Weekly Column
We all have businesses we love and reasons why we love them—it may be good food, quality service, or great people. There are so many great places across our state, and I wanted to hear about them. Recently, I asked South Dakotans what their favorite local business is and why. Over 200 businesses were recommended from 76 cities.
A congressional internship is a great opportunity to witness the inner workings of our nation’s government and establish connections that help lead into professional life. Working for Congressman Dusty Johnson allows you to learn while being mentored by an advanced and established office of professionals.
Jonah:
Congress had a pretty busy week in Washington, D.C. – here’s a recap.
Today, the House voted on the Continuing Resolution to fund the government for the next several weeks. While permitting restrictions and funding for monkeypox and COVID were stripped out – there was too much pork in this bill – I voted no.
For the past two years, big government policies in Washington, D.C. have decimated our economy, left the southern border open, and skyrocketed inflation.
Cargo ships to planes, semi-trucks to trains, it seems we keep hitting roadblock after roadblock to get our supply chain on the right track – and keep it there.
First, it was the clogged ports due to unfair practices by cargo shipping companies. My Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) addressed this issue and now the average shipping rate is less than half the price before OSRA became law.
The August District Work Period is coming to a close, and next week Members of the House head back to D.C. for votes.
August was full of meetings in South Dakota with constituents, community leaders, small business owners, and more. I hosted town halls, visited county fairs, honored veterans, and toured businesses.
Having a job isn’t always easy, which I suppose is why they call it “work.” However, you can’t deny the importance of good work ethic. There isn’t any reliable recipe for life success that doesn’t involve a mountain of hard work.
July 2022 marked a 388% increase in border crossings compared to July 2020 when President Trump was in office. This number is slightly down compared to June—however—July is the 17th consecutive month under Biden’s presidency that the southern border had over 150,000 illegal border crossings. Not to mention the 200% increase of fentanyl seizures from June 2022 to July 2022.
This week, the Speaker of the House interrupted the August Work Period in our districts and states, calling all Representatives to vote on the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act”. The $745 billion bill does little to actually reduce inflation – it may just make things even worse. July’s 8.5% inflation report shows a slight cooling of inflationary pressure. Passing this bill could reverse the little bit of progress we have made.