Korean regime;
• Require the administration to submit a strategy to counter North Korean cyber-related attacks and impose sanctions on cyber criminals;
• Codify two executive orders released in 2015 authorizing sanctions against entities undermining U.S. and national economic security in cyberspace; and
• Require a report by the State Department identifying human rights abusers in North Korea and a report on their political prison camps.

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From KELOLAND:

The husband of former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Annette Bosworth has taken a deal and avoided jail time for charges related to his wife’s 2014 campaign.

Chad Haber appeared Wednesday at the Hughes County Courthouse. He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors related to not reporting criminal activity to authorities.

He was originally indicted on felony charges of perjury and offering false or forged instrument for filing.

Read it here.

So, all he had to do was to admit in some manner what he did was wrong, and he was allowed to plead it down to a misdemeanor?

Hmm….  Do you think that might have been good advice for his wife as well?

One of the legislative measures that have already proven to be controversial before it was finished has now been put in the hopper and given a number. House Bill 1067, as primed by State Representative Tim Rounds, represents the latest draft of the legislation as supported by Sanford Health Plans, who believes in a different interpretation than the one in State Law as passed by 2014’s Initiated Measure 17, otherwise known as the “Any willing Provider” act.

What are the differences between the draft measure we pointed out yesterday, and the one that was filed today?

The draft dated 1/7/2016 is titled “An Act to allow health care providers to offer plans that contain less than all of the health care providers on a panel of providers.”

House Bill 1067’s title is “An Act to promote quality, competition, and freedom of choice in the health insurance market place.”

Well… it’s a shinier title. But, with the exception of the new title, it would appear to be the same bill as circulated around previously.

The bill’s complete sponsor list is as noted:

Representatives Rounds, Beal, Conzet, Cronin, Dryden, Hawks, Hawley, Jensen (Alex), Otten (Herman), Partridge, Peterson (Kent), and Willadsen and Senators Peters, Buhl O’Donnell, Haverly, Rusch, Shorma, Solano, Sutton, and Tidemann.

Residency for the sponsors is heavily weighted in South Dakota’s urban areas, and politically, most, if not all, aren’t going to face tough competition at election time. No one is going to beat Tim Rounds or Deb Peters, or Arch Beal, or Larry Tidemann, etc.   Or, like Alex Jensen, and Angie Buhl, they’re sitting out the next election.

Although it was very interesting to see that State Representative Paula Hawks who is running for Congress has signed on as a sponsor to what may be one of the legislative session’s most controversial bills.  Her sponsorship is a wild card in all of this, given her high profile race for office in 2016.

Stay tuned. The wild ride of the 2016 legislative session is just starting.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve picked up a few new pins here and there, and today, I made a good raid on the local antique mall while on the way to pick up my daughter.   Today, I spread the sum total of my gatherings, as well as what I cleaned out of my truck, out on my desk:

There’s an Alick Kundert Skinny Cat Club Pin from her run for Governor. A great big Clint Roberts pin I hadn’t seen before, and a Nils Boe pin I hadn’t seen, as well as a few others I didn’t have. I’ve been trying to pick up some South Dakota presidential related pins, as they’re typically among the more rare ones

The thing I’m probably the happiest with was finding another three Mundt Morton Elephants for my collection.

There were at least two, maybe three produced for as many South Dakota candidates, and the Mundt elephants are by far the most plentiful.

I’ve got two varieties here (Mundt and Mundt, and GOP and Mundt). They were produced by the Morton Pottery company in the 1950’s, and they made them for primarily GOP candidates, although there were a few Morton Donkeys out there.

Handing out ceramic figurines to campaign supporters apparently went by the wayside in the 1950’s, but they’re still a nifty tchotchke for the campaign memorabilia collector.

 Thune: Child Nutrition Bill a Step Forward for Students in South Dakota

“This committee needs to ensure that common sense is applied regarding nutritional standards and that assistance is provided to those who truly need it.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, today expressed his support for the Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016, legislation to improve child nutrition programs, including school lunch. This legislation, which passed the committee by voice vote, would increase flexibility for South Dakota schools to continue to improve nutritional standards, while allowing them the time to make the adjustments needed to meet the standards that have been set for whole grains and sodium. It would also make changes to ensure that free and reduced meals make it into the hands of those who need them the most.

The legislation includes several Thune provisions that would better address the unique needs of Indian Country and its desire to include locally grown and traditionally prepared foods, which have a significant role to play in the education of Native American students. These provisions would bring needed flexibility and clarity for tribal schools.

You might notice that I’ve got a couple of ad spots that have opened up for new advertisers; One I’ve been assured is coming soon from a new advertiser, and another couple of them have been talked about.

If you’re interested in advertising space, on February 20th, aside from a few (as in very few) top level ad positions available, I will be opening up a chunk of advertising real estate where the Newsmax feeds are. These once held some interesting national political items, but they’ve now all become ads for age treatments and reverse mortgages. So I put in my notice that I’m reclaiming that space.

Otherwise, I’m more than pleased our current set of sponsors are going to be hanging around for a while. South Dakota War College continues to be the state’s longest standing and regularly published political website. And we’re not going anywhere for the forseeable future.

Unless I someday win the lottery. And then all bets are off.

Absent a massive financial windfall that would send me into hiding, we’re starting our 11th (wow!) year here at Dakotawarcollege, and we’re entering what should be an interesting election cycle, and the eyes of the politically active and community opinion leaders will all be pointed here in 2016 to this website as we see the elections for the state’s new set of political leaders.

Of course, after 2016, we start moving towards the big Kahuna – the slobberknocker of elections to end all elections (at least until another 8 years go by) – 2018, where our state’s political titans will be battling each other in political primaries.

And we could not do it without you, the reader. Thank you so much for your patronage, and for keeping a close eye on South Dakota Politics.

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About the Editor

Pat Powers is the editor & primary writer of Dakotawarcollege.com, and has been in involved in state Republican politics since 1988. in 2005 he founded the South Dakota War College blog, and since 2009 it has regularly been named by the Washington Post as one of the nation’s top state-based political blogs.  Pat is a veteran of numerous state political campaigns, including 2 gubernatorial contests.

 Rounds’ Easement Disclosure
Provision Included in Sportsmen’s Package

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today thanked his colleagues for their support after his amendment regarding easements was included in S. 659, the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act. Rounds’ amendment would require documentation that landowners have been fully informed of all of their conservation options—both termed and perpetual—when choosing to place their land in conservation easements. S. 659 passed out of the Senate EPW Committee this morning with Rounds’ support. It now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

“When entering into a conservation easement with the government, South Dakota’s farmers, ranchers and landowners should be made aware of all options available to them,” said Rounds. “Greater optionality for landowners will benefit everyone, and I believe it will result in greater public access to land. Giving landowners the option of entering into a termed, renewable contract for conservation easements will keep the landowners and federal government on equal footing.”

Rounds’ amendment includes language making sure there is documentation showing landowners were made aware they have the option of setting their land aside in an easement for a limited period of time. It will make sure landowners are aware of all their options and are not forced into making a decision that will lock their land into a permanent easement, preventing future generations from accessing it.

Thune Announces Launch of New Senate Website
New Look, Same Commitment to Serving South Dakotans

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today announced his Senate office has launched a new website that will make it easier for South Dakotans who need assistance navigating the federal government and its agencies to access important information and contact his office. The new site, which has a responsive design and is more user- and mobile-friendly, can be located at its previous domain name: www.thune.senate.gov.

“As chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, I understand how quickly the Internet is changing and how important it is to embrace that change,” said Thune. “I’m excited to launch this updated website that will simplify the process for constituents to contact my office and see what I’ve been working on in the Senate. We work hard to ensure that our physical Senate offices are welcoming, easy to locate, and provide the information our constituents want and need. The same should be done for our Senate website, and I’m glad we’ve achieved that goal.”

Thune’s website gives constituents an opportunity to email the senator, request help with a federal agency, request tours of the U.S. Capitol, White House, and certain other federal buildings in Washington, D.C., and request flags that have been flown atop the U.S. Capitol. Users who view the website can also read about legislation that Thune has proposed, view his Senate voting record, and connect with him on multiple social media platforms.

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