Congress
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Back in Session
This year has been far from normal. But over the last few weeks Congress has been back in session, and the pace seems to be picking up again. Last week, I unveiled a bipartisan pathway for another COVID-19 relief bill, and this week, the House has been focused on passing a number of tribal bills as well as a bill to keep our government open through the election.
Congress passed the last COVID-19 relief bill 174 days ago. Hundreds of thousands of Americans – schools, families, and small businesses – are still struggling from this virus. Both the House and the Senate have proposed vastly different proposals to help these hurting Americans. The House passed a bill with a $3T price tag – that's too much spending so I voted no. The Senate has offered several packages with a lower price tag, but Senate Democrats have offered no support. We need to find common ground.
WASHINGTON - Today, Tuesday, September 15, 2020, the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus – 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans -- unveiled its "March To Common Ground" framework to help break the gridlock on the latest COVID-19 relief package and encourage negotiators to get back to the table.
The 50-member bipartisan Caucus, developed and came together in support of the framework after extensive listening to constituents and outreach to stakeholders over the past six weeks.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D) today announced that they are accepting applications to the U.S. military academies for the class entering in the summer of 2021.
Students interested in attending a service academy must first obtain a nomination from a member of Congress. Thune and Johnson will make nominations to the Military Academy at West Point, the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York.
The last several months continue to serve as a reminder of services critical to all Americans. Two of those services have been on the forefront of my mind recently: The United States Postal Service and local newspapers.
Each are important for different reasons – the USPS plays a vital role in delivering medications and other essential goods, and our local newspapers work day in and day out to keep South Dakotans informed of what's happening both locally and nationally.
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Collin Peterson (D-MN) introduced the Preserving Readership and Information of Newspapers for Tomorrow (PRINT) Act, which would include the cost of print production of local print media in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Currently, local media is eligible for the PPP, but printing costs are not forgivable under the program guidelines.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today announced South Dakota's first Congressional App Challenge (CAC), an app competition for students in middle and high school across the country.
The CAC accepts computer programs (or apps) written in any programming language, for any platform (desktop/PC, web, mobile, raspberry Pi, etc.).
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Greg Gianforte (R-MT) urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to hold convicted pedophile and former Indian Health Service (IHS) pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber fully accountable for his actions. The Representatives demanded HHS take quick action to revoke Mr. Weber's government pension after an investigation reported the felon, convicted of child sexual abuse, was still receiving his pension.
Politicians are people, too. Unfortunately, in today's highly partisan environment that can be hard to remember. Cable news fosters the idea that officeholders, especially those in the other party, are worthy of our derision, rather than our respect or empathy.
Two incidents of the last week have reminded me of the fragility of the human experience. These tragedies have impacted human beings, human beings who happen to be involved in politics.
Remarks as prepared for delivery:
Thank you, Madam Chair.
When Secretary Perdue announced the creation of the Farmers to Families Food Box program, I was excited.
This was a way to expeditiously assist producers—many of whom were plowing over crops or dumping milk because of supply chain disruptions—as well as consumers who found themselves in circumstances beyond their control, and in great need.