The mission statement in my office begins like this: “We are placed in our positions to serve the people of South Dakota…” Not a day goes by that I don’t remember that it is an honor to serve you in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

On this page, I wanted to highlight some of the top accomplishments we’ve made for South Dakota:

• Passing the 2014 Farm Bill.  Agriculture is South Dakota’s leading industry, having a $21 billion annual impact on our state’s economy. While not everyone farms – even here in South Dakota – everyone eats. I was a leader in getting the 2014 Farm Bill passed and was proud to be the first House Member from South Dakota to be appointed to the committee that negotiated the final Farm Bill in nearly 20 years. The 2014 Farm Bill included reforms that saved taxpayers billions of dollars, created a strong safety net for producers, reestablished a meaningful livestock disaster program, supported pine beetle mitigation efforts, maintained the Sun Grant Initiative (which SDSU takes part in), established a permanent Office of Tribal Relations at USDA, and created important sod-saver provisions to promote conservation. These programs will help protect our forests and keep food affordable and safe in the grocery store. Read more here.
  
  
• Cutting Wasteful Government Spending. We have fundamentally changed the conversation in Washington to make spending cuts a priority.  I’m proud that we’ve enacted the most significant spending reductions in modern history – even more so than was done under Ronald Reagan!  We’ve cut total discretionary spending for four years in a row – a first since the Korean War.  And we’ve enacted the largest deficit control bills since 1981 - without raising taxes.  There’s more to be done, but we’re making progress.
   
• Fighting for Flexibility in School Lunch Standards. We all want our kids to be healthier, but enforcing a nationwide, one-size-fits-all approach to school lunch standards is extremely costly for our schools and jeopardizes the program’s long-term viability. I’m proud to have introduced the Reducing Federal Mandates on School Lunch Act, which would give administrators more flexibility on some of the rules that have increased costs for school districts and limited what they could put on students’ plates. I’m proud to be driving this debate nationally.  While there’s still more work to do, the increased attention has forced the USDA to back off some of the most restrictive regulations.  Read more here.
  
  
• Protecting the Lewis & Clark Project.  Communities in South Dakota have paid their fair share of the funding for this project.  Now, the federal government must follow through on funding they promised years ago. Year after year, the President’s budget seems to underfund our commitments to Lewis and Clark. For FY2014, I was able to draft language that allowed for an additional $5.2 million for Lewis and Clark, bringing the FY2014 total to $8.4 million.  This addition was made without increasing spending overall.  We’re working to get similar support for rural water projects in the FY2015 budget.  Read more here.
  
  
• Preserving Historic Black Hills Cemeteries.  The Black Hills is home to nine historic cemeteries that are currently under the federal government’s control.  To honor the communities that have been caring for the cemeteries for generations and to reduce liabilities for the U.S. Forest Service, I introduced and worked in the House to pass legislation that would turn ownership of these cemeteries to their rightful owners – the communities that maintain them.  This bill became law in July 2014.  Read more here.
  
  
• Combatting Sexual Assault in the Military.  Our troops face enough attacks on the battlefield; they shouldn’t face attacks in their own barracks too. After learning of the growing sexual assault problem in our military, I worked on the House Armed Services Committee to include dozens of reforms to the way the military handles sexual assault cases in our annual defense policy bill.  In 2013, three provisions I authored were included and became law, including legislation to improve the investigation of sex-related offenses, require sexual assault prevention personnel to have certain qualifications, and standardize basic training plans for sexual assault.  Read more here.
  
  
• Addressing the Issue of Sex Trafficking. Sex trafficking doesn’t just occur overseas – it happens within our borders.  It happens in South Dakota. As a parent of three, eliminating sex trafficking has become very personal to me.  In May 2014, I helped pass one of the most comprehensive sex trafficking packages Congress has seen in years.  The legislation allocates more resources for survivors, offers more tools to go after traffickers and buyers, and puts policies in place to better prevent trafficking.  Read more here.
  
  
• Stopping Needless Washington Regulations.  When the Department of Labor tried to change child labor laws, which could have banned kids from doing certain farm work on their relative’s or neighbor’s farms, I was pleased that after I put pressure on the Department they rescinded the rule.  When OSHA tried to regulate small family farms, I was proud that again I was effective in putting pressure on the agency until they reversed course.  And when the EPA was looking to expand dust regulations, I was glad I could introduce legislation to stop their overzealous regulating.
   
• Combatting the Pine Beetle Epidemic.  When hosting U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell in the Black Hills, we discussed the need to begin dealing with epidemics like this in the terms of thousands of acres, rather than hundreds.  That gave us the momentum we needed to include a provision in the Farm Bill that empowers forests to begin dealing with thousands of acres at a time. Governors across the West are already pushing to use this new authority. In addition to that request, I’ve been able to help secure $3.5 million in additional funds for the Black Hills over the years  for the fight and streamline the regulatory process so we can get boots on the ground faster.
   
• Fighting for the Hot Springs VA Hospital. The Hot Springs VA Hospital has long provided critical care to South Dakota veterans, but the VA continues to push toward closing the facility – with the next step being an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). I have met with Secretary Shinseki and invited him to visit Hot Springs personally.  Time and again, the House has supported initiatives I authored to protect the Hot Springs VA Hospital and I will continue to make the facility and the veterans it serves a priority.    Read more here.
  
  
• Holding the Army Corps of Engineers Accountable.  I’ll never forget the fear many people had during the 2011 flood in Pierre because they just didn’t see it coming.  I’m proud to have authored language that was included in the latest water policy bill to require better communication between the Corps and the public.  Additionally, the bill included a provision I championed that would prohibit the Corps’ from charging South Dakotans for surplus water taken from Missouri River reservoirs.  This bill was made law in June 2014.  Read more here.

These are just some of the important issues I’ve been working on for South Dakota. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to my office on these issues and many others.  Please keep in touch with my office by clicking the Contact button above if you’d like to talk about any issues important to you.

Many thanks,

Kristi