Rounds, Tester Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Ban Fake Meat Products from School Lunches

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) introduced legislation that would ban fake meat products from being served in school lunches. The School Lunch Integrity Act of 2024 would prohibit the use of cell-cultivated meat under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP).

Since the development of the first cell-cultivated protein product in 2013, companies across the world have begun to develop fake meat products. These products are being developed with the intention of eliminating the need to raise livestock. With the support of environmental activists, dozens of companies across the United States have started to research and produce cell cultivated protein. Last summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) moved to issue grants of inspection for cell-cultured meat production, allowing for two companies to produce cell-cultivated chicken products. These recent actions undermine the important work of American livestock producers.

To date, USDA has not issued any guidance on cell-cultivated protein in the NSLP and the SPB. A lack of demonstrated research on cell-cultivated protein raises a number of questions about the safety of these products.

“Our students should not be test subjects for cell-cultivated ‘meat’ experiments,” said Rounds. “South Dakota farmers and ranchers work hard to produce high quality beef products. These products are often sold to South Dakota schools, where they provide necessary nutrition to our students. With high quality, local beef readily available for our students, there’s no reason to be serving fake, lab-grown meat products in the cafeteria. I’m pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation that benefits South Dakota producers and protects students from the unknown effects of cell-cultivated ‘meat’ products.”

“Montana ranchers grow the best meat in the world, that’s a fact – and our students ought to be getting the best in their school breakfasts and lunches every day,” said Tester. “This commonsense bill will make sure our schools can serve real meat from our ranchers, not a fake substitute that’s grown in a lab.”

This legislation is endorsed by the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, R-CALF USA, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and South Dakota Pork Producers.

“Science experiments belong in the classroom, not the cafeteria,” said Justin Tupper, President of U.S. Cattlemen’s Association. “The long-term health effects of consuming foods produced using cell-cultured technology has not been established. These products are too new and untested to be considered safe for our nation’s children. We appreciate the proactive leadership of Senator Rounds in drafting this important legislation.”

“The claim that cell-cultivated meat grown in a laboratory is as safe and healthful as real, natural meat has not yet been definitively determined,” said Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA. “So, subjecting children to this nascent, scientific experiment is bad public policy. We applaud Senator Rounds’ bill that will ensure our children and grandchildren will not be encouraged to consume this controversial and unnatural product while at school.”

“The federal government should not allow lab grown protein in school lunch and breakfast programs without knowing the long-term health effects on children,” said Ethan Lane, Vice President of Government Affairs at National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “The lack of nutrition and allergen research related to lab grown proteins creates unnecessary risks for children, while traditional beef provides essential nutrients that provide health benefits to children. School cafeterias are not test labs, and we appreciate Senator Rounds and Senator Tester for standing up for our children and our cattle producers.”

Click HERE for full bill text.

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The headline isn’t really sensationalized if you read the bill that just hit the House of Representatives yesterday.

Democrat State Representative Linda Duba has offered House Bill 1174 which seeks to jail gun owners with unlocked firearms up to 1 year, and same for retailers who don’t provide notice of her proposed law to gun purchasers at the point of sale.  Her proposed House Bill 1174 is to create a new crime under the unlawful use of weapons statute – a class one misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail if you do it more than once – that you’ve committed a crime if you do not store a weapon according to the guidelines she’s written in her law. 

Linda Duba wants to Jail gun owners – HB 1174 by Pat Powers on Scribd

And even worse, if a gun retailer doesn’t provide a government notice to you about her law when you buy a gun – he can go to jail for up to a year the first time he does it.   A class one misdemeanor is equal with the penalty for a DUI. Up to a year in jail if you don’t follow Linda’s law.

Yep.  If you live alone, and have that unloaded pistol that your grandpa owned stored in a shoebox on your closet shelf that nobody but you knows about?  Linda’s law would have you sent to the county jail for the offense. Up to a year in jail if you do it twice.

At what point are we supposed to let her install cameras in our home so she can monitor what we do, and whether they comply with how she thinks we should be conducting ourselves?

Whenever Democrats whine and argue that there needs to be “balance” in the legislature – this is the type of balance they mean.

Gov. Noem Going to Warzone at Southern Border

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that she will be going to the warzone at the southern border to stand with Texas and the National Guard and tell them that the nation is with them. She made the announcement on “Hannity” on Fox News.

“This is about our Constitution. This is about us standing united… I’m going to be at the border tomorrow to tell the Texas National Guard… that we’re not only with them, that we have continued to be with them for the last several years. South Dakota has deployed our National Guard to support them and stand alongside them three separate times,” Governor Noem said on Hannity. “I’m so proud of what Texas is doing to defend itself. We’ll be right there beside them. We’ll do everything we can to make sure that this invasion stops.

Earlier today, Governor Noem joined 24 Republican governors in supporting Governor Abbott’s efforts to secure the Southern Border.

When Hannity asked if Governor Noem is willing to send South Dakota National Guard troops to the border, Governor Noem responded: “I already have three times… I am willing to send National Guard down there to stand alongside them. I want it to be different arrangements this time. If we’re going to enforce Texas law – and if I’m going to have the ability to use these soldiers in a way that’s effective – that will be absolutely fantastic.”

Governor Noem was the first governor to send National Guard soldiers to help defend the Southern Border nearly three years ago. Last summer, she sent once again sent 50 South Dakota National Guard soldiers to Texas to help them secure the border.

This past August, Governor Noem also participated in a press conference at the Southern Border and viewed the warzone from the air in a helicopter. A video can be found here.

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Gov. Noem and Colleagues Support Gov. Abbott’s Efforts to Secure the Southern Border

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem and 24 of her fellow Republican governors sent the following statement supporting Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s efforts to secure the U.S. Southern Border:

“President Biden and his Administration have left Americans and our country completely vulnerable to unprecedented illegal immigration pouring across the Southern border. Instead of upholding the rule of law and securing the border, the Biden Administration has attacked and sued Texas for stepping up to protect American citizens from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country.

“We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border. We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally.

“The authors of the U.S. Constitution made clear that in times like this, states have a right of self-defense, under Article 4, Section 4 and Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. Because the Biden Administration has abdicated its constitutional compact duties to the states, Texas has every legal justification to protect the sovereignty of our states and our nation.” 

Governor Noem was joined by the following Republican governors in issuing the statement:

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.

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Have an unusual request for our legislators, lobbyist corps, and others who might have been at the Ramkota last night.

There’s a coat missing that is actually a sentimental item for the person now left coatless. It’s a navy blue mens topcoat (panel inside on the lower side is John Wanamaker) that was on a chair at the Community Support Providers event in the Lake Francis Room at the Ramkota. Given that navy blue wool dress coats are not uncommon, the owner believes that someone might have just mistaken it as their own. (Because it’s the Ramkota, and their coat check is the equivalent of throwing coats on a massive bed)

The gentleman who it belongs to is trying to locate it, as it was also his father’s coat, and he’s worn it and kept it nice for a number of years, and he’s genuinely hoping to get it back because of the memories it holds for him.

If you’re finding that you have an unfamiliar coat of this type, drop me a note, or give me a call, and we can reunite the coat with it’s owner.

*UPDATE*

Good news!  The coat was located and returned to the owner. Thanks all!

Found out some more interesting info this noon hour.

Had a nice note from the plaintiff’s counsel providing the memorandum decision, and very politely letting me know that when I heard through another party that the case was dismissed and over… no, it’s not over.

And while not delving into the merits of the case, the plaintiffs have a right to respond to the memorandum decision by the judge before it becomes final, and intend to do so. (Details in the memo).

66civ23-000155 Memorandum Decision by Pat Powers on Scribd

So, just when you think it’s over.. maybe not.

My biggest takeaway from the memo for me was the judge’s statement that…

Here, the Yankton County Republicans are asking for a judicial interpretation of the expenditure limitation clause in Section VIII, Subsection 3 of the by-laws of the South Dakota Republican Party. While the court understands that it can construe by-laws under contract principles, these are the by-laws of a political party. Additionally, the Plaintiff is asking that the court find that the individual defendants have breached their fiduciary duty owed to the Yankton County Republicans and/or that these persons have otherwise improperly taken funds belonging to the Yankton County Republicans. The only way these determinations could be made is to hear evidence as to the internal workings of the Yankton County Republicans and/or the practices of that and other county Republican central committees. None of these matters are justiciable by the court and, therefore, this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction.

and..

In light of the lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the court is not required to examine the other issues raised by parties, but it will do so in the future in the event the court reconsiders this jurisdictional issue upon further briefing by the parties, or if an appeal is filed and the South Dakota Supreme Court determines that the claims presented in the Amended Complaint are justiciable.

There seems to be an incredible amount of grey area which the court doesn’t seem eager to get into. But it also appears that even if the judge makes an official ruling one way or the other – or declines to – the matter could continue up to the South Dakota Supreme Court for a request whether it can be addressed.

This ball appears to be ready to continue rolling on.

But, does it help with the mission of the GOP? No. Not really.

Johnson Earns A+ Pro-Life Rating 

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) earned an A+ rating on Susan B. Anthony’s Pro-Life Scorecard for his votes and actions in 2023.

“Every life should be protected, no matter how small,” said Johnson. “Unfortunately, the Biden administration wants to do anything it can to promote access to abortion. I’m committed to defending even the tiniest of humans and prohibiting taxpayer dollars from funding abortion services.”

Johnson took nine votes in 2023 to protect life. View the scorecard here.

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Senate Committee Approves Child Pornography Bill That Includes Attorney General’s A.I. Legislation

PIERRE, S.D. – Senate Bill 79, which revises various levels of child pornography crime and which also includes the Attorney General’s Office’s bill that would make Artificial Intelligence-generated child pornography a crime, was unanimously approved Tuesday by the State Senate Judiciary Committee

The bill clarifies and strengthens the sections of the crimes of possession, distribution, and manufacturing of child pornography. The legislation, which is a combination of other bills on the same issue, was introduced by Sen. David Wheeler of Huron and Rep. Fred Deutsch of Florence.

Included in SB 79 bill is language first proposed by the Attorney General’s Office in Senate Bill 25 That bill would revise certain definitions to the current child pornography laws and criminalize the possession, manufacturing, or distribution of child pornography to include Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated image and videos. That would include “deepfake” images or videos of an actual child that have been manipulated to make it look like the subject is a child engaged in prohibited sexual acts and AI-generated images that do not depict any actual person but are created to look like a child engaged in prohibited sexual acts.

“This legislation strengthens and further clarifies South Dakota’s child pornography protections,” said Attorney General Marty Jackley, who spoke in support of SB 79. “With this legislation, those protections would include Artificial Intelligence-generated child pornography, and I applaud Sen. Wheeler and Rep. Deutsch for their work in strengthening our laws.”

The bill now goes to the full Senate.

Senate Bill 79 can be found here: https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24991

The House might have to draw the line in the sand against breakaway caucuses..

Just say No to Bow!

(Signed, Not a bow tie guy.)