Senate Majority Leader Cammack was recently profiled in Council of State Governments Midwest “Capital Insights” Column, where among several topics, he spoke on what it means to lead a “Supermajority” of Republican legislators in Pierre:

Q: What do you view as some of the most important responsibilities of the Senate majority leader?

A: In South Dakota we do have a supermajority of Republicans in the Legislature, and we hold all of the constitutional offices in the executive branch. So Republicans have a very strong representation in state government, and sometimes that has a tendency to create fractures based on differing viewpoints. It’s important that we maintain some really good communication — within the [Senate Republican] caucus and also with the executive branch, the House of Representatives and the public in general. The other thing is that I think it’s really important, regardless of a personal position [on an issue], to make sure all viewpoints are heard in the caucus. Then, we agree upon a direction and move in that way so we can speak as mostly a unified voice.

You can read the entire column here (via pdf).

The South Dakota Woki-Leaks website has a several new articles that they’re promoting on their website today about their concerns over what is being promoted as social justice run amok in the state’s communities.

From my mailbox:

Woki-Leaks South Dakota has released 3 new articles, including possibly the most important to date: “Social Justice Training for South Dakota’s Children.”  https://wokisd.wordpress.com/192-2/

This article reports that there is a growing threat of children being politically indoctrinated within South Dakota public schools. Efforts are apparently underway to introduce a radical and divisive new Social Justice training program in Brookings’ public schools. Disturbingly, this same program has received some endorsement for state-wide use from the South Dakota Department of Education. Meanwhile, there are plans to introduce Social Justice indoctrination in Vermillion’s schools as well.

We think the information in this article would be of interest to your readers.

Woki-Leaks has also released 2 additional articles that may be of interest:

Extra-Legal Investigations and Woke Indoctrination Planned for the City of Vermillion

USD’s Woke activists are planning to use the city government of Vermillion to spread their ideology out into the community. They have already created a new government organization – the “Vermillion Human Relations Commission” – to conduct extra-legal investigations of townspeople, and they are working to expand its powers. Woke activists are also planning to create Social Justice indoctrination programs for city employees and townspeople. https://wokisd.wordpress.com/187-2/

USD Changes Its Official University Values

At some point over the past few days, USD posted a new statement of university values on its website. Yet important questions remain unanswered, and the causes for concern are still there. https://wokisd.wordpress.com/177-2/

Johnson Requests Information on Unspent COVID-19 Funds

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) supported a resolution to President Biden’s COVID-19 relief package to require the administration to provide accounting reports on unspent COVID-19 relief funds from previous bipartisan packages.

“Congress has dedicated more than $4 trillion to pandemic recovery and relief but data suggests there is nearly $1 trillion unspent,” said Johnson. “I have requested more information on these unspent funds from the White House and received no response as to when they will be allocated to assist struggling Americans and small businesses. H. Res. 127, requires the administration to turn over all documentation & accounting of what existing COVID related funds remain unspent.”

“As Congress debates an additional $1.9 trillion package, transparency regarding existing funds is critical. If President Biden’s bill passes, relief efforts will have cost every American $17,000. With vaccine developments and COVID cases on the decline, we need to start thinking seriously about the lasting economic impact additional stimulus may cause our country. Simply put, we need this information before asking American taxpayers to foot the bill for trillions more in stimulus.”

You can find the full text of the resolution here.

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Governor Noem Announces ConnectSD Broadband Development Program

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that $25 million in CARES Act funding is now available for eligible broadband projects.

“South Dakotans shouldn’t have to choose between the modern economy on one hand and life in their hometown on the other,” said Governor Noem. “In addition to the $25 million in CARES Act funding, we are still working with the legislature to secure an additional $75 million in one-time funding that will bring the total state investment to $100 million. Together with federal and private matching dollars, this will be sufficient to finish connecting our state to high-speed broadband.”

To be eligible, projects must be completed by December 31, 2021. The deadline is 4 p.m. CST, Friday, March 5, 2021.

Applications for projects slated for completion after January 1, 2022, are also invited to apply. The deadline for those applications is 4 p.m. CST, Thursday, May 6, 2021.

Full details, including where to submit completed applications, criteria, award details, and the application itself, can be found onsdgoed.com/public-records/connectsd.

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Rounds and Colleagues Urge President Biden to Withdraw Becerra

WASHINGTON— Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Representative Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) and 72 other members of Congress sent a letter urging President Joe Biden to withdraw California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s nomination to serve as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“We write to express our grave concerns regarding the nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to serve as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS),” the members wrote. “Mr. Becerra’s lack of healthcare experience, enthusiasm for replacing private health insurance with government-run Medicare-for-all, and embrace of radical policies on immigration, abortion, and religious liberty, render him unfit for any position of public trust, and especially for HHS Secretary.”

Full text of the letter:
Dear President Biden,

We write to express our grave concerns regarding the nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to serve as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Mr. Becerra’s lack of healthcare experience, enthusiasm for replacing private health insurance with government-run Medicare-for-all, and embrace of radical policies on immigration, abortion, and religious liberty, render him unfit for any position of public trust, and especially for HHS Secretary.

At your inauguration, you spoke about uniting the country and the need to address the pandemic. As these are your stated priorities, we request that you withdraw Mr. Becerra’s nomination and offer the American people a nominee equipped to successfully combat the COVID-19 pandemic and safely reopen our country.

Our nation cannot afford to lose valuable time in this battle by installing an HHS Secretary who is not up to the challenges we face. But that is exactly what you propose to do by nominating Mr. Becerra, a man with no meaningful experience in healthcare, public health, large-scale logistics, or any other areas critical to meeting our present challenges.

Mr. Becerra’s lack of qualifications is particularly alarming given the important role the HHS Secretary will play in efforts to develop and distribute vaccines, coordinate research efforts, and draft critical regulations to carry out recovery legislation.

Compounding our concerns over Mr. Becerra’s lack of experience is his ardent support of radical policies that will inflict great harm on millions of Americans. At a time when Americans can least afford it, Mr. Becerra enthusiastically supports eliminating the private health insurance market for 160 million Americans, only to replace it with a government takeover branded as Medicare-for-all. The resulting reimbursement cuts would devastate rural health care providers working to stay solvent during the pandemic and would be a slap in the face to the doctors, nurses and other health care workers keeping our communities healthy and safe.

This radical position is not a recent or passing fancy. As Mr. Becerra proudly told California Healthline in 2019, “I’ve been a single-payer advocate all my life.” As the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on our nation, Mr. Becerra’s determination to strip Americans of their private health insurance isn’t just bad policy, it’s dangerous.

Meanwhile, Mr. Becerra seeks to decriminalize illegal immigration, which would extend expensive government benefits like Medicaid to anyone who illegally crosses our borders.

Mr. Becerra’s radical views extend to his ardent support of abortion until the moment of birth. He opposed the 2003 partial-birth abortion ban and cosponsored legislation that would force religious employers like Hobby Lobby to cover the morning-after pill, even in the face of sincerely held religious objections.

Indeed, Mr. Becerra has long shown contempt for anyone who doesn’t agree with his radical leftist agenda. As California’s Attorney General, Mr. Becerra targeted social conservatives and religious groups with legal challenges and prosecution. He unconstitutionally forced houses of worship into lockdown while Governor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Breed attended dinner parties at the French Laundry. He prosecuted pro-life activists who documented Planned Parenthood executives’ conversations about selling the body parts of aborted babies. Finally, he defended a California law that targeted pro-life crisis pregnancy centers while exempting clinics focused on birth control.

Mr. Becerra’s extremism and contempt for those who take a different view contradict your calls for unity. His appointment would sow further division at a time our country needs to heal and would endanger lives at a time our citizens need life-saving treatments, vaccinations, and the freedom to work and worship together.

We ask that you put our country over radical partisan objectives by withdrawing Mr. Becerra’s nomination for HHS Secretary.

Thank you for your immediate consideration of our request.

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Just caught this today as it is making the rounds on Facebook. It looks like Argus Leader Reporter Joe Sneve’s line of inquiry to Governor Kristi Noem is quickly taking off into Internet meme territory:

Governor Noem Signs Born-Alive Legislation

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem signed House Bill 1051, which requires medical professionals to offer any baby born alive the same medical care they would offer for any other child – regardless of the circumstances of the child’s birth.

“The pro-life cause continues even after a child is born, and this bill will guarantee the right to life for every baby that is born alive,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “We expect doctors to treat all children equally, even those born in horrific circumstances. That’s basic human decency.”

The law requires medical professionals to provide the same means, medical skills, and treatment to every child born alive immediately following an attempted abortion as they would any other child. Further, the law allows a mother to sue any doctor or abortion facility that violates the law, imposes financial penalties on those who violate the law, and requires certain reporting to the Department of Health for any births that arise following a failed abortion. This law, like many South Dakota laws that protect the right to life, ensures that the most vulnerable members of our society are fully protected by law.

You can find photos of the bill signing here.

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Thune: Loan Forgiveness is Not a Solution for the Student Debt Problem

“I hope President Biden will resist Democrats’ calls to put taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in student loans.”

Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune’s speech.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed Democrats’ recently introduced resolution calling for President Biden to forgive $50,000 of student loan debt per American. While high college costs and student debt are a problem, Thune does not believe that blanket loan forgiveness is the answer. He proposed alternative solutions such as encouraging affordable education options like community and technical colleges and ensuring that graduates have access to good-paying jobs. Thune introduced legislation that would allow employers to help employees repay their student loans. The Employer Participation in Repayment Act would allow employers to make tax-free payments on their employees’ already-existing student loans.

Thune, Stabenow, Fischer, Warner Reintroduce Bill to Protect U.S. From Digital Infrastructure Corruption

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) today reintroduced the Network Security Trade Act, legislation to ensure U.S. communications infrastructure security is a clear negotiating objective of our country’s trade policy.

“There is a lot of promise with new and advanced technologies like 5G, but the United States can only deliver on those promises if we maintain the security of communications networks, both at home and abroad,” said Thune. “This legislation would ensure that the security of the equipment and technology that create the global communications infrastructure is front and center in our trade negotiations, because you can’t have optimal free trade if the global digital infrastructure is compromised.”

“When it comes to national security, one of our nation’s top priorities must be protecting our communication systems that we all depend on every day,” said Stabenow. “This bill helps leverage our trade negotiating powers to make sure our telecommunication networks like 5G are safe and secure.”

“The transition to 5G represents a major opportunity for American businesses, but it also poses serious challenges for America’s national security,” said Fischer. “Many other countries have plans to deploy equipment made by China’s untrustworthy Huawei. This bipartisan legislation makes clear that our concerns about Beijing are serious, and that future trade negotiations must account for our national security.”

“Promoting the security and integrity of global digital infrastructure should be among the most paramount digital trade objectives the U.S. pursues,” said Warner. “It is long past time to make this a key negotiating objective in order to promote a more long-term, multilateral strategy to safeguard the global telecommunications market from providers like Huawei that could pose a serious risk to digital infrastructure across the globe.”

The Network Security Trade Act would amend the 2015 Trade Promotion Authority, which is in effect until July 1, 2021, to include a negotiating objective related to the security of communications networks. Today, one of the largest manufacturers of 5G equipment and telecommunications infrastructure is Huawei Technologies, which is supported by the Chinese Communist Party. While the bill does not name specific state-owned companies, it would direct the executive branch to ensure that the equipment and technology that are used to create the global communications infrastructure are not compromised. It would achieve that goal by addressing barriers to the security of communications networks and supply chains and unfair trade practices of state-owned or state-controlled communications equipment suppliers in new trade agreements. Confronting these issues, which this legislation requires, is critical as the United States considers formal trade talks with the United Kingdom and other allies.

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Noem Signs Bills into Law

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem signed five bills into law:

• SB 52 revises the permit duration on certain concentrated animal feeding operations.
• SB 53 revises certification and renewal fees for water supply and treatment system operators.
• SB 60 revises the membership of the Law Enforcement Officers Standards Commission.
• HB 1035 removes the locking seal requirement for the transportation of big game animals.
• HB 1042 revises certain provisions regarding riparian buffer strips.

Governor Noem has signed eighty-one bills into law this legislative session.

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