{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=CC4645BC-8DDE-41E9-B0A6-9C6720123817", "Thune: Soaring Inflation, Record-High Costs Hurting South Dakota Farmers and Ranchers", "2022-09-14", "2022", "2022-09", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "Click here or on the picture above to watch the video.\n\nWASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the ongoing inflation crisis that the American people continue to face and noted the tone-deaf messaging coming from the White House and congressional Democrats. Thune also highlighted the toll inflation is taking on the agriculture industry in South Dakota, and he noted that under the Biden administration, farm production expenses are projected to reach record highs.\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cMr. President, yesterday afternoon, Democrats and the president gathered at the White House to celebrate their so-called Inflation Reduction Act \u2026 a bill that will do exactly nothing to reduce inflation.\n\n\u201cAnd you don\u2019t have to take my word for that.\n\n\u201cThe nonpartisan Penn Wharton Budget Model said this about the bill\u2019s impact on inflation: \u2018The impact on inflation is statistically indistinguishable from zero.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Statistically indistinguishable from zero.\u2019\n\n\u201cOr you could take the word of the Democrat chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, who admitted on the Senate floor that the so-called Inflation Reduction Act would not reduce inflation.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s right.\n\n\u201cMr. President, to describe yesterday\u2019s celebration at the White House as tone-deaf is putting it mildly.\n\n\u201cDemocrats had a big party to celebrate a bill that may fulfill some of their big-government fantasies but will do nothing to fix the inflation crisis facing our country.\n\n\u201cMeanwhile, Americans were dealing with the release of August\u2019s inflation numbers \u2013 which were even higher than expected and made it very clear that soaring prices will continue for the foreseeable future.\n\n\u201cOne of President Obama\u2019s top economic advisers noted yesterday, and I quote, \u2018Today\u2019s CPI report confirms that the US has a serious inflation problem. Core inflation is higher this month than for the quarter, higher this quarter than last quarter, higher this half of the year than the previous one, and higher last year than the previous one.\u2019\n\n\u201cYet Democrats and the president thought yesterday was a good day to celebrate fulfilling some of their big-government fantasies.\n\n\u201cI guess Americans struggling to afford their soaring grocery bills can be comforted by the fact that thanks to Democrats\u2019 legislation, their tax dollars will now be going to fund electric vehicle tax credits for wealthy Americans \u2013 not to mention road equity and identifying gaps in tree canopy coverage.\n\n\u201cMr. President, the pain of inflation is permeating every aspect of our economy.\n\n\u201cDuring the month of August, I spent a lot of time traveling around South Dakota, and, naturally, I spent a lot of time talking to farmers and ranchers.\n\n\u201cAnd one thing I heard over and over is the toll inflation is taking on agriculture.\n\n\u201cIn addition to the normal challenges every American is facing from inflation \u2013 like high utility bills and high grocery prices \u2013 farmers and ranchers are facing massive increases in the price of essential inputs like fertilizer and fuel.\n\n\u201cUnder the Biden administration, farm production expenses will reach a record high this year.\n\n\u201cFertilizer prices are on track to increase by 84 percent.\n\n\u201c84 percent.\n\n\u201cThat is a staggering increase.\n\n\u201cFuel prices are on track to increase 65 percent.\n\n\u201cAnd there\u2019s no end in sight.\n\n\u201cAnd farmers are facing a huge increase in interest costs thanks to a combination of higher interest rates and record-high farm debt.\n\n\u201cGross farm income is actually supposed to reach a record level this year, but those gains are expected to be entirely wiped out by inflation \u2013 and then some.\n\n\u201cThanks to inflation, net farm income is expected to decrease.\n\n\u201cMeanwhile, Democrats were at the White House celebrating a bill that will not only do nothing to address our inflation crisis but will drive up energy bills for American farmers and American families.\n\n\u201cMr. President, agriculture is the lifeblood of my state of South Dakota.\n\n\u201cAnd addressing the needs of farmers and ranchers is always one of my top priorities here in the Senate.\n\n\u201cAnd while it\u2019s unfortunately going to be difficult to stop Democrats from prolonging our inflation crisis as long as they\u2019re in charge in Washington, in the meantime I am doing everything I can to make life easier for farmers and ranchers.\n\n\u201cOne of my top priorities right now is preparing for the 2023 farm bill, to make it as effective as possible in addressing the challenges facing farmers and ranchers.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve been holding roundtables in South Dakota to hear directly from producers about their priorities for the farm bill.\n\n\u201cSo far, I\u2019ve held roundtables covering row crops, conservation, and livestock.\n\n\u201cI also participated in a farm bill panel at Dakotafest and an Aberdeen Area Chamber of Commerce farm bill discussion at the Brown County Fair.\n\n\u201cAnd I look forward to continuing to receive input from producers as the time to draft the farm bill approaches.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve also begun introducing legislation \u2013 based on my conversations with farmers and ranchers \u2013 that I will work to get included in the farm bill.\n\n\u201cIn March I introduced the Conservation Reserve Program Improvement Act, which would make CRP grazing a more attractive option for farmers and ranchers by providing cost-share payments for all CRP practices for the establishment of grazing infrastructure, including fencing and water distribution.\n\n\u201cIt would also increase the annual payment limit for CRP, which has not changed since 1985, to help account for inflation and the increase in land value.\n\n\u201cIn May I joined Senator Klobuchar to introduce the Agriculture Innovation Act.\n\n\u201cCurrently the U.S. Department of Agriculture collects reams of data on conservation practices.\n\n\u201cThe problem is that a lot of this data is often not analyzed and presented in a way that would be useful for farmers and ranchers.\n\n\u201cThe legislation Senator Klobuchar and I introduced would provide for better processing and development of the data USDA collects, so that farmers and ranchers can evaluate the impact of conservation and other production practices on things like soil health, crop yields, and profitability.\n\n\u201cOur bill would make it easier for farmers and ranchers to decide what conservation practices to adopt by, among other things, helping producers identify the ways adopting conservation practices can improve their bottom line.\n\n\u201cIn the next couple of weeks I will be introducing another piece of legislation for the 2023 farm bill to improve the effectiveness of livestock disaster assistance for producers.\n\n\u201cToo often, producers find that accessing disaster relief programs at the Department of Agriculture is an arduous and lengthy process.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m working on legislation that would make it easier for farmers and ranchers to access the Livestock Forage Disaster Program and the Emergency Conservation Program so that producers can receive timely assistance in the wake of natural disasters like drought and flooding.\n\n\u201cThe U.S. Drought Monitor plays a critical role in triggering USDA disaster assistance, and I\u2019m working to build on my previous efforts to improve weather monitoring and the accuracy of the Drought Monitor.\n\n\u201cMr. President, this isn\u2019t a farm bill issue per se, but I\u2019m also introducing legislation today to prevent Democrats from using funding in the recently passed \u2013 and misnamed \u2013 Inflation Reduction Act to monitor livestock methane emissions.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s very clear that elements of the radical environmental left would like to see U.S. livestock producers out of business entirely.\n\n\u201cMy legislation is designed to forestall future attempts to curtail beef production by preventing the Biden Environmental Protection Agency from using funds in Democrats\u2019 bill to monitor livestock emissions.\n\n\u201cMr. President, agriculture is a challenging way of life.\n\n\u201cIn addition to backbreaking work in all weathers, our nation\u2019s farmers and ranchers have to contend with the uncontrollable whims of the weather, which can wipe out a herd or a crop in a day.\n\n\u201cAnd as if the usual challenges of the job weren\u2019t enough, over the course of the Biden administration our nation\u2019s farmers and ranchers have had to deal with soaring inflation.\n\n\u201cI am incredibly grateful for all the South Dakota farmers and ranchers \u2013 and all of our nation\u2019s farmers and ranchers \u2013 who continue to persevere during these difficult circumstances.\n\n\u201cAnd I will continue to do everything I can in Washington to make your jobs easier and support you as you do the essential work of feeding our nation \u2013 and the world.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:29:59Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=CC4645BC-8DDE-41E9-B0A6-9C6720123817"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8156818803399801, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}