Media
Latest News
School is back in session, which means so is Congress. I spent the last six weeks in South Dakota for the summer in-state work period. I've said it before – I don't think Congress needs a six-week break. We have work to do in Washington. However, my time spent in the state was valuable. When Congress is in session, I typically try to cram my weekends full of meetings and visits with constituents or local businesses, so it was refreshing to have more time to meet with many of the community leaders and constituents I haven't sat down with yet.
A dozen members of Congress, led by Rep. Abby Finkenauer, D-Iowa, sent a letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro Aug. 21 urging the U.S. Government Accountability Office to examine the review and approval of small refinery exemptions (SREs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard, including the U.S. Department of Energy's viability scores for the 40 SREs reviewed to date by the DOE for the 2018 compliance year.
South Dakota is leading the way in energy independence. I've always said the greatest improvements in our environment and conservation won't come in the form of a "green new deal" or the latest trend on the internet – it will come from U.S. innovation. The biofuels industry in South Dakota, along with the efforts of farmers, has proven innovation can move the needle in the right direction.
As the cicadas buzz fills the sky in the waning days of summer and South Dakota's students begin to head back for their first few weeks of school, you can bet that Dakotafest is right around the corner. For those of you who don't know, Dakotafest is a three-day celebration of our state's agricultural community held just south of my home of Mitchell.
As part of an investigation into labor trafficking in South Dakota, the Argus Leader asked our state's congressional delegation about the extent of illegal labor practices in the area and possible solutions.
We also asked their thoughts on the H-2B visa, which allows employers to hire foreign workers to perform temporary non-agricultural services on a seasonal basis, a source of potential abuse if an employer takes the worker's immigration papers or has them overstay their visa.
An average summer day in South Dakota is 82 degrees. While I am in the state for the August work period, I want to make sure I get face time with as many of you as possible. To help beat the heat and hear from South Dakotans at the same time, I'm making stops at ice cream shops throughout the state to get the "Inside Scoop." I am always looking for more opportunities to sit down with constituents and have a conversation. What better way than over ice cream?
U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson was in Aberdeen for a town hall-style event at the Twist Cone.
His event, called "Inside Scoop with Dusty" drew a crowd of about 40.
Earlier in the day Johnson met with a group of constituents at Aberdeen Development Corp. and toured Avera St. Luke's Hospital.
Residents asked Johnson a variety of questions. The following is a sample of the answers he gave.
Across America, opioids are ripping apart communities and families. After coming to Congress, my bipartisan freshman class made the decision to make addiction a primary focus, because combating the opioid crisis is one issue that all lawmakers can agree on. Addiction impacts families from all walks of life and I believe it is our government's responsibility to start finding solutions. Over the past two years, the Administration has secured more than $6 billion to fight opioid abuse in our communities – but more must be done. |
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) cosponsored the End Child Trafficking Now Act, which would require adults claiming familial relation to migrant children to prove their relationship. Children should never be trafficked, yet from October 2018 to May 2019 the Department of Homeland Security identified nearly 4,800 migrants presenting as family units to be fraudulent. According to the U.S.