The rising cost of health care and prescription drugs is of great concern, but for South Dakota seniors, help is on the way. Starting November 15, seniors across South Dakota will have an opportunity to start signing up for the new prescription drug coverage under Medicare. This new benefit is... Continue Reading
The high cost of health care weighs heavily on many families and small business owners across South Dakota. We need to create more cost-effective and efficient health care, and I expect the Senate to tackle this issue head-on this fall. Ensuring access to quality affordable health care in rural areas... Continue Reading
While criss-crossing the state during the Senate’s August recess, it was good to hear the variety of issues that concern South Dakotans. Some issues tend to be more regionalized, with Ellsworth Air Force Base dominating the discussion in West River, and Missouri River water issues at the forefront in the... Continue Reading
Our 2002 Senate race was certainly one of the most contentious in our state’s history, as most folks reading this will remember. However, we both have come to the conclusion that – in order to effectively represent the state that we both deeply love and care about – we need... Continue Reading
The members of the BRAC Commission will gather next week to determine Ellsworth’s fate. Unless five of the nine commissioners agree to disagree with the Pentagon’s recommendation to close Ellsworth, the base will close. With that fact in mind, we have worked tirelessly to save Ellsworth since the Pentagon made... Continue Reading
On issues critical to South Dakota – from better highways to cheaper energy – the new Senate is delivering. Since we began our work in January, the new Senate has overcome the obstruction that stopped critical bills stalled for years. By working together, we have finally passed a highway bill,... Continue Reading
Our Founding Fathers, who fought a war for the principles of self-government, were understandably concerned about overzealous and tyrannical governments. The founders believed that a central component of self-government was the protection of citizens’ property rights. In colonial days, oppressive monarchs would take land from hard-working and industrious settlers for... Continue Reading
With the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the U.S. Senate is preparing to fulfill its Constitutional responsibility to give “advice and consent” after President Bush nominates a new individual to the nation’s highest court. It’s been 11 years since the last Supreme Court opening. This is an... Continue Reading
Sadly, we are all too familiar with the scene on the nightly news or accounts in newspapers where a group of protestors douse an American flag in kerosene and set it on fire. While I defend the right of demonstrators to speak out on whatever issues are important to them,... Continue Reading
With thousands of Ellsworth supporters rallying behind us last week in Rapid City, we presented a compelling and fact-filled case before three members of the Base Realignment and Closure Committee (BRAC). But our work is not finished. It was a first-class presentation and event organized by the Ellsworth Task Force,... Continue Reading
Everyone is looking for the “silver bullet” to shoot down gas prices, but as with most big problems there is not one simple answer. There are, however, several different actions we can take to attack that high price at the pump and many of them can be found in the... Continue Reading
When the Pentagon released its Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list last month, I said the Pentagon was dead wrong to include Ellsworth Air Force Base. Since that day and in the coming weeks, I have been and will be working with Senator Johnson, Congresswoman Herseth, Governor Rounds and the... Continue Reading
