US SENATOR MIKE ROUNDS: WEEKLY ROUND[S] UP: OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 5, 2023
It was another busy week out in Washington. We got to work and passed three of our 12 appropriation bills through the Senate. Each of the 12 bills covers a different subject area that corresponds with a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and this past week, we passed the bills covering Agriculture, Military Construction/VA, and Transportation/Housing & Urban Development. While that’s only 25 percent of the job, and there’s still more work to be done, we’re closer to funding the government beyond November 17 than we were the week before. In between working on the appropriation bills, we’ve been busy taking meetings, hosting more artificial intelligence (AI) forums and attending hearings. We’re ready for another busy week! Here’s my Weekly Round[s] Up:
South Dakotans I visited with: This past week, I had the opportunity to welcome 176 of our newest American citizens at a naturalization ceremony held in Fort Pierre. It was an honor to be one of the first to congratulate them on becoming a citizen of the United States of America.
Meetings this past week: Charles Scharf, CEO of Wells Fargo; Charlie Cook, political analyst and author; and Chris Waller, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. We also had our Senate Bible Study. Our verse this week was Proverbs 22:6.
I hosted two more AI insight forums this past week with my bipartisan AI working group, which I lead with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.). The first forum of the week focused on the intersection of AI and the workforce. Most notably, Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, President of Dakota State University, joined us to talk about AI’s impact on our universities and the cyber industry. You can read more about this forum and view a full list of panelists here.
Our second forum of the week focused on “high impact” areas, with panelists from industries most affected by the increasing presence of AI. This included leaders from AI development companies, financial institutions and academia. We’re appreciative of everyone who takes the time to come and visit with us as we look to the future of AI and how it impacts every aspect of our lives.
This past week, I also went to the White House with the AI working group to meet with President Biden about his AI Executive Order issued on October 30. While I appreciate the president’s initiative in taking action on AI, the executive order is overly broad and could stifle AI innovation. For America to compete with China and our global adversaries, we need to make it easier to build businesses here, not harder. AI should not be a partisan issue. There is an opportunity for Congress to act in a bipartisan fashion to create policies and invest in America’s future in a way that will make AI work for all Americans, help advance scientific progress and strengthen our global stature.
Letter to IHS: This past week, I led the South Dakota and North Dakota congressional delegations in sending a letter to Indian Health Service (IHS) Director Roselyn Tso urging IHS to expand access to outside health care services in both states. Specifically, we asked them to complete a feasibility study on implementing a Purchased and Referred Care Delivery Area to all counties in both states. You can read more about this and read the full letter here.
Votes taken: 19 – several of these were on amendments to our appropriation bills, which I mentioned in last week’s Round[s] Up. We also voted on a few nominees to executive positions within the Department of Defense, including Gen. David Allvin to be Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force.
Hearings: I attended two hearings this week – one was in the Select Committee on Intelligence. The other was in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. We held a hearing on financial protections for veterans and service members, and I had the opportunity to give an opening statement while serving as ranking member. You can watch a clip of that here.
My staff in South Dakota visited: Aberdeen, Brookings, Carter, Deadwood, Lead and Pukwana.
Steps taken this past week: 62,302 steps or 30.88 miles
Photo of the week:
Speaking at the naturalization ceremony in Fort Pierre this past week.
Mary Fitzgerald Announces Intent to Run Again as State Representative for District 31, Lawrence County, South Dakota.
Lawrence County, South Dakota – November 6, 2023.
Mary Fitzgerald, a sixth generation South Dakotan who also serves as the Chair of the Lawrence County Republican Party and Vice-Chair for the South Dakota State GOP, has announced her intention to run for re-election as the State Representative, District 31, Lawrence County.
“I am committed to ensuring Lawrence County has a strong advocate in Pierre, working to protect our shared values and what’s important to our state. I have the proven grit and determination to do what is right for Lawrence County, and South Dakota.” Fitzgerald is pro-life, pro-family, supports quality education, low taxes, limited government… and most of all freedom.
First elected in 2020, Fitzgerald was appointed to Joint Appropriations where she worked hard to learn the tedious process of setting the state’s budget and making sure tax dollars are wisely spent. As a first-year legislator, Mary was the sole legislator who successfully passed a public safety bill on marijuana use.
Re-elected in 2022, Fitzgerald currently serves on House Judiciary and is Vice-Chair of House Local Government committee.
Mary is a strong advocate for children, co-sponsoring a bill protecting child witnesses (victims) testifying in court. She also co-sponsored the Truth-In-Sentencing bill which clearly defined sentencing guidelines in South Dakota. Further, Fitzgerald carried the bill to eliminate the sales tax on groceries.
Representative Fitzgerald was endorsed by Governor Kristi Noem in 2022.
Mary is a graduate of BHSU, with a double major in Accounting and Business Administration. She’s married to John Fitzgerald, Circuit Court Judge. They have three grown children, all graduates of BHSU and USD School of Law. They are grandparents to six grandchildren… all residing in the Black Hills.
Fitzgerald’s dedication to public service and her tireless work for Lawrence County have earned her widespread respect and support from businesses, constituents, colleagues, and community leaders alike. Her passion for equitable representation, combined with her extensive experience and proven ability to get things done, make her the ideal candidate to continue serving as Lawrence County’s voice in Pierre.
Speaking of the South Dakota Secretary of State, referring to my prior post, my spies in Pierre are telling me that they are losing another staff member in the elections department.
There a long article at South Dakota News Watch today about the war between Secretary of State Monae Johnson and her former campaign team, Rick & Gretchen Weible, after the Secretary of State disassociated herself from the Weible’s after the last election.
And it also has extensive reporting on Rick Weible’s search for election fraud in South Dakota, whether it exists or not.
He said that he initially saw himself as a potential candidate to challenge incumbent Secretary of State Steve Barnett at the 2022 state GOP convention.
Then Weible and his wife, Gretchen, met Monae Johnson, a more palatable nominee because she previously worked in the secretary of state’s office. Johnson, who declared her candidacy in February 2022, had publicly expressed doubts about the validity of the 2020 election, refusing to acknowledge President Joe Biden’s win over former President Donald Trump.
The Weibles, who moved to South Dakota from Minnesota as “tax refugees” in 2018, viewed Johnson as someone who could help them reform the system from within.
and..
“We found out her campaign was a complete fraud,” said Weible, who runs a cyber security business called D3Defense in Brookings. “She didn’t have a campaign speech, so I had to write one for her. She didn’t have room reservations. She had no T-shirts, no signs, no buttons. She wasn’t even totally sure of the rules of the convention.”
Johnson declined an interview request with News Watch for this story. In response to a question about Weible, state elections director Rachel Soulek sent a statement that the secretary of state’s office is “constantly combatting misinformation and disinformation regarding elections.”
On Monday, I hosted my first Level Up Youth Conference in Rapid City. Over 350 students from more than a dozen West River schools attended to hear from a variety of speakers about how they can become more engaged citizens – and even learned some tips on how to better chat with Uncle Bob about politics during Thanksgiving dinner.
Divisive political discourse, 24/7 news and media consumption, and low civic engagement among youth paint a bleak picture for our nation’s future, but it’s not too late to get us back on the right track. These students are our future leaders and there’s no doubt they will be part of the solution.
Want to learn more about what we discussed? Check out this video or this story.
BIG Idea
Earlier today, I had the opportunity to testify before the House Committee on the Judiciary about my Constitutional amendment to limit the size of the U.S. Supreme Court to nine Justices. Recent years have brought more calls from the Left to pack or expand the Court, and I think that is a terrible idea.
Any efforts to turn the Supreme Court into a political football will further erode public trust in our institutions. 140 members of Congress agree with me and have co-sponsored this amendment. I encouraged the Judiciary Committee to consider Keep the Nine soon.
House Republicans have now passed appropriations bills funding more than 80% of the dollars needed to fund the government in Fiscal Year 2024. There’s no doubt we still have a lot of work to do but we will be back in D.C. next week to continue our progress.
I was proud to co-sponsor the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act which provides $14.3 billion to provide military assistance to Israel and funding for the protection of U.S. personnel and emergency evacuations of American citizens. This bill passed the House on Thursday afternoon. I will continue to support Israel in its fight against Hamas and this is one step in the right direction.
Attorney General Jackley’s Reply Letter to Dakotans for Health
PIERRE, S.D. — Pursuant to requests from the media, this pdf is being provided to everyone along with Attorney General Jackley’s original letters to Dakotans For Health.
We’re South Dakota nice, and especially so when it comes to come of our highest ranking politicians, as Senators John Thune & Mike Rounds remain in the top 10 of the most popular US Senators in the country:
With Thune coming in at #5 and Rounds coming in at #7, don’t find yourself discouraged when the haters start throwing rocks… because we find they’re an incredible minority and it just doesn’t matter.
The Senators are overwhelmingly liked by a majority of South Dakotans with a 62% and 61% approval ratings. The Senators should just keep on keeping on – because they’re doing something right, just as they always have.
Lawrence County, South Dakota – November 6, 2023.
