Weekly Columns
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.
Over the last week, many schools across South Dakota resumed classes – both in-person and online. This marks the beginning of a sense of normalcy many of our kids are experiencing for the first time in several months.
The last several months continue to serve as a reminder of services critical to all Americans. Two of those services have been on the forefront of my mind recently: The United States Postal Service and local newspapers.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act – this bill authorized a critical pandemic program for American families – the Farmers to Families Food Box. Since March, more than 62 million families across the country have received food boxes.
South Dakota is home to outstanding universities and technical colleges that are leading the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) fields that so many students are pursuing. These students have an opportunity to receive a first-class education right here in South Dakota.