The shadow campaign for Gov 2018 keeps bubbling under the surface.

@SoDakCampaigns

As I poke at the Democrats for having absolutely nothing in 2016, because yhey offer the real possibility of no  contested statewide races; I keep hearing more and more on a couple of the players in 2018 as they attempt to move the chess pieces around on the table to try to start the game in their own favor.

From the reports I’m getting, Marty Jackley and Mark Mickelson are the most active, as they’re going around talking to people & asking for their support.  I had the second or third recent report of them making the rounds.

And as I’m told in a case or two they’re also trying to draw people away from the other guy.

While they’re doing this, Kristi Noem has her nose to the grindstone, and is worrying about her upcoming 2016 Congressional race.

With all this early jockeying, what I think would be really interesting is to find out where people are today on their commitments.  Are they a firm yes, and they’re willing to put their name on the dotted line and say “yes, I’m on team ____.” Or is the support of those elected officials that the candidates seem to covet far more elusive at this point?

Anyone care to make their declaration?

Rounds Opening Statement at Subcommittee Hearing on Management of EPA, Fish and Wildlife, Chemical Safety Agencies

@SoDakCampaigns

Rounds Opening Statement at Subcommittee Hearing on Management of EPA, Fish and Wildlife, Chemical Safety Agencies

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight, today provided the following opening statement at a hearing entitled “Oversight of the Management of the Federal Environmental Protection, Chemical Safety, and Fish and Wildlife Agencies.”

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

The Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight is meeting for the first time today to conduct a hearing on “Oversight of the Management of the Federal Environmental Protection, Chemical Safety, and Fish and Wildlife Agencies.  I’d like to thank our witnesses, Inspector General Arthur Elkins of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall of the Department of the Interior for taking time out of their schedules to be with us today.

I am honored to be chairing this Subcommittee in the 114th Congress with my friend from Massachusetts, Senator Ed Markey, as Ranking Member.  As Subcommittee Chairman, I plan to conduct thorough oversight over the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior.  The Inspectors General from these Agencies can and should serve as a resource for these reviews and today’s hearing serves as a starting point for this Oversight plan.

Inspectors General are tasked with independently conducting audits and investigations relating to agency actions and programmatic mismanagement.  Not only are they an asset to Congressional oversight, but their recommendations are effective at correcting mismanagement, waste, fraud, and abuse, at the EPA and Department of the Interior.  It is essential the Inspectors General view Congress as a partner in this oversight process.

Throughout this Congress we will be focusing chiefly on good governance and making certain the agencies are operating transparently, responsibly managing taxpayer dollars and working to achieve their core missions without the regulatory overreach so prevalent in agency actions today.  More than ever we are seeing agency regulatory regimes expanding federal jurisdiction beyond their statutory limits, encroaching into private businesses, landowner’s rights, and the States’ ability to manage and regulate the environment and land within their own borders.

Additionally, the EPA and the Department of the Interior are moving forward with implementing major environmental regulations impacting every sector of the U.S. economy and affecting hundreds of thousands of American jobs.

We must make certain that the regulations these agencies implement are being written in an open, transparent process that allows for full public participation taking into account all views regardless of the agencies’ notions of their goals.  The EPA and Fish and Wildlife Service owe it to the American people to not only provide a thorough, transparent and honest analysis of how regulations will affect them but also to base these regulations on the most current and reliable economic data and sound science.

Notably, these IG’s have conducted recent investigations on mismanagement of the Chemical Safety Board, grant management, and administrative management issues.  I look forward to hearing a review of the work the IG’s have done regarding management of the EPA, CSB, and Fish and Wildlife Service along with an update of the reviews the IG’s are currently undertaking.  Again, I’d like to thank our witnesses for being with us today and for presenting their testimony.

###

Don’t forget that the Dems are featuring one of the biggest liberals in the country to South Dakota for their dinner.

@SoDakCampaigns

Remember last month how South Dakota Democrats announced that DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) will be their speaker at this year’s McGovern Day Dinner this weekend? Announced it as in “sort of.” Because they were pretty quiet about it.

Why would they be quiet about it?

Well….  This is the same Debbie Wasserman Schultz who was reported to have prepared to attack President Obama as anti-woman and anti-semitic if she ousted her as DNC chair.

And, this is the same Debbie Wasserman Schultz who was recently caught wheeling and dealing with a mega-donor in return for a switch in her position on medical marijuana.

Let’s not forget that this is the same Debbie Wasserman Schultz who went way over the line in attacking Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on women’s issues, saying the Republican “has given women the back of his hand.”

So, what are your thoughts? With those qualifications, is she an all-too-appropriate spokesperson to help South Dakota Democrats?

Legislator wonders where the media hysteria was when we went to 75 mph

@SoDakCampaigns

New Legislator John Wiik was one of those who voted to put the speed limit to 80 mph as part of the highway plan. But he was a bit taken aback at the media hysterics over what is a small part of the measure:

I never would have imagined the complaints that came from that what I imagined as a minuscule change.  TV stations talking about truck tires that fail at 72–where was that report when the speed limit was raised to 75?  I understand the concerns, but South Dakota is not alone–we are now the 5th state with a top interstate speed limit higher than 75.  Texas is testing an 85 mph road.  The nice thing about a speed limit is that it’s a top end limit.  If you’re not comfortable above 70, drive 68.

Read it here.

John, one thing I learned long ago is that the mainstream media is about selling newspapers and ratings. If a story is boring, it’s their job to make it scary, drive up hysteria, find a villain, or otherwise do whatever they can to make it not boring.

Because that’s what we trust the media to do, isn’t it?

Noem Q1 2015 fundraising – over $360k raised, 1.04 Million COH, 3 months early.

@SoDakCampaigns

An early fundraising report out of the Noem camp informed me this morning that South Dakota’s Republican Congresswoman took in more than $360,000 for the quarter; resulting in raising her cash on hand to $1,040,000 – officially moving the needle past that million cash on hand figure.

But there’s more to it. According to a post election story:

The result, he said, is her campaign finished with $800,000 in remaining cash and “is well-positioned to surpass” $1 million by mid-2015. All of which seems like a message to any possible challengers considering 2016: I am ready and waiting.

Noem anticipated passing the million mark by the second quarter.

And that didn’t happen. She did it in Q1, fully three months ahead of schedule.

US Senator John Thune’s Weekly Column: Working Toward Repealing Destructive and Unnecessary Death Tax

@SoDakCampaigns

Working Toward Repealing Destructive and Unnecessary Death Tax
By Senator John Thune

John_Thune,_official_portrait,_111th_CongressFor any family, the death of a loved one is a difficult and grievous time. Now add the federal government to this painful period, and the situation becomes a nightmare. The federal government shouldn’t force grieving families to pay a tax on their loved one’s life savings, built from income that has already been taxed by Uncle Sam. Many South Dakotans have witnessed this injustice firsthand – a friend, neighbor, or acquaintance who fell victim to the estate tax, also known as the death tax. Death shouldn’t be a taxable event, which is why I’m glad the Senate recently adopted my amendment to the Senate budget resolution calling on Congress to finally eliminate this destructive tax. I also recently introduced the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015, which would permanently eliminate the death tax, with 27 of my colleagues.

Here in South Dakota, we are land rich and cash poor, leaving roughly one-third of South Dakota farms vulnerable to the death tax, based on cropland values provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The death tax imposes a tax rate as high as 40 percent on family farms, ranches, and small businesses, which hurts economic growth by discouraging savings and development. A recent study by the non-partisan Tax Foundation found that repeal of the death tax would increase the U.S. capital stock by 2.2 percent, boost economic growth, and create 139,000 jobs.

We work hard daily to build a better life for our children, but the death tax only burdens them. It violates the basic premise of the American dream. Ninety-eight percent of farms in South Dakota are family owned and operated, and according to the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, over 2,500 South Dakota farms have been in the same family for more than 100 years. In some cases, families have to sell land just to pay the death tax, which punishes farmers and entrepreneurs for a lifetime of hard work.

By keeping more money in the hands of hard-working Americans, they will have a better opportunity to build a stronger economic future for their families and our country. In the U.S. Senate, I will continue to promote common-sense policies, like repealing the death tax, that give South Dakota farmers, ranchers, and small business owners the peace of mind of knowing that their hard-earned money will stay with their families, and not end up in the federal government’s coffers.

###

Shout out to several friends of SDWC

@SoDakCampaigns

As I’m trying to catch up with the pile of papers, and clear out the tissues and other detritus from my bout with the flu, I need to give a shout out to several friends of the SDWC who are having birthdays –

Former US Senate (and perhaps upcoming Atty General) candidate Jason Ravnsborg is celebrating his birthday today. So is US Senate Mike Rounds staffer Justin Rollins, former Democrat State Senator Mitch Fargen, current children’s Author, former State Treasurer & past GOP congressional candidate Dave Volk, and former State Senator Todd Schlekeway.

Go give them some SDWC love for another trip around the sun. (And make sure you remind Rollins how much better SDSU is than USD.)

US Senator Mike Rounds’ Weekly Column: Introducing the Payments Innovation Caucus

@SoDakCampaigns

Introducing the Payments Innovation Caucus
By Senator Mike Rounds
April 9, 2015

MikeRounds official SenateIn 1914, Western Union began issuing metal cards to the company’s top customers. For a subscription fee, “preferred” customers could use their “metal money” to defer payments on various goods and services. This was the first step in a series of monetary advances which revolutionized access to capital and credit. It has significantly changed the way commerce is conducted around the globe today. In the 101 years since metal money was first distributed, the credit card – and now the payments industry – has moved from metal to plastic to virtual transactions. Today, payments can be made with the simple tap of a smartphone.

South Dakota has been a leader and an innovator in the payments industry. As technology has expanded the reach of mobile payments, South Dakota’s role in this world economy has grown substantially. To help educate the Senate and others about the enormous potential of this industry and the dangers that could result if it is compromised, I have partnered with Senator Gary Peters from Michigan to form the bipartisan Senate Payments Innovation Caucus. The caucus is an opportunity for the Senate to understand the critical nature of the payments industry, to see what the industry has done for our state and to make certain South Dakotans have a voice in any changes to the industry moving forward.

The payments industry is growing at lightning speed. Last year, the Boston Consulting Group found that by 2023, the total world volume of electronic payments would hit an astonishing $780 trillion in transactions worldwide. These electronic payments already allow us to click, swipe or tap to purchase countless items. Yet the industry continues to grow. New technologies such as the Starbucks app and ApplePay make it easier than ever before to purchase goods and services.

But mobile transactions have benefits far beyond simplifying our lives. They can be important tools for facilitating economic development throughout the world that can help lift nations out of poverty. Take Kenya for example. Today, 25 percent of the nation’s gross national product flows through mobile payment networks. These networks help Kenyans transfer money quickly, safely and with little cost. When Kenya was engulfed in violence after the 2008 election, mobile payments played a critical role, helping Kenyans trapped by rioting access cash to buy needed food and supplies.

While we should celebrate the many benefits of mobile purchases, the larger and more interconnected the industry becomes, the more our enemies seek to attack it. Already, cyber hackers have attacked banks, merchants and payment intermediaries causing billions of dollars in damages, threatening our national security. To help keep these networks safe and reliable, it is important for Congress to take these threats seriously and understand how to best protect consumer financial data amid ever-changing technologies.

Payments innovation is a diverse industry that continues to grow and change each day. I’m proud of South Dakota’s leading role in it and look forward to working on the Payments Innovation Caucus to inform others of its needs and keep consumer data safe from hackers.
###