releases: http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=38089DF8-382F-4C63-9683-1278368DADBA
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=38089DF8-382F-4C63-9683-1278368DADBA | Weekly Column: A Look Back | 2014-12-12 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | SD | Kristi Noem | N000184 | noem.house.gov | legacy | I almost can’t believe how fast 2014 has gone. My son Booker is about three inches taller while his Christmas list is about half as long (although somehow twice as expensive!) As we look to wrap up the year, I wanted to share with you some of the successes I’ve had in Congress during the last twelve months. The year kicked off with passage of the long-awaited Farm Bill. I was honored to serve as the first House Member at the Farm Bill negotiating table in nearly two decades and even more thrilled to get so many provisions in place for South Dakota producers and consumers. Among other items, we got a strong crop insurance program, revived the livestock indemnity program, and built support for pine beetle mitigation efforts. A few months later, the House passed a provision I wrote that would allocate a total of $31 million to a rural water project fund that the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System is eligible to draw from. Our communities have put in more than their share of the funding for Lewis and Clark, but the federal government has not kept their end of the deal. This provision moves us in the right direction and I was glad to see it included in the final funding bill. In July, the Black Hills Cemetery Act, a bill I wrote after many conversations with West River communities, was signed into law. To reduce liabilities for taxpayers and honor those who have been caring for these nine historic Black Hills cemeteries for generations, this legislation returns the cemeteries’ ownership to the generous communities who maintain them. Later that month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed another piece of legislation I wrote. This one addressed human trafficking and would have opened an existing Department of Justice grant program to shelters that are looking to house survivors of human trafficking. With only around 200 beds available to underage human trafficking survivors nationwide, it was a need I spoke with many South Dakota groups about. I was disappointed the Senate did not take up the bill, but I’ll continue the fight in the years to come. In August, I was proud to welcome the Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs (VA) Committee to Hot Springs to hold a congressional hearing. I’ve visited the VA hospital in Hot Springs many times and have always been impressed by their commitment to our veterans, but the impassioned showing at that congressional hearing blew me away. It earned them the support of the House VA Committee, which is critical. Through an end-of-the-year funding agreement, we were able to restrict any FY2015 funds from being used to move forward on closing the facility. Earlier this month, the House passed the ABLE Act, which would allow those with disabilities or their families to open tax-free savings accounts – similar to the 529 investment plans many people use to save for their kids’ college. The funds in these tax-free accounts could be used for medical expenses, housing, transportation, and higher-education. As a co-sponsor of this bill, I always knew how important it was to extend this benefit to families, but it really hit me when I received a Facebook message from a father in southeastern South Dakota just hours before the vote. He wrote that the bill would help his family “save for a brighter tomorrow for our son.” The impact of this bill is real and will open new doors for many families like this. On these issues and many others, I relied on your voice and am so grateful for those who have called, written, or emailed me with their thoughts. I also believe it is my responsibility to keep you informed on what I’m doing, as I am ultimately accountable to you. As a result, my office has made more than 150,000 phone calls to South Dakotans this year and written 104,000 letters and emails. Perhaps our most important accomplishments, however, are found in the hundreds of South Dakotans we’ve helped receive veterans benefits, navigate Social Security, adopt a child, or guide through countless other federal bureaucratic processes. It’s truly been an honor to serve you this year and I am looking forward to tackling new challenges in the year to come. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |