Weekly Column

Congress gets a bad rap for never getting anything done. It's not completely undeserved, but every single day bills pass out of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate.

This week was no exception. My legislation to honor former Congressman and Rosebud Sioux tribal member Ben Reifel passed the U.S. Senate and is headed to the president's desk to be signed into law.

One week. That's how much time remains before Congress heads home for Christmas.

While hundreds of thousands of Americans – schools, families, and small businesses – continue to struggle from COVID-19, both House and the Senate leadership have struggled to come together on another relief proposal. For months, members of the Problem Solvers Caucus have been finding common ground on proposals, and this week we unveiled another relief framework which has gained even more support than our first attempt in September.

Like most South Dakotans, I want to keep our schools open and our economy strong. If we don't get COVID-19 under control, that's going to be increasingly difficult.

November is memorable for many things – including Election Day and the start of the holiday season – but it also marks the start of National Adoption Month.

In South Dakota, the average age of a child waiting to be adopted is nine years old. My youngest is eight – it's heartbreaking knowing there are so many children my son's age in need of a loving home.

America is a special place.

I was reminded of that this week as I had coffee with Svitlana and Iryna. Both of these women moved to America from Ukraine two years ago. Both are married to hardworking husbands, and both have children.

Over coffee we discussed our families, our work experiences, and the differences between Ukraine and the United States. According to Iryna and Svitlana, the bread is better in the Ukraine, but the people in America are much nicer. In South Dakota, "everyone smiles all the time," they told me.

This week I hit the road and traveled across the state to sit down with our students and enjoy a hot meal during school lunch. It's National School Lunch Week, so I toured schools from Box Elder to Vermillion.

As the top Republican on the Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations and as a member of the Education & Labor Committee, our kid's lunches are more important to my work than you might think.

We all know 2020 has been a year filled with adversity. While the majority of this year has been tough for most, it's not been all bad. I was reminded of the good still happening in this world last week when my wife told me about the story of Mitchell resident, Samantha Schaefer.

Throughout my first two years in Congress, I've heard from cattle producers struggling with a volatile market and unpredictable pricing. It's no secret to our producers – the 2019 Holcomb fire and COVID-19 disrupted the cattle market and exposed cracks in our supply chain.

Last year, after urging from Agriculture state members like myself, Senator Thune, and Senator Rounds, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue announced an investigation into the cattle market. Part of that investigative report was released over the summer.