Something for Everyone in South Dakota
By Sen. John Thune

Every May, we recognize tourism in the United States and celebrate the many unique opportunities that are available for travelers from coast to coast. While my job sometimes requires me to spend time in Washington, D.C., away from the beauty of South Dakota, it does give me the chance to encourage people who have never been to our state to make their way to the heartland. I often hear, “South Dakota — I’ve never been, but I hear it is beautiful” or “That’s the state with the faces, right?” People not familiar with our state probably don’t realize that while Mount Rushmore is awe-inspiring and something that everyone should experience, our state has so much more to offer.

South Dakota has an incredibly diverse array of natural wonders and fascinating sites that offers something for everyone, from a large group getting ready for a family vacation to a couple retreating on their honeymoon to the lone traveler looking for adventure.

One of the easiest ways to get a taste of the state is to start your trip in Sioux Falls, travel along I-90, and end up in Rapid City. Sioux Falls is South Dakota’s largest city and is growing rapidly, but many agree that it has maintained its small-town feel. Must-dos include the falls, sculpture walk, and bike trails.

As you head west, you will be tempted to stop at almost every town and exit, as each place offers new and different charms. Whatever you do, you won’t want to miss the World’s Only Corn Palace in Mitchell. Check out the basketball court, corn murals, and don’t forget to grab a popcorn ball — they’re delicious.

As you cross the river from Chamberlain to Oacoma, you will catch one of the most beautiful views in the state. After taking in the beauty of the “Mighty Mo” as you cross the American Legion Memorial Bridge, you’ll see several billboards for Al’s Oasis telling you to stop and try the pie — and you should.

There are so many sights to see in western South Dakota as well. If the hundreds of signs advertising free ice water and 5-cent coffee don’t convince you to stop at Wall Drug, the giant dinosaur to the right of the interstate might.

The Badlands, Needles Highway, Sylvan Lake, Harney Peak, Bear Butte. Where do I even begin? The natural beauty of the western side of the state is unmatched. I recommend checking out as many of those places as you can.

And of course — Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore. Enormous, breathtaking sculptures captured for eternity in giant rock walls. Sights unlike any other. Crazy Horse, which pays tribute to the renowned Lakota leader, will be the world’s largest sculpture when completed. Meanwhile, Mount Rushmore pays tribute to four of our nation’s presidents.

I haven’t even mentioned one of the most important parts of South Dakota’s tourism— our Native American culture. The Senate recently passed my legislation, the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience (NATIVE) Act, which integrates tribally driven tourism plans nationally that will ultimately help grow local economies and encourage visits to Indian Country. The culture of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota nations is unique and rich, and everyone should take the opportunity to experience it.

To my fellow South Dakotans, you should all be proud of what makes our state the greatest in the nation. I hope you spend some time this year exploring parts of our state that you haven’t yet visited, or revisiting some of your favorite sites. You’ll be glad you did.

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Fact vs. Fiction: Congressional Pensions
By Senator Mike Rounds

 

I often have South Dakotans ask me if Members of Congress get special retirement benefits that other citizens don’t receive. This is largely due to myths and misinformation distributed over the Internet, which greatly distorts the truth about these benefits. Specifically, they ask if senators and representatives are exempt from Social Security and can retire after serving just a few years and receive their full paycheck for the rest of their life. The answer, simply, is no.

The first myth that Members of Congress don’t have to pay into Social Security is false. While it is true that prior to 1984 they didn’t pay Social Security taxes, they also weren’t eligible to receive Social Security benefits. Today all senators and representatives are required to pay them. The Social Security tax rate for 2015 was 6.2 percent of the first $118,000 of one’s salary, which is taken directly out of the paychecks of all Americans, including senators and representatives. Members of Congress are also subject to the same benefit eligibility and payment formulas as all other Social Security recipients across the country.

Another myth I hear is that when Members of Congress leave office, they continue to receive their same pay for the rest of their lives. This is also false. When Members lose an election, retire or resign from office, they no longer receive a salary, period. However, if they are eligible, they may receive benefits under the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS). FERS is the retirement plan offered to all federal employees in the United States and is made up of three components: a defined benefit plan, mandatory participation in Social Security and a defined contribution plan similar to a 401(k). The benefits offered through FERS are comparable to the retirement plans South Dakotans receive in the private sector.

Legislation passed by Congress in 2012 made additional changes to FERS for Members of Congress. According to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, the legislation decreased the benefit accrual rate for Members of Congress covered under FERS to make it equal to the accrual rate for all other federal employees. The previous pension plan was designed to provide a larger benefit for each year of service to Members of Congress—more than regular federal employees. Second, it required all Members, including myself, who pay into FERS to increase their contributions to 4.4 percent of their total pay.

So what does all of this mean in actual numbers? Today, for example, under the FERS retirement program, a rank-and-file 60-year-old Member of Congress retiring this year after 10 years of service, earning a $174,000 annual wage during his or her three consecutive highest earning years, would receive an annual pension of approximately $29,580. This doesn’t include deductions for federal or income taxes, but it may periodically include a cost-of-living adjustment, a common tool used to protect against inflation.

I hope this helps set the record straight for those who continue to hear myths about lavish retirement plans for Members of Congress. The truth is, our retirement plan is not much different from the retirement plans of other South Dakotans. And that is how it should be.

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Fostering Family
By Rep. Kristi Noem

When I was growing up, my parents did something pretty incredible – they opened our home and our family’s heart to a young child in need of a loving support system.  As much as we became a foster family to help change the life of a child, he also made an unmistakable impact on our lives.  From this experience, I learned about a different kind of compassion, understanding and resilience that I don’t know if I would have otherwise understood – especially from such a young age.  Still today, those lessons help inform how I raise my kids and how I serve South Dakota.

May is National Foster Care Month – a time to recognize the unique experiences of those who have been in foster care and to raise awareness about their needs.  It’s also an opportunity to celebrate the thousands of dedicated foster families, social workers, and service providers who support these young people each and every day.

At any given time, around 400,000 children live in foster care.  Each carries with them a unique experience and background – and a much-deserved need for a caring family to support them.

Sadly, life within the foster care system is difficult for many.  More than half of foster children experienced at least seven school changes while in the child welfare system. The instability has a tremendous impact on their education, health, and outlook.  It also puts these young people at a greater risk of falling into the hands of human traffickers.

Traffickers prey on children who are defenseless, vulnerable, and looking for love and a sense of belonging.  In 2015, recognizing that children within the foster care system carry many of the characteristics that traffickers target, we passed legislation to help protect vulnerable young people.  We gave states more resources and flexibility when it comes to developing and expanding comprehensive child trafficking deterrence programs.  We also provided more resources to train law enforcement officers and social workers on risk factors and intervention tactics.  It’s a start.

After transitioning out of foster care, not every child has the tools they need to be successful either.  In 2013, more than 23,000 young people “aged out” of the foster care system without a permanent family, and sadly, studies show these young people are much more likely to end up homeless, become involved in crime, or suffer from mental health challenges.

Every child deserves a safe, supportive and permanent family, so we must continue to work toward finding lasting homes for foster youth – either through reunification, kinship care, guardianship, or adoption.  That’s at least one of the reasons why I’ve sponsored legislation to help make adoption more affordable for families by ensuring every family can fully benefit from the adoption tax credit.

What’s really incredible to me is that despite the tough lives many children within the foster care system lead, their optimism and their resilience shine strong.  In fact, 70 percent of teens in foster care want to attend college.  Many have been through so much and still, they have dreams and hopes for the future.

Please keep these resilient young people in your prayers this month, and if you’re interested in becoming more involved, I encourage you to visit www.fosteronesd.org.

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Travel: Good For The Soul, Good For South Dakota
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

The late travel writer Eugene Fodor once said, “You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” Here in South Dakota, we think that’s especially true. Every year, our highways and Interstates are filled with people from every demographic looking for something new in South Dakota. And whether they’re lifelong residents or visitors from another country, everyone seems to find memories to last a lifetime courtesy of our beautiful state.

You don’t have to be rich to travel in South Dakota, but every penny spent on gas, lodging, food and souvenirs adds up to big impacts on the local and national economy. In the United States, travel is among the largest private-sector employers, supporting 15 million jobs in 2014. In 2015, traveler spending directly generated tax revenues of $141.5 billion for federal, state and local governments, including $270 million for state and local governments in South Dakota.

Because we share the beauty of our state with visitors from across the globe while keeping our economy strong, travel and tourism make for a win-win situation in South Dakota. We’re happy and thankful that others can discover what we’ve always known, that South Dakota is a land of infinite variety full of great faces and great places. We’re also grateful for the economic benefits that come from hosting our many visitors, allowing us to support essential services and programs throughout the state.

The benefits of travel and tourism are too many to capture in just one column. That’s one of the reasons I declared May 1-7, 2016, as National Travel and Tourism Week in South Dakota. As the week comes to a close, let’s recognize how much our tourism industry contributes to our state. Let’s also realize how fortunate we are to live in a place that people from all over the world come to see. Whether it’s the towering power of Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Crazy Horse Memorial or a good cup of coffee and piece of pie from a small-town diner, there’s always another place where you can find something new, unique and exciting in South Dakota.

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I’m done working this afternoon…

Deadwood Cinco de Mayo in case you’re wondering.

From the Argus Leader:

Brown, who had already endorsed Trump, was asked by the Boston Herald about whether he wanted to be Trump’s running mate. Brown volunteered Thune.

“I feel very strongly that John would be fantastic,” Brown said. “John’s from a smaller state but I don’t think states matter anymore. What John provides is he will carry the entire central part of this country, the left coast and the right coast, and he is that bridge to the establishment where he is so deeply respected on the left and the right, inside and out.”

and…

For what it’s worth, Thune didn’t endorse a candidate in the race for the GOP nomination.

And last year, GOP lawmakers in the Legislature did this to allow Thune to run for his U.S. Senate seat this year and be on a presidential ticket as well.

Read it here.

“Respected by the left and the right” sums up our senior US Senator, although the liberal extremists in the state Democrat party may disagree. We’d be well served to have him as our nation’s VP, although we’d hate to lose him here in SD.

Attorney General’s Response to Recommendation to Significantly Reduce or Decriminalize Controlled Substance Use in South Dakota

PIERRE, S.D.- Attorney General Marty Jackley responds to the Urban Institute recommendation that South Dakota reduce possession and ingestion of a controlled substance to a misdemeanor.

“As South Dakota’s Attorney General, I have and will continue to strongly support crime prevention efforts and opportunities to avoid incarceration when it does not place the public at risk, which includes drug and DUI courts and our state’s 24/7 Sobriety Program. I joined with our States Attorneys, Sheriffs, and Chiefs of Police to support Senate Bill 70 reforms, because it presented the opportunity with proper implementation to improve our justice system. However, any attempt to decriminalize or turn serious felony drug possession or ingestion into a low level misdemeanor would unnecessarily place the public’s health and safety at risk. The public would be better served by strengthening our prevention, enforcement and treatment efforts including focusing on a strong anti-meth and heroin campaign,” said Jackley.

“The further attempt to extend presumption probation to the more serious felony crimes in the wake of EB-5 and GEAR UP financial misconduct is similarly out of touch with what South Dakota must do to improve the public’s trust on conflicts-of-interest and government programs,” Jackley further stated.

“The vast majority of serious crimes committed in South Dakota are chemically propelled. Homicides, robberies, burglaries and numerous other felony offenses are driven by illicit drug use and addiction. Individuals that buy, sell, and use these drugs are dangerous. One can’t possess illegal drugs internally, without having previously possessed them externally. Individuals that have ingested these dangerous poisons are proven to be more of a danger to society than non-using individuals. Watering down our drug laws any further would have serious consequences to public safety and the quality of life in South Dakota.

I am adamantly opposed to decriminalizing drug use in the name of reducing prison populations and saving money. To do so, would lead to more serious felony offenses and be counterproductive,” stated Minnehaha County States Attorney Aaron McGowan.
South Dakota law enforcement continues to see an increase in drug activity in marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin and other controlled substances in our state that are often tied to violent crime. High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDT) numbers indicate that in 2015 9.023 grams of heroin was seized compared to the 30.89 grams seized in the first three months of 2016. Methamphetamine pounds seized has more than doubled since 2003 from 14 pounds to 31 pounds in 2015.

Violence associated with drug use affects public safety and extends to officer involved shootings. Since becoming Attorney General in 2009, Attorney General Jackley has investigated 24 officer involved shootings and of those, 12 subjects tested positive for either marijuana and/ or a controlled substance.

From Fox News:

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz cleared the path Tuesday night for Donald Trump to claim the Republican presidential nomination, suspending his underdog campaign following a crushing defeat in the Indiana primary – allowing the billionaire businessman to effectively leave the raucous primary behind and turn his attention squarely to the general election.

Read it here.

Thoughts?