Fighting for South Dakotans
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
October 27, 2023
BIG Update
Mexico’s ban on imports of genetically modified corn from the U.S. and Brazil’s unfair tariffs on our ethanol are hurting producers who rely on exporting their products.
This week, I joined a group of Midwest Republican congressmen in a meeting with Doug McKalip, the Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. We talked about the need to reestablish markets with Brazil and Mexico and to encourage U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to pressure Brazil and Mexico to end these policies. South Dakota exports around 40% of its corn—having these markets back online would benefit South Dakota producers.
We must work together to negotiate trade agreements that benefit U.S. agriculture.
BIG Idea
Most of us in South Dakota know how unrealistic the Biden Administration’s desire to make an immediate switch to electric vehicles (EVs) is for rural America. Our cold weather, long distances between destinations, and lack of charging stations make it almost impossible to switch to EVs. I met with South Dakota members of the Community Transportation Association of America to discuss rural transit services, propane buses, and how to best serve our communities.
BIG News
The House elected Speaker Johnson this week. No, not me, but Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana. I was proud to vote for him so we could restore order to the House of Representatives. I look forward to working with him as we pass legislation to secure the southern border, tackle the national debt, and avoid a government shutdown.
The House was in an unfortunate stalemate for three weeks. Our first action after installing Speaker Mike Johnson was passing a bill to support Israel and condemn Hamas for their acts of terror on our ally, Israel. Yesterday, we passed another appropriations bill, getting us one step closer to fully funding the government. I’m glad we’ve hit the ground running.
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