Weekly Columns
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.
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.
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.
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.
America is a young nation. Constitution Day is September 17th and it marks two hundred and thirty-three years since the ratification of our U.S. Constitution. Although our nation was founded in 1776, our guiding principles of freedom of the press and free speech were officially set in stone more than ten years later.
Today, military homecomings are met with open arms, tears of joy, parades, and celebrations – a concept that is a bit foreign to the nearly three million soldiers who returned home from the Vietnam War.