Weekly Column

With August recess wrapping up and Members of Congress soon returning to Washington, I wanted to provide you with some of the highlights from my time spent in South Dakota over the summer work period.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001. It was like every other day working for then-Congressman John Thune on Capitol Hill. I was a staff assistant at the time and our office, the Longworth House Office Building, was located adjacent to the Capitol.

The events that unfolded in Afghanistan over the last few weeks have been a tragedy.

It was devastating to hear the news that thirteen servicemembers were killed – the deadliest day in Afghanistan in over a decade – outside the airport gates in Kabul while assisting Americans and Afghan allies urgently trying to flee the country.

This week, the House was called back for a special session. However, it was not to vote on legislation related to the heart-wrenching humanitarian and military crisis unfolding in Afghanistan. Instead, Speaker Pelosi called us back to vote on a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint.

Summer is coming to an end and students across South Dakota are heading back to school. I was home to see my three boys off to start the 2021-2022 school year this week.

While many schools in our state remained open during this past year, the same cannot be said about school districts across the country.

Like many South Dakotans, I grew up in a working-class family where the value of hard work was instilled in me at a young age. The ability to earn an income and support your family is one of the greatest opportunities America has to offer.

The COVID-19 pandemic hindered this opportunity as businesses and schools closed across the country and many families found themselves hard-pressed financially.

Just like any school-aged kid, I love recess. But recess in Congress looks a little different than recess in elementary school.

In a country where every year there are more than forty thousand suicides and sixty thousand drug overdose deaths, mental health matters.

Our nation has overlooked mental health for too long. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for South Dakotans, which is heartbreaking, unacceptable, and why we must do more.