Johnson Applauds House Passage of Budget Resolution

 Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) released the following statement after voting to pass the budget resolution, unlocking the reconciliation process:

“Passing the budget resolution is a key step in the reconciliation process to extend Trump tax cuts, unleash American energy, and keep our borders secure,” said Johnson. “I was proud to vote YES to pass this legislation, allowing the Senate and House to work together to identify key reforms to ensure our federal government operates at its highest, most efficient capacity, and implement conservative policies.”

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Johnson Votes to Ensures Only U.S. Citizens Vote in U.S. Elections 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) voted to secure the integrity of American elections by passing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act to prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections. The SAVE Act requires proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.

“The requirement to be a U.S. citizen to vote in U.S. elections is commonsense,” said Johnson. “The SAVE Act strengthens election security by ensuring those who are not U.S. citizens do not have the opportunity to sway our federal elections.”

Johnson supported this legislation last Congress. After House passage, many states examined their voter rolls for noncitizens.

• South Dakota identified and removed 273 noncitizen voters.
• Virginia identified and removed 1,600 noncitizen voters.
• Alabama identified 3,251 noncitizen voters.
• Texas identified and removed more than 6,500 noncitizen voters.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act will:

• Require an individual to provide proof of citizenship in person when registering to vote in federal elections.
• Require states to remove non-citizens from existing voter rolls by providing access to existing federal databases.
• Add penalties for federal, state, and local officials who knowingly register non-citizens to vote in federal elections.

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Rounds Introduces Legislation to Expedite Use of AI Medical Devices for Medicare Patients
Bill would create a Medicare payment system for AI-enabled devices

 WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), co-chairs of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, today introduced legislation aimed at improving health outcomes for Medicare patients by encouraging the use of cutting-edge, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled medical devices. The Health Tech Investment Act establishes a consistent and predictable Medicare payment pathway for these technologies, providing patients with earlier and more accurate diagnoses.

“Medicare patients deserve access to the life-changing care that artificial intelligence-enabled devices can offer,” said Rounds. “There is currently no clear Medicare payment system for these devices, meaning that it can take years to be approved and paid out by Medicare accurately. This legislation would create that system, improving diagnoses and encouraging the adoption of AI devices in clinical settings.”

“I’m proud to cosponsor legislation that expands Medicare coverage of new technologies and helps New Mexicans get the best, most affordable high-quality care they need when they need it,” said Heinrich.

“Too often the prolonged pathway to coverage for medical devices and technology delays patient access to the critical care they need,” said Randall Rutta, CEO of the National Health Council. “This issue has intensified as the pace of innovation has increased. The National Health Council is pleased to support the Health Tech Investment Act to help patients gain timely access innovative health solutions.”

“Senator Rounds’ legislation to create a Medicare coverage pathway for AI-enabled medical devices will be an important development for cancer patients in South Dakota,” said Jane Veerman, an oncology clinical research nurse at Sanford Health. “Patients in rural regions of the country are too often the last to be able to access medical innovation since too many rural providers lack the resources to invest in innovative technologies. Senator Rounds’ bill would give Medicare patients certainty that their hospitals and physician offices would be reimbursed for investing in AI-enabled technologies and bringing them to patient care.”

BACKGROUND:

The use of AI in healthcare is quickly becoming the standard of care, with practitioners using algorithm-based healthcare services (ABHS) to detect and diagnose diseases sooner and advance better patient outcomes. The FDA has over 600 AI-enabled medical devices, but the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lacks standard or consistent methods for covering and paying for these products. This inconsistency will, in the long run, impact the adoption and patient access to medically appropriate AI technologies across the country.

The Health Tech Investment Act will assign all U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved AI-enabled medical devices to a New Technology Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) in the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) a minimum of 5 years so that adequate data regarding delivery and service costs is acquired before assignment of a permanent payment code.

Specifically, the Health Tech Investment Act would:

• Develop a formalized payment pathway for ABHS FDA-cleared medical devices
• Provide patients with access to innovative, AI-enabled clinical technology
• Provide manufacturers and providers with the certainty they need to invest in developing next-generation healthcare technologies and bringing them to market.
• Improve patient outcomes, providing resources for providers to meet ABHS standards of care

This legislation is endorsed by AdvaMed, Alliance for Aging Research, Brem Foundation to Defeat Breast Cancer, Focused Ultrasound Foundation, National Health Council, National Psoriasis Foundation, Patients Rising and Right Scan Right Time.

Click HERE to read full bill text.

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If you recall the post from a day or two ago, Brown County GOP announced that while the Governor is no longer attending, that they will have a formal candidate announcement.

I have been asked about this, and  I suspect that the announcement will be for a constitutional office. More specifically, I would wager it will be an announcement from Deputy Treasurer Jason Williams that he is seeking his boss’ office.

According to his bio on the South Dakota Right to Life Board of Directors, where he serves as a director of the organization,

Since 2019 Jason has served as South Dakota Deputy State Treasurer. Prior to joining Treasurer Josh Haeder’s team, he worked in a senior advisory/public relations capacity in the Secretary of State’s office. Jason was born and raised on the family quasquicentennial farm in rural Brown County twenty-five miles outside of Aberdeen.

Jason describes himself as “an environmentalist and has constructed a two-story straw bale building out of renewable and recycled materials” after graduating from high school, and since that time, he has been involved in several campaigns including the Rounds for Senate effort, where he servesd as Statewide Coalitions Director in 2013:

Today, the Rounds for Senate campaign announced that Jason Williams has joined the team as the Statewide Coalitions Director.  Jason has been active in statewide campaigns for nearly a decade and has extensive relationships throughout South Dakota at the grassroots level.

Jason’s experience also includes:
• Coalitions Director for Kristi Noem for Congress (2010)
• Statewide Campaign Coordinator for Steve Barnett for South Dakota State Auditor (2010)
• South Dakota Republican Party Victory Operation (2004, 2008)
• Three terms as Brown County Republican Party Chairman

“I believe strongly in Governor Rounds as a person and in his record as Governor,” stated Williams, “He has surrounded himself with one of the best, South Dakota-based campaign teams ever assembled.  I’m excited about his clear focus on running a strong, statewide campaign.”

Read that here.

Jason currently lives in Pierre with his wife and family.

Busy afternoon today!  Hot off the press – the Minnehaha County Republican Party has issued a censure against State Senator Tom Pischke for his on-line conduct:

Good Afternoon,

When I ran for Chairman of the Minnehaha County Republicans, I made a commitment to help restore constructive dialogue among all Republicans and to move forward together in a meaningful way.

At our very first executive board meeting, I introduced a Code of Conduct for consideration, which the board unanimously approved. I have since encouraged all members of the Central Committee to uphold these standards as well. While I may not have the authority to enforce the Code of Conduct on Central Committee members, I hold my executive board to a higher level of accountability.

With that in mind, I am informing the Central Committee today of a formal censure of our Minnehaha Committeeman, Tom Pischke. A recent Facebook post came to my attention that I believe was in violation of the Code of Conduct. I reached out to Senator Pischke and requested that he remove the post, which he did. However, the damage had already been done.

This action is not taken lightly, but it is consistent with our shared commitment to respectful and constructive engagement.

Sincerely,
Korry Petterson
Chairman, Minnehaha County Republicans

 

 

From Facebook, Representative Chris Reder is feeling a bit of heat on the residency questions he’s facing in his Legislative District, versus his apparent homestead in Minnesota, and offered the following in response.

However, with this being noted, It still leaves many questions dangling out there.

The property was purchased last July, and apparently includes a homestead exemption where someone has declared this as their primary residence.

And the corporate papers filed with the Secretary of State this past January say his address is Minnesota:

DTOM Foundation Paperwork B0345-5410 by Pat Powers

That being said, there appears to be some questions regarding where he’s established his residency that aren’t going away any time soon, especially considering that the property in another state is owned.

And he’s literally telling everyone that he’s just maintaining a leased space for a cot or a couch… apparently for purposes of voter registration.

I’m sure this isn’t done by any stretch of the imagination.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting today has a story up on how recent the anti-business sentiment of some South Dakotans has damaged the reputation of our state as being business friendly, into one where the door has slammed shut, and businesses are going to go elsewhere:

“The black eye that South Dakota has right now on Wall Street is immense,” said Gevo CEO Patrick Gruber.

He’s referring to HB 1052, a bill the Legislature passed prohibiting the use of eminent domain specifically for carbon oxide pipelines.

Gruber told SDPB if Summit Carbon Solutions’ pipeline doesn’t go through South Dakota, the company will move its plant to another state. This comes after Summit indefinitely paused its application in the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission.

He claims the way the state Legislature handled the pipeline sent ripples farther than Pierre.

“It’s perceived as not a business-friendly state [on Wall Street], changing the rules mid-stream,” Gruber said. “The stuff that’s been done around that pipeline, it’s a travesty.”

and..

Sen. Crabtree said anyone can claim the state is open for business, but to get a true gauge on it, you have to look at the businesses themselves.

“You can have politicians go ahead and play politics, but the facts are that businesses are telling you that they don’t like it when the state chooses overregulation instead of innovation,” Crabtree said.

and..

“I think about a lot of the community and state leaders, farmers and ranchers that have come before us, those that have worked really hard to make the state a better place than what they found it. And they were driven to create opportunities that kept young people in our state,” Crabtree said. “I think a lot of those folks are rolling over in their graves right now with what the Legislature did. Instead of clearing the way for businesses and employees to thrive, we spent the last session trying to pass laws and created more regulation, more bureaucracy, and even started picking winners and losers. I don’t think that’s something we should be proud of.”

Read the entire story here.

Attorney General Jackley Warns Phone Providers About Unlawful Robocall Traffic

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley joins a bipartisan group of 51 Attorneys General in notifying nine voice service providers that they may be violating state and federal laws by continuing to route allegedly unlawful robocalls across their networks.

“These companies allow scams of all kinds to be passed on to the public,” said Attorney General Jackley. “This activity has to stop, and the Attorneys General are working to help their federal law enforcement partners.”

The Attorneys General are part of the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force which sent the letters to the nine providers. The letters demand the providers stop transmitting illegal robocalls and includes information about the task force’s investigation and analysis of each provider’s illegal and/or suspicious robocall traffic.  

Companies receiving the warning letters were Global Net Holdings, All Access Telecom, Lingo Telecom, NGL Communications, Range, RSCom Ltd., Telecast Network, ThinQ Technologies, and Telecentris.

Copies of the warning letters are available here.

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The Minnehaha County Republican Party sent an e-mail out this morning and did a major information dump on it’s own County Central Committee Members. And some of it is very curious, as the P&L Statement they released indicates nearly $17,000 in campaign contributions to Political Action Committees and other entities taking place from January 1 through February this year.

MCR_P_amp_L_Q1_2025 by Pat Powers on Scribd

Here’s what this group is reporting that was spent at the first of the year:

$6k to the property rights group?!? $2500 to a Tonchi Weaver PAC (Citizens Action PAC) that was organized on December 2 – a month after the election.  $1500 to a Yankton area PAC, $2250 to the Alpha Center, $250 to a Drew Dennert PAC (Honest Leadership PAC) in Brown County, $1500 to the free-dumb caucus.  In fact, it looks like they were clearing out the checkbook as quickly as possible and sending it a lot of it elsewhere than to Minnehaha Republicans.

But that was only part of today’s information dump. The minutes were far more entertaining.

Minnehaha County Republicans Meeting 02272025 by Pat Powers on Scribd

Here’s where it gets funny, as apparently the Minnehaha County GOP didn’t just take minutes – if you scroll underneath that part, they actually transcribed about 80 pages of side chatter which ranges from backbiting elected officials and businesses to off the wall commentary .  And that’s just the start.  Here, they start backbiting at the Secretary of State:

Well, yeah, I mean, it’s. It’s just been unorganized for a very long time. Nothing against any of us at this table because I don’t think anyone’s just taking the time to do it like we talked about, just to make it just so that it’s easy to move it over.

The Secretary of State is just an absolute crap show.

Monet stuff.

Would you. So mlrw, they’re trying to get their paperwork caught up because it hasn’t been. And I mean, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not that big of a deal. But nobody at SOS can help. They’re like, we don’t know. You don’t need to. You don’t need to follow. It’s like, you know, okay.

It’s not like we’re going to get this bad.

She ran on knowing what to do. Monet.

Nice.  Here, it sounds as if board member Tom Pischke is participating on the meeting on the phone while going down the highway.

Okay, cool. Are you. Are you driving? I don’t necessarily. I mean, I want you getting into a car accident.

I’m. I’m driving. And being on the phone and talking on this. On this drive is a regular thing, so I’m just fine.

Yeah, I get it. But I don’t want to be the one that gets in trouble with Lisa’s.

No, I think you’re. Trust me, you’re okay. She knows that. I. I’m on the phone immediately, so.

Gotcha. Well, at least hopefully you got a headset on.

Yep, I got my earbuds in and I’m heading east. We’re still west of Chamberlain or west of Mitchell, but we’re getting there.

And they talk about having a conservative choice for a bank, and how the Boy Scouts “went stupid”:

Yeah. And then we’ll just. Are you just going to keep First Dakota? Yeah. Is that in Sioux Falls?

That’s the. The bank that I lobbied to move over to because they’re the ESG thing.

Yep. And they’re incorporated in South Dakota. They’re very conservative. Basically. The. The president of the bank said, it’ll be over my dead body or I’ll close the bank down before I’ll report information to the federal government. So. Plus they support a lot of conservative colleges around here.

Good to know.

Well, they were doing Boy Scouts until Boy Scouts went stupid. Right.

Not even Boy Scouts anymore.

And we find out they can’t do a Fundraiser offering USD tickets because they believe people hate the Coyotes:

I know Viking. I know Viking. Suites start at 10 grand.

It’s usually like 350 to 500 a person. But it’s unlimited food and drinks usually.

Should I drink a lot to hit 10 grand?  I mean I’m alive, but I don’t think I can get that.

Yeah, yeah. Because the stadium is so phenomenal. It’s got out of hand.

It’s crazy. It’s considered number one.

I was trying to think of what else we did.

We might be able to do something along those lines. Maybe with the jackrabbits. Can’t do the Coyotes for the hate.

Jeez. The coyotes aren’t all bad. I married one.

And, not just USD. Apparently the leadership of the Minnehaha Republican committee also has some issues with the new Lt. Governor.

Well, I’m just. At this point, I’m just making sure everybody’s aware that. That those bills are up Monday morning. So I. I am going to propose an amendment, but still going to vote probably against the bill because I. I think it’s the wrong thing to do. But my amendment makes it so that at least the pick for if the governor would have to pick who the lieutenant governor is on the petition process, because I believe the people of South Dakota, one way or another, should have a pick, a vote on who the lieutenant governor is, because that person is one heartbeat away from being their next governor.

So, yeah, that is going on there.

I’m definitely against it, even even with the amendment, from the standpoint that, yep. If he sits there and does what he did with Van Heisen, I mean. He could have. He could have somebody in the wings that we don’t. Or we think he’s going with this person, we vote him down.

And then the person in the wings is even worse.

Exactly.

Yep.

That. Bad idea. Yeah.

That frigging crap with Van Heusen is just.

Yeah, well, there’s a lot of inside baseball, inside politics with that pick, I’m sure.

Oh, yeah. I mean, Jack. That’s why Jack didn’t run. He knew he was going to be. Once Kristi moved on. He knew he had the job.

And there’s another 20 pages of this chatter.

Those are the inner transcribed workings of the Minnehaha Republican Central Committee.

And you wonder why the GOP Organization for the largest county in the state exists as it has for such a long time?

The Republican Roundtable group (not affiliated with the Minnehaha GOP) is hosting a panel of lobbyists and Governor Larry Rhoden today for lunch, as they provide a 2025 Legislative update for many of the young business leaders of Sioux Falls.

Check it out.