It’s been a busy year in the United States Senate. The new Republican majority is working hard to deliver on our promises to the American people, and while there’s more to be done, there’s a lot we’ve accomplished just this year. We’ve delivered permanent tax relief that puts more money in working families’ pockets. We’ve provided certainty to small businesses, farms, and ranches with permanent tax relief and strengthened the farm safety net. And we’ve made significant investments to make America safer and stronger.

I know the top concern for many South Dakotans is higher costs – it’s something I hear about when I travel across our state, whether it’s from a small business owner in Isabel, a farmer at Dakotafest, or working parents. Affordability begins with having more money in your pocket, and that’s exactly what Republicans have done with the Working Families Tax Cuts, which prevents a $2,500 tax hike on a typical South Dakota family next year. When the new tax law takes effect in the new year, South Dakotans will begin to see benefits from permanent tax relief. The larger child tax credit, bigger standard deduction, and a bonus deduction for seniors will be available this tax season, and that means larger refunds come Tax Day.

South Dakota’s farmers and ranchers are also at the top of my priority list. Agriculture producers will benefit from this permanent tax relief too, including from the 199A deduction and a higher death tax exemption threshold. Republicans also delivered updates to the farm safety net to support farmers and ranchers through the economic headwinds they continue to face. That includes increased reference prices for every covered commodity, making livestock programs more responsive to drought, and funding prevention of animal diseases that can devastate livestock.

Supporting rural communities is also an important priority of mine. Separate from the Working Families Tax Cuts, this year’s annual agriculture funding bill puts federal dollars toward rural broadband expansion, and I’ve been working with the Trump administration to deliver internet access to unserved areas. Then there’s health care, which can be challenging to access in rural areas, especially when a hospital or health center closes. So Republicans took action to support rural hospitals with the Rural Health Transformation Program, which South Dakota plans to use to bolster health care facilities and grow and retain our health care workforce in rural areas. And we repealed a Biden-era staffing mandate that threatened the viability of rural nursing homes in South Dakota.

There’s a lot more that we’ve accomplished for South Dakota this year. There are the investments in Ellsworth Air Force Base – including full funding for the B-21 mission and supporting infrastructure. There’s the support for local law enforcement in the One Big Beautiful Bill, and new border security resources to help stop illegal immigration and the flow of drugs across our southern border. We’ve repealed electric vehicle mandates that were simply not realistic for a state like ours, where long distances and cold weather are a fact of life. And we’re even doing our part to support the pheasant population in our state.

I come to work every day to get results for South Dakota. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished this year, and there’s still more to come. So I’ll be keeping my foot on the gas to continue delivering for South Dakotans.