South Dakota’s Economy Benefits from NAFTA
By U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)

Free and fair trade is vital to South Dakota’s economy. Not only does it open up important markets for South Dakota products, it results in higher wages and supports our small businesses and producers. Last year, we exported $1.2 billion in products to other countries, including goods, machinery and electronic equipment. In particular, the North American Free Trade Agreement—NAFTA—between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, South Dakota’s top two exporters in 2016, continues to benefit our farmers, ranchers and manufacturers.

Since taking office, President Trump has indicated that he has a desire to renegotiate our trade agreements, and in May of this year, he announced the administration would begin talks with Canada and Mexico to renegotiate NAFTA. I am supportive of him making the best possible deals for American producers, however simply withdrawing from NAFTA, without a similar structure in place, would harm South Dakota’s producers.

Just last year, American producers sent $20.5 billion worth of exports to Canada and $17.8 billion worth of exports to Mexico, which is the largest market for U.S. corn and soymeal. Mexico is also the second largest market for U.S. soybeans and the third largest market for U.S. beef. American trade with our NAFTA partners has more than tripled since the agreement took effect, and has increased more rapidly than trade with the rest of the world. Between 1993 and 2016, according to trade data reported by the U.S. International Trade Commission, U.S. trade with Mexico increased by 544 percent and trade with Canada increased 158 percent.

Agriculture is South Dakota’s number one industry, and trade contributes to the overall health of the ag economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) concluded in a recent report that NAFTA has had a positive impact on North American agriculture over the past two decades. The value of U.S. agricultural trade with our NAFTA partners has increased from $8.7 billion in 1992—before the agreement was implemented—to $38.1 billion in 2016, while imports rose from $6.5 billion to $44.5 billion. The leading NAFTA-traded products are meat and dairy products, followed closely by grains. South Dakota is a top producer of these products.

I have encouraged the administration to maintain strong ties with our NAFTA partners as they continue their negotiations. I have repeatedly asked our U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, to stand up for the United States’ agricultural industry abroad, and work to open up new markets for American products. Earlier this year, the administration reached an agreement to allow for U.S. exports of beef into China. This was a win for South Dakota ranchers, who are now able to sell their top-quality beef in a lucrative market.

Canada and Mexico are essential trading partners for our state and nation, and I encourage the administration to continue working with their leaders to maintain an agreement for free and fair trade among our countries. At a time of economic downturn in our agricultural sector, continuing to increase trade with our North American neighbors and other global allies is of vital importance.

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Questions from My Latest Town Hall
By Rep. Kristi Noem

It often goes unreported, but the House has passed more than 250 bills this year, many following through on the conservative priorities I’ve been discussing for nearly a decade. These 250 House-passed bills include the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, resources for President Trump’s border wall proposal, protections for unborn children, VA reform, and a rollback of numerous Obama-era regulations.

More than 50 of these bills have become law, including many regulatory repeals and national-security legislation I wrote to bring more women into peace negotiations. Others, such as Obamacare repeal, continue to be debated in the Senate. This was the opening report I gave at a recent town hall in Mobridge – one in a series of town halls and telephone town halls I’ve done in recent months.

After that initial report came questions. The first was from Carson, a senior at Mobridge-Pollock High School. He wanted to know what had been done on the issue of abortion. I talked to him about how I helped introduce legislation that would define life as beginning at conception. While we haven’t had the opportunity to vote on that specific provision yet, the House did recently pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which bans abortions after 20 weeks (the point at which studies indicate babies can feel pain). We were also able to get legislation signed into law this year that would empower states to withhold family-planning funds from organizations like Planned Parenthood.

The next question came from Jayden, who was wondering what I thought of President Trump. I explained that I was pleased the president was strong on national security, which is his number one job. President Trump also campaigned on building a wall on the southern border, repealing Obamacare, and reforming the tax code – all of which are priorities that I share. Additionally, he put a pro-life Supreme Court justice on the bench, which was a huge accomplishment.

Then, a Navy veteran from the area asked about the inefficiency that happens in many government-run agencies. I’m incredibly grateful for this man’s service and believe his concerns are well founded. I’ve fought this kind of inefficiency and waste many times, including through my CUFF Act. This legislation, which has passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate, would stop certain Social Security benefits from going to people wanted for felonies and parole violations.

The grand finale question came from a young woman interested in my thoughts on unions. South Dakota is a “Right to Work” state, which means individuals can’t be required to join unions or be forced to pay for union dues as a condition of employment (something that’s required in other states). I think “Right to Work” is the right approach.

I was grateful to everyone who made it to my town hall in Mobridge, and I hope to either see you at one in the near future or talk with you during one of my upcoming telephone town halls. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to visit one of my offices, give us a call, or send me an email. To get the location of the office nearest you, please visit my website: noem.house.gov

Get Serious About Tackling Opioid Abuse
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

This week President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency. According to the White House, in our country, drug overdose deaths now outnumber fatal crashes and gun-related deaths, with 175 Americans dying each day. An estimated 11.5 million people self-reported misusing opioids in 2016. And the numbers of infants born drug-dependent and children placed in foster care because of parental drug abuse have both increased substantially.

Fortunately, South Dakota’s prescription drug overdose death rate remains relatively low. Still, every one of these deaths is a tragedy, and for too many South Dakota families, opioid addiction hits close to home.

Jeff and Maureen Deutscher of Sioux Falls experienced something no parent should when, in July of 2015, they lost their son Nick after his battle with addiction. An active, athletic student, Nick was on the high school football team. After he sustained a football injury and was prescribed prescription drugs by his physician, Nick became addicted.

Since their son’s tragic death, the Deutschers have become advocates for preventing opioid abuse. They are a part of a statewide advisory committee which has been meeting over the past year to address this problem in our state.

The committee also includes health care professionals, law enforcement, policymakers and state government officials. Together, this group has developed a strategic plan to address opioid abuse in South Dakota. The plan identifies four key areas of focus: prevention and early identification; treatment and recovery; reducing illicit supply; and emergency response to opioid abuse and misuse.

To address this problem, systemic changes are required. For instance, earlier this year I signed a bill into law which requires doctors to enter painkiller prescriptions into a statewide database within 24 hours. Also, health care providers are providing additional guidance to their physicians on when to prescribe these drugs.

Addressing the issue will also require action on an individual level. That’s why one of the advisory council’s key strategies is to promote the disposal of unused or unwanted drugs, so they don’t fall into the wrong hands.  Law enforcement agencies across the state promoted Saturday, Oct. 28, as National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. This gives South Dakotans the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

If Take Back Day has passed by the time you read this or you can’t make it to one of the locations, check with your local pharmacist or law enforcement for additional disposal options available year-round. In the near future, the Board of Pharmacy hopes to establish these permanent take back sites throughout the state.

With the problem escalating at the national level, now is the time to get serious about tackling opioid abuse. We need all hands on deck.  Health care providers, governments, communities and individuals all have a role to play. We owe it to the Nicks out there who are struggling with addiction, and to the Jeffs and Maureens who are fighting for their loved one, not to wait another day.

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This video came out from the Chiesman Center for Democracy in the last day or so:

And was accompanied by the following statement:

With a recent poll* stating that most South Dakotans disapprove of the job our state legislature is doing, it’s time for South Dakotans to stand up. When the people are not satisfied, it’s usually because they feel that they are not being heard. But you can join the conversation. Sign a petition and be heard.

Read that here.

Having been supported by and I believe having worked on projects funded by the legislature in the past, I’m a bit surprised that they’re spearheading an effort claiming we need to sign all the petitions because “most South Dakotans disapprove of the job our state legislature is doing.“

From my mailbox:

According to the National Republican Congressional Committee, “Young Gun is the highest level of the Young Guns program.  These candidates have met a series of rigorous goals and surpassed program benchmarks to establish a clear path to victory.  Young Gun candidates represent the most competitive congressional seats in the 2018 election cycle.”

Their profile on Dusty notes:

Dusty Johnson believes that America’s best days are ahead of us. Responsive, conservative, open, limited, and constitutional government can help unlock strength and economic opportunities for South Dakota and for America.

Dusty has the values, experience, and energy to be an effective voice for our state (see below). He and his wife Jacquelyn live in Mitchell with their three sons (Max, Ben, and Owen).

Private Sector Experience

• Vice President of Mitchell-based Vantage Point Solutions, working with hundreds of rural telecommunication providers across 40 states
• In that role, overseeing substantial increases in new clients and revenue

Service to Our State

• As Public Utilities Commissioner worked with colleagues to create a reasonable regulatory environment attracting investment into cell towers, broadband, pipelines, power plants, and transmission lines
• As Gubernatorial Chief of Staff provided leadership on successful efforts to eliminate $127 million budget deficit and thousands of regulations

Electoral Success

• Defeated an 18-year incumbent to win PUC seat (2004)
• Won re-election with 73% of the vote (2010)

Service to Others

• Sunday School Teacher (First Lutheran Church)
• Member, South Dakota Right to Life
• Chairman of the Board, Abbott House (home for abused and neglected girls)

Party Involvement

• State Advisor to the South Dakota Teen Age Republicans (2004-present)
• Precinct Committeeman (2004-present)
• Chairman, State Republican Platform Committee (2016)

Read it all here.

Legalizing assisted-suicide creates two classes of human beings, those whose lives should be preserved and those who would be “better off dead.”

The line between these two categories, contrary to those pushing this measure, is very arbitrary. Experience from the few other states and countries that have legalized AS testify to the truth – once assisted-suicide is accepted by society as normal, the momentum to expand assisted-suicide becomes relentless, resulting in increasing number being killed.

Reflect for a moment and ask yourself – do you actually doubt this would happen?

The ballot measure is so shot full of holes that when introduced in 23 states this year, it was rejected by each one of them. That was the case even in states run by Democrats, including Connecticut, Rhode Island and Hawaii. This is not about Democrats versus Republicans.
The key to the politics of assisted-suicide lies in accepting that individuals should have the right to kill themselves, and that the state should permit physicians to intentionally assist patients to kill themselves.

If passed, most householders will sooner or later make life-decisions cognizant of the new law. The drama of assisted-suicide without social damage is a seductive yet false dream.

The justifications offered by the bill’s advocates – that the measure contains safeguards that protect society are not only blatantly false but miss the point entirely. What matters is the core intention of the law. What matters is the ethical threshold being crossed. What matters is that under South Dakota law there will be people whose lives we honor and those we believe are better off dead.

A very real concern includes patient financial pressures to choose the option of assisted-suicide instead of treatment, especially if their insurer covers life-ending medication but not life-extending therapies. This has been already been documented in other states.

If this measure passes, the expectations of patients and families will change. The culture of dying will gradually permeate into our medical, health, social and institutional arrangements. Assisted-suicide stands for everything a truly civil society should stand against. A change of this kind will affect our entire community, not just a small number of dying patients. It is silly to assert that patients will not feel pressure to end their lives if this measure becomes law.

Opposition to assisted-suicide is about the civil ethic that should be at the heart of our society. In public life it is the principles that matter. They define the norms and values of a society and in this case the principles concern our view of human life itself.

The critical issue is that assisted-suicide has implications that extend far beyond any one individual and his or her right to choose. To grant a few the right to assisted-suicide or euthanasia means the rights of many vulnerable others are compromised

Faced with a new option, patients will have to choose to burden their family with their care. Thoughts of being a burden to society, using up all the money for medical expenses, and not feeling worthy to live will combine to suggest the patient should choose to end their life.

Legalizing assisted-suicide may give peace of mind to a few people with terminal illness who may be unaware of the resources available to them, but it has huge negative societal implications and consequences.

Assisted suicide is not the answer to the complex problems people face at the end of life. It creates more problems and injustices than it solves.

The Facebook Page for Citizens Against Assisted Suicide is at https://www.facebook.com/pg/Citizens-Against-Assisted-Suicide-1559476694103175/posts/?ref=page_internal

Senator Mike Rounds found himself involved in a slight controversy over his willingness to break with his fellow South Dakota delegation members in Washington, and joined a group of Senators who were willing to put changes to the inheritance tax on the table as part of a tax reform package to be negotiated.

In the Tri-State Neighbor newspaper, Mike explains why he believes it’s worth talking about:

As with any policy discussion, we recognize that in order to get the votes necessary to pass legislation, we will not all be able to get everything we want. Legislating sometimes requires compromise. Because some of my colleagues are opposed to repealing the death tax, I recently expressed an openness to raising the exemption on the death tax – to $30 million per family vs. $10.98 million today – if that is what it takes to get enough votes to pass comprehensive reform. Increasing the exemption would benefit every family-owned operation in South Dakota, while comprehensive tax reform would benefit every family in our state, farm and non-farm alike. It’s a situation in which we cannot let perfect get in the way of good – or in this case, really, really good.

We must also be careful that a full repeal of the death tax does not have unintended consequences. Many farmers today use the Family Limited Partnership under the gift tax rule, which is tied to the death tax under the U.S. tax code. If the death tax is eliminated, there is uncertainty with how gift rules would apply. As all farmers know, it is important to know the basis of your land value to understand how taxes would be applied.

While we still have a long road ahead of us in the tax reform discussion, we made progress… by passing a budget resolution, the first step to enacting meaningful tax reform that simplifies the code, lowers the rates for every South Dakotan and jolts our sluggish economy. As the tax reform debate moves forward, I will work to make certain our tax policies are fair to those who work hard, become successful, and wish to pass their businesses on to the next generation.

Read it all here.

What are your thoughts?

Sioux Falls Mayoral Candidate Paul TenHaken held a fundraiser for his campaign earlier this week, which by reports from an attendee had over 200 people who came by as Paul prepares for his April election day.

Here’s the invite..