The Weekly Windup By Congressman Dusty Johnson

The Weekly Windup
By Rep. Dusty Johnson

It’s Not Perfect – There was a circus in town this week, and it took up residence on the House floor. With 84 votes, the Senate passed a much-needed bipartisan humanitarian border bill that the President agreed to sign. In the House, Speaker Pelosi stood in the way of this legislation for weeks and waited until the midnight hour to bring a solution to the floor.

I spoke on the House floor and urged the Speaker to bring the Senate-approved border bill up for a vote immediately. I don’t understand why many of my colleagues rejected a compassionate and common-sense measure. We have a border crisis that is out of control and I’m glad that after hours of debate, 128 of my Democrat colleagues realized this and ultimately supported the Senate bill to provide $4.59 billion in humanitarian aid for the Southern Border.

Constituent Spotlight – This week Senator Thune and I were able to sit down with two South Dakota moms who were in town for the Addiction Policy Forum. Angela Kennecke and Melissa Flynn both know all too well the personal impact of opioid addiction on U.S. families. Angela and Melissa brought their children’s stories to Capitol Hill in hopes another parent never has to feel the pain of losing a child to addiction. The opioid crisis is a national emergency and I cosponsored the Fentanyl Sanctions Act to combat this issue.

Back Home – Ahead of the Fourth of July, I’m heading to Lantis Fireworks in North Sioux City to discuss tariffs and proposed overregulation of fireworks. I’m also headed to Hot Springs and Rapid City for my first stops on my “Inside Scoop with Dusty” tour across South Dakota. Keep an eye out, I may just make a stop at an ice cream shop in your town! I want to be as accessible as possible, what better way to do that than over an ice cream cone?

Working Together – The opioid crisis impacts every community in the United States, it doesn’t discriminate. It touches the strongest and the weakest in our neighborhoods, the richest and the poorest – that is why I introduced the Campus Prevention and Recovery Services for Students Act with several of my Democrat and Republican colleagues. This bill would ensure that students are not left behind in our bipartisan fight against the opioid epidemic. Prevention efforts should be collaborative and evidence-based. This bill will accomplish that goal, providing greater safety to our students and our communities.

I look forward with sharing my thoughts with you in next week’s update! You can find the very latest updates by following me on social media – @RepDustyJohnson.