WEEKLY ROUND[S] UP: JANUARY 30-FEBRUARY 5, 2023
by Senator Mike Rounds

Things are getting busier out here in Washington! This past week, our committee assignments were announced, which marks the beginning of a lot of work to come over the next two years. You’ll have to keep reading to see where I landed! We also met with several leaders from around the world, and leaders within our school and agriculture communities in South Dakota. Here’s my Weekly Round[s] Up:

South Dakota groups I visited with: Members of the South Dakota Wheat Growers Association and school board members with the Associated School Boards of South Dakota.

Meetings this past week: His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al-Hussein Ibn Abdulllah of Jordan; Several Romanian Members of Parliament including Senator Titus Corlățean, Chairman of the Romanian Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Mr. Ramush Haradinaj, Former Prime Minister of Kosovo; Sandra L. Thompson, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency; Robert Fisher, Senior Vice President of Federal Government Affairs at Verizon; Catherine MacGregor, CEO of ENGIE; and Mouloud Said, Representative of Western Sahara to the United States. I also had the opportunity to meet with delegations from several African nations: Burundi, Kenya and the Togolese Republic.

We had our weekly Senate Bible Study (Philippians 1:6 was our verse of the week). On Thursday morning, we also hosted the National Prayer Breakfast. For the past few years, I’ve served in leadership helping to organize this event. Our leadership group privately met with the president and vice president before the ceremony to welcome them to the National Prayer Breakfast.

Each year, the National Prayer Breakfast provides an opportunity for us to come together, Republicans and Democrats alike, and pray for the success of our nation. The tradition of the National Prayer Breakfast dates back to President Dwight Eisenhower, who at the time confided in his close friend, Senator Frank Carlson, that the White House was the “loneliest house” he had ever lived in. Senator Carlson responded: “Mr. President, I think this may be the right time for you come meet with our prayer group.” And that’s just what President Eisenhower did. In this group, he found individuals who were willing to offer their non-partisan support to our president, the leader of the free world, because they knew that’s what was best for the country. The job of the president isn’t easy and you often find yourself in the midst of difficult political situations. However, as the president, you should still be able to count on our prayers for the success of our country. The National Prayer Breakfast provides an opportunity for us to recognize our common bonds and to offer our prayers for one another, our president and our nation.

Met with South Dakotans from: Mitchell, Mobridge, Pierre, White River and Woonsocket.

Topics discussed: Our nation’s debt ceiling, foreign purchases of land in the United States, spectrum (more information on this in the coming weeks) and our new committee assignments.

Legislation introduced: This past week, I reintroduced the PASS Act. This bipartisan legislation would blacklist China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from investing in, purchasing or otherwise acquiring American farmland and ag businesses.

Securing our land is critical to maintaining our national security. This bill, which I introduced with Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) has received good support on Capitol Hill and within the agricultural community in South Dakota. We are hopeful we can get the PASS Act included in a larger package and see this important piece of legislation signed into law. You can read more about the PASS Act here.

Resolution passed: My friend Senator John Thune and I passed a resolution this week honoring the SDSU Jackrabbit football team for their national championship win against the NDSU Bison. You can read the resolution here. Go Jacks!

Committees assigned: Committee assignments for the 118th Congress were announced this week. I will be serving on the following committees:

1. Armed Services
2. Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
3. Select Committee on Intelligence
4. Veterans’ Affairs
5. Indian Affairs

You can read more about each committee here. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve on these five key committees on behalf of the people of South Dakota.

Votes taken: 3 – we are a month into the new Congress and Democrats are off to a slow start. These votes were non-controversial. Two of them were for positions on the Board of Directors for the U.S. Institute of Peace. The other was a resolution supporting the observation of January as National Trafficking and Modern Slavery Prevention Month, a resolution that would normally move through unanimous consent and not require a formal vote and the usage of floor time. While it could be easy to get frustrated at the dysfunction, it’s important to remember that every day our Senate Democrat colleagues propose a light schedule, the less damage their proposals can inflict on our nation.

Classified briefings: With my new assignment on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I will begin to receive a much higher volume of classified briefings. Most of our meetings are all classified business – I had three classified Intel meetings already this past week! We also had our bi-weekly cyber education seminar and a Senate Armed Services Committee briefing on the Chinese surveillance balloon and conflict in Ukraine.

Unlike some in the Executive Branch, don’t expect to find any classified documents in my home or next to my Corvette. These documents belong in a secure compartmentalized information facility (or SCIF) and nowhere else!

My staff in South Dakota visited: Aberdeen and Rapid City, including having a booth all week at the Black Hills Stock Show.

Steps taken this week: 51,305 steps (or 24.05 miles).

Video of the Week: There was quite a bit of talk at the end of the week about the Chinese surveillance balloon that was flying across the United States. As you are probably aware, our military shot the balloon down off the coast of the Carolinas on Saturday. In my opinion, the balloon was shot down one continent too late. It should have never been allowed in U.S. airspace. While I was able to receive a classified briefing on the situation on Thursday morning, there are still many more questions than answers. I joined Neil Cavuto on Fox News on Friday to discuss the situation. You can watch the video here.

A Political Action Committee cited earlier as having been involved in the campaign against Julie Frye-Mueller’s suspension, as well as attacking her opponent in the prior primary, is apparently targeting Senators in their own neighborhoods in direct retaliation for their near unanimous vote to censure Frye-Mueller for her unbecoming conduct with an employee.

It was reported to me that over the last few days that this flyer has appeared in Legislative District 2, in the Brandon area, attacking State Senator Steve Kolbeck for his vote to censure Julie Frye Mueller for her highly inappropriate and comments on a Legislative Research Council’s infant vaccinations and nursing habits:

Claiming that “The Pierre Swamp Is Trying to Silence a Conservative Champion,” the flyer provides the legislator’s personal cell phone number, and superimposes his photo alongside that of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, for voting to censure Senator Frye Mueller over accusations that Mueller made crude and sexually charged suggestions on how a young mother can initiate lactation. According to sources, a “strange car was putting them on specific houses” in at least one neighborhood in Brandon.

As noted in a previous post, the group backing this material is the Not One Step Back Political Action Committee.  According to Secretary of State Records, The “Not One Step” political action committee was started in 2021, as fronted by Anthony Mirzayants, who is noted as being the contact for the South Dakota School of Mines Young Americans for Liberty organization.

And in the last reports,  most of the funds for the Political Action Committee came from Anthony Mirzayants and Taffy Howard supporter Luke Blindert, with Freedom Caucus Director Jordan Mason also noted as contributing funds in the pre-primary reports.

Previously, this same political action committee had been deeply involved with having made Independent Communications Expenditures in the Julie Frye Mueller/Tim Goodwin primary, spending thousands to go after Goodwin via postcards on COVID, Gun Rights and Spending:

You can read the original documents at the Secretary of State’s website, or in my previous post on the topic here.

The materials curiously use the language that “Senator Kolbeck voted to deprive 24,000 citizens of District 30 of their voice in Pierre,” referring to Frye-Mueller’s suspension for three days. Which is kind of a pittance compare and easily refuted in comparison to the amount of times she has been reported as being absent from the legislative session, skipping 6 days in 2021, 5 days in 2022, and after her suspension ended, Frye Mueller immediately skipped her responsibility to those same 24,000 voters the very next day.

With Frye-Meuller’s sycophants choosing to attacking legislators for the near-unanimous vote to censure her for her improper conduct with a Legislative Research Council employee, in what many were considering a done matter, is now setting up Frye-Mueller to extend the conflict.

With no allies in the body besides her seatmate Senator Tom Pischke, her lone vote of support, Frye-Mueller’s allies may be trying to continue a battle that was done, and have her serving in a far more combative environment against her colleagues.

After all of last week’s drama over JFM, we should expect that the news cycle would slide back into boring normalcy.

Court documents allege Shania Ann Knutson committed repeat thefts at Walmart between October and December. Knutson allegedly stole a total of $554.54 worth of goods across 12 separate occasions. She was allegedly “‘skip scanning’ and/or ticket switching to commit these acts,” the documents state.

Knutson, of Brookings, was crowned Miss South Dakota USA 2022. Knutson was also Miss South Dakota Teen USA in 2018 and appeared in Miss USA 2022.

Read the entire sordid tale here alleging a beauty queen has gone bad.

… or maybe we’re not doing normalcy just yet.

 

From Austin Goss at Dakota News Now, former Democrat Treasurer candidate John Cunningham has announced that he is apparently willing to accept being tagged as “it” by Randy Seiler in the South Dakota Democrat chairmanship contest:

News from the SDDP Chair race: John Cunningham has officially jumped in to run for chair. Cunningham unsuccessfully ran for Treasurer last year.

— Austin Goss (@AustinGossSD) February 6, 2023

Anyone aware of other candidates in this contest at the moment?

Cunningham had ran for the chairmanship previously, in 2019, where he was unsuccessful against Paula Hawks, receiving 12% of the vote at the time.  (With Hawks later running far away and fast when she figured out how bad things were. )

In the 2022 election for South Dakota Treasurer, Cunningham lost to Josh Haeder on a 2-1 basis 67.7% to 32.3%, which is not really demonstrative of the ability to generate efforts that might post a threat to Republican dominance in the state.

So… good for him. I hope he gets it.

For two years now, a crisis has been raging along our southern border. 4.5 million illegal immigrants have been apprehended at the border, and another 1.2 million migrants have evaded capture while entering the United States. At the same time, the number of individuals on the terrorist watch list arrested at the border and the number of migrants who die attempting to enter the country have reached record highs. The border is clearly in crisis, but until recently, President Biden acted as if this crisis didn’t exist.

Two years ago the border was significantly more secure. It took time, but through a series of commonsense measures that included enforcing the law, stopping border crossers, and discouraging illegal immigration in the first place, the previous administration made real progress to attain operational control of the nearly 2,000-mile long border. But, on his first day in office, President Biden scrapped many of his predecessor’s policies. The effect of his actions was to declare that the United States’ border was effectively open. Unsurprisingly, a sea change occurred and border crossings shot up.

While the border crisis has overwhelmed border patrol and local resources in border communities, its impact reaches across the country. Influxes of illegal immigrants have strained the resources of cities from Denver to New York. Drugs, especially fentanyl, have come across the border and taken lives in communities across the country. In fact, fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of death for U.S. adults ages 18-45. Here in South Dakota, about as far from the southern border as you can get, the Minnehaha County sheriff estimates that 90 percent of fentanyl and methamphetamines in our state comes from Mexico, which recently surpassed China as the leading source of fentanyl.

To stem the tide of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs entering our country, we must secure the border. This depends foremost on the president being willing to enforce the laws currently on the books. Without executive leadership, even new laws to secure the border will fail to meaningfully deter individuals from making a dangerous journey that lines the pockets of coyotes and cartels. As long as illegal pathways are viable, we can expect these recent trends to continue.

We also need to ensure that legitimate, legal immigration is a realistic option for those fleeing persecution, pursuing the American dream, or seeking seasonal economic opportunity. I’ve repeatedly introduced legislation to open up opportunities for individuals to work in the United States when employers can’t find enough domestic labor. These programs help fill the need for supplemental workers in South Dakota, where unemployment is 2.3 percent and many business owners will tell you they just can’t find enough local workers. Ensuring our visa programs are agile enough to deliver labor relief to local businesses is one way we can enable economic growth through legal immigration.

The status quo at the border is neither safe nor humane, not for our country and not for those entering illegally. I hope the president’s visit to the border last month, his first ever, has awakened him to this reality. For our national security, public safety, and the safety of immigrants, we need to uphold the rule of law and secure the border.

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Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
February 3, 2023

Transportation and infrastructure are used by everyone – people traveling to work or vacation, grains and parts transported by train, cargo by plane, or goods driven across the country by a semi-truck.

The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated delays and gaps in our supply chain system. Suddenly, Americans couldn’t get their goods in a timely manner. Christmas presents were delayed for weeks, Amazon packages weren’t delivered on time, store shelves were empty for more reasons than one.

When I came to Congress in 2019, the last thing I expected was a global pandemic. When these problems arose during and after the pandemic, I knew Congress should act. I partnered with Rep. John Garamendi to pass the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, addressing delays at ports across the country. We have seen progress from ocean carriers after passage of OSRA, but more kinks in the supply chain have been discovered.

The T&I Committee had our first hearing this week on the State of the Supply Chain. When seeing and hearing problems faced by our nation’s truck drivers – an 80,000-truck driver shortage, an aging truck driver population, and not enough parking spaces for each semitruck on the road – I introduced the SHIP IT Act with Rep. Jim Costa to address these concerns. The bill increases safety and shipping capacity for truckers; provides recruitment and retention incentives for drivers; and includes flexibility during times of emergencies or black swan events.

Maintaining our infrastructure is critical to keep our economy going and growing. This is my second term on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and I’m ready to keep improving our supply chain. I’m on the Subcommittees on Aviation; Highways and Transit; Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, which increases my ability to be a leader on supply chain issues for each of these modes of transport.

No one likes empty shelves, roads covered in potholes, or delayed packages, and out-of-date regulations aren’t keeping up with technology and innovation. The three subcommittees I am on will allow me to keep working on behalf of South Dakota to deliver results that keep our supply chains moving.

Johnson in Wednesday’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Hearing

 

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Getting back to the quality of Julie Frye Mueller’s representation for a moment, this recent comment was interesting.

Frye-Mueller was suspended three days in 2023 and howled about not being able to provide representation for her district. Then took the next day off.

In 2022, she is said to have missed 5 days of session.

In 2021, she is said to have missed 6 days.

Exactly how is District 30 being shortchanged any more in 2023 with her being out of the Senate than they were in the prior two years when she skipped?  If anything, they’re a day ahead of the game (so far).

Carbon Capture pipelines are common carriers. Don’t apply different pipeline rules to ethanol, our most important state energy industry.
by Walt Wendland, CEO, Ringneck Energy

Recently, Representative Will Mortenson (R-Pierre) wrote an editorial outlining his thoughts regarding eminent domain and carbon pipelines. Rep. Mortenson believes the legislature should look at changing decades old policies to pick and choose which projects should have the right to use eminent domain, despite the harm such changes may bring to our state’s number one industry. While I appreciate the House Majority Leader’s self-professed warmth for ethanol, I find his premises don’t meet the facts and his conclusions to be missing some accurate considerations.

The proposed Carbon Capture pipelines are common carriers under the law. They are transportation entities which have contracted with others to transport goods for a fee. They conduct open seasons and maintain capacity for walk up shippers with goods to transport which meet the specifications of the pipeline. In all respects the proposed pipelines are organized and proposed like the many other pipelines which transport gas and oil for a fee. Why would we apply different rules to these pipelines which compete with them and support our most significant industry? We wouldn’t.

Rep. Mortenson professes to be for eminent domain for other uses but against the use of eminent domain for the carbon capture pipelines. South Dakota has had laws on the books for the use of eminent domain for more than 100 years. The laws are critical for the viability of such projects and for the fair treatment of landowners.  The SD House of Representatives wouldn’t function well if each member had a complete veto over legislation. Pipelines can’t be constructed in that situation either.

The ethanol industry is important to South Dakota and I’m glad to agree with him in that respect. More than one of every two rows of corn grown in this state is sold for use in renewable fuels. Corn prices and land prices have been built upon and depend upon this market.

Yet the ethanol industry is under tremendous pressure going forward. Fuel markets worldwide are demanding a less carbon intensive product. And renewable fuels produced elsewhere are seeking to meet that demand squarely. Carbon capture and sequestration represent the most economical way, by far to lower carbon scores and meet the developing demand. Without carbon capture and sequestration, our state’s renewable fuel industry is at a disadvantage and future opportunities at risk. One can’t be for ethanol and be against carbon capture at the same time. That is a position which doesn’t exist in the real world.

Sincerely,

Walt Wendland, CEO
Ringneck Energy

If you recall yesterday’s legislative session when Julie Frye-Mueller skipped session, denying her district representation at both a hearing on one of her bills, and the entire day on the Senate Floor…

…then I’m not sure you can make this press release up, which actually ignores the fact she was absent from session yesterday and instead of “representing her constituents” issued a press release complaining about her suspension preventing her “ability to fulfill her duties of office”

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SENATOR FRYE-MUELLER ISSUES STATEMENT ON REINSTATEMENT

Rapid City, SD (Feb.3, 2023) – The South Dakota Senate has reinstated Senator Julie Frye-Mueller, with a public censure and restricting her interactions with the Legislative Research Council. Senator Julie Frye-Mueller has issued another statement:

Press Statement: Senator Frye-Mueller made the decision to withdraw her federal lawsuit, as initially filed. She was given extremely short notice “suspending” the Senator from her elected office based upon unsubstantiated hearsay.

The Senator’s counsel is reviewing both the unauthorized actions of the Senate as a body, and Senate President Pro Tempore, Lee Schoenbeck, individually, in interfering with the Senator’s ability to fulfill her duties of office. She was stripped of her committee assignments; her Senate email account was closed to thwart communicate on with her constituents; she was barred from introducing or guiding legislation in the face of fast-approaching legislative deadlines; and was prohibited from casting any votes on behalf of District 30.

The Senator adamantly denies accusations which were deliberately undisclosed until just prior to a very public hearing on the matter, as they were simultaneously presented to the press. The Senate’s “reinstatement” of Senator Frye-Mueller’s elected office has proven a hasty but nominal announcement to save face, given the absence of any authority to “suspend” the Senator’s office. As of the date of this release, the Senator has not been restored to her committee assignments (which committees have simultaneously been stacked with questionable legislation) and has been given an undefined restriction on her use of essential legislative staff and resources, effectively hamstringing her ability to steer legislation on behalf of District 30.

Senator Frye-Mueller greatly appreciates the outpouring of support and is determined to continue serving the constituents of District 30 and the State of South Dakota.

If JFM actually wants to serve the constituents of District 30, then she might want to start with showing up for work.

The Associated Press has a new article out today looking at the claims of the parties involved in the Julie Frye-Mueller employee harassment scandal, as well as JFM’s paranoia about a deceased Schoenbeck family cat:

Frye-Mueller disputed that account in testimony to a Senate committee investigating the complaint. She said it was the staffer who brought up breastfeeding. Frye-Mueller said she asked the aide whether she wanted advice she had received as a young mother, and when the aide said yes, she said, “Have your husband help.”

And..

During her Senate testimony, Frye-Mueller even pointed to a Facebook post from the Republican Senate Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck about the death of a family cat. She alleged it was somehow proof of a conspiracy that he was employing a “dead cat strategy” of drawing attention to something shocking to distract media attention from another story.

Read the entire article here.

Another good reason to choose a dog over a cat. Because even the hard-right knows to just let sleeping dogs lie.