Agriculture
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BIG Update
I joined the Peaceful Pines Senior Living Center in Huron to talk about my work in Washington and the policies in the One Big Beautiful Bill that will help seniors. Policies like cutting taxes on Social Security, expanding access to home and community-based care, and ensuring longevity for health and social programs will make a meaningful impact on the lives of many seniors.
BIG Update
Dakotafest showcases the best of South Dakota agriculture. I joined our senators and the South Dakota Farm Bureau to discuss the Farm Bill, conservation programs, agricultural research, and the need to protect American farmland from being purchased by China and other adversaries. Farm security is national security, and it is vital that the U.S. works to secure our agricultural land from the Chinese Communist Party and affiliated groups.
BIG Update
Law enforcement officers face risks every day to protect their communities. On Sunday, I joined Sheriff Pat West in Sturgis to thank officers serving during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. These brave men and women are responsible for keeping South Dakotans and visitors safe. Many of these officers work overtime to keep us safe, and thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill this overtime pay will be tax free.
BIG Idea
A U.S. Congressman from South Dakota says splitting the farm bill was necessary to get the best, overall policy for farm programs and nutrition.
Dusty Johnson tells Brownfield “the Democrats have always said if we’re going to help farm programs, we have to increase SNAP spending even more. We’re just not in a fiscal environment where we can get that done.”
The committee-approved reconciliation package includes a cost-sharing approach with states on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and new parameters for SNAP eligibility.
“If you’re an able-bodied 27-year-old or 57-year-old, we want to make sure you’ve got 20 hours each week you’re going to work, volunteering or going to school. If you’re not doing that, we have to ask why are we putting you on SNAP or food stamps when those resources are reserved for our neediest Americans.”
Johnson is sponsoring legislation that sets stricter work requirements for SNAP and he says more than $230 billion was cut in nutrition spending in the next decade.
House Ag Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig opposed the cuts to the SNAP program as the reconciliation package was debated last week. She says the cuts were made in a partisan manner and she was expecting the committee to pass a bipartisan 5-year farm bill this year.
Johnson says there are differing opinions on how a new farm bill needed to move forward, but “politics are the art of the possible and I still think with the other programs, we do right by them and there isn’t any reason we can’t.”
He says the House Ag Committee is expected to work on the “orphan” farm bill titles, like research and the miscellaneous, that aren’t included in budget reconciliation, later this year.
BIG News
The House Agriculture Committee passed its portion of House Republicans’ reconciliation package, commonly referred to as the “one big, beautiful bill.” Our committee found more than $290 billion in savings while making strong investments to support American agriculture and rural communities.
Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Agriculture Committee passed their portion of House Republicans’ reconciliation package, which includes several of U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson’s (R-S.D.) priorities for rural America and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The package identifies $296 billion in savings while making significant investments in Farm Bill programs that support American agriculture.
Washington, D.C. – Today, House Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Chairman Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), House Committee on Agriculture Chairman G.T.
BIG News
Heather and Charles Maude, fifth generation West River ranchers, faced up to ten years in prison over a fence line dispute with the Biden Administration’s U.S. Forest Service. Thankfully, under the leadership of President Trump, cooler heads prevailed. This week, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the criminal charges against the Maude family were dropped.