March 8, 2024
Dear John,

There’s a new Sheriff in town.

BIG News

I welcomed Butte County Sheriff Fred Lamphere as my guest to the State of the Union. He has seen the how the border crisis impacts communities in South Dakota and is an advocate for stronger border security measures. Sheriff Lamphere did an excellent job of sharing his observations about the border crisis, and what needs to be done to secure our nation.

We were both disappointed the President talked more about “shrinkflation” instead of the border. His attempts to shift the blame to companies are not working. Businesses large and small are facing record inflation (18% since January 2021) caused by Biden’s reckless spending packages. The cost of just about everything is up, and families are paying $11,400 more per year to have the same quality of life they had in January 2021.

America is the greatest country in the world, but we have major challenges we have to address. I’m doing all I can in Congress to stop reckless spending and secure our border. Americans deserve it.

Sheriff Fred Lamphere, my guest for the State of the Union

BIG Idea

TikTok, as it is configured now, is a national security threat. It is owned by ByteDance, who answers to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Essentially, TikTok takes orders from our greatest foreign adversary. Not only that, but the CCP has influence over the minds of our youth and conversations in the public square. I’m sure you’ve seen the effects of their influence—more  mental health problems and more support for terrorists and bullies like Hamas and Russia.

I’m supporting a bill that would require TikTok to divest from ByteDance, or the app will be removed from app stores. TikTok is fighting back against this bill—it’s clear they know the risk of losing Americans’ personal data. It’s not a ban. This bill gives TikTok the choice—continue operating in America or continue to operate under control of a foreign adversary. We can’t continue giving the CCP undue influence and access to our data.

The bill passed unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently, and I look forward to voting for it on the House Floor soon.

Click here or the image above to watch Johnson’s remarks at the Select Committee on China’s Press Conference.

BIG Update

The forestry industry in the Black Hills is facing a lot of uncertainty. Last weekend, I was in Spearfish, South Dakota with a couple members of the House Agriculture Committee who know the importance of maintaining healthy forests. During our tour of the Neiman Mill, we heard how hard it is for them to operate when the Black Hills National Forest (BHNF) doesn’t hit their harvest targets.

After the tour, the Ag Committee members and I hosted a roundtable with members of the U.S. Forest Service and representatives of the local forestry industry. The timber industry has a significant impact on the Black Hills communities. It employs over 1,000 people and makes a big contribution to the local and state economy. The need to hit these targets is dire to prevent losing this industry in the Black Hills.

Rep. Austin Scott, Sonja (Neiman) Merryman, Johnson, Jim Neiman, and Doug LaMalfa at the Neiman Mill.

Reps. Johnson, LaMalfa, and Scott hosting the forestry roundtable.

Please do not reply to this email; this address is not monitored. Please use my contact page.