Weekly Column
BIG Update
The 250 students at Girls State in Vermillion had great questions and high enthusiasm about being civically involved. We had a great conversation about politics and policy in D.C., why that matters in South Dakota, and the importance of civility in politics. The American Legion Auxiliary always puts on a great event, and I was happy to join them.
BIG Idea
BIG Update
I voted to pass the House’s One Big, Beautiful Bill, which is a strong, conservative package that prevents the largest tax hike in American history while saving $1.6 trillion, the largest spending reduction in a generation.
The bill secures our borders by finishing thousands of miles of walls and barriers and hires thousands more Border Patrol and ICE personnel. It also funds the enforcement of the successful “Remain in Mexico” policy.
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.
BIG Update
This week the Midwest Honor Flight came to D.C., and I had the opportunity to greet the 85 veterans at the World War II Memorial. The Honor Flight does a great job of bringing veterans to our nation’s capital to see the memorials dedicated to their service. It’s always an honor to meet them and thank them for their service.
BIG Idea
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.
BIG News
Valley Queen completed its expansion in Milbank, and I was excited to see the completed project firsthand. Investments in dairy production are vital to South Dakota producers. Each year, Valley Queen receives 1.8 billion pounds of milk from farms in South Dakota and Minnesota to produce 200 million pounds of cheese. I’m grateful for their continued investment in our state.
Jolene
Yá'át'ééh shik’éí dóó shidine’é, shi éí Jolene Anderson yíníshyé. Hello! My name is Jolene Anderson, and I had the privilege of interning in Dusty Johnson’s office as his Ben Reifel intern this semester. The Ben Reifel Internship is an ode to the legacy of Congressman Ben Reifel, the first Lakota member of Congress who represented South Dakota in the 1960s.
BIG Update
The House passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act to strengthen election security. The SAVE Act requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections and requires states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls. Only U.S. citizens should be voting in U.S. elections.