May 24, 2024
Dear John,

Farm Bill Passes Committee

BIG News

The Farm Bill is an essential piece of legislation for farm and ranch country. It’s renewed every five years, allowing members of Congress to update programs in the bill to better serve rural America.

The final bill is the result of more than 80 listening sessions across 40 states to hear from farmers and ranchers on what their priorities are. I worked on drafting this bill with the House Ag Committee to ensure South Dakota priorities are included. After months of collaboration, the final text is strong and provides valuable updates for rural America. I’m proud the bill contains dozens of my priorities to improve rural broadband, farm safety net programs, increase trade, and more.

BIG NEWS – The Farm Bill advanced out of the House Agriculture Committee after hours of debate and discussion on the text. Agriculture is South Dakota’s number one industry, and this Farm Bill will do well to support it.

Click here or the image above for Johnson’s opening remarks.

BIG Update

It was a big week in Congress and started with my bill to create a digital asset framework passing the House with broad bipartisan support. The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act is a historic piece of legislation and the first of its kind to receive a vote in Congress. This bill is the result of two committees working together for over a year, which is an unprecedented feat.

America is the only G7 country without an established framework for digital asset trading, which has enticed many developers to innovate overseas. This shift in innovation could prevent the U.S. from remaining the global leader in tech and finance.

FIT21 is the solution. It will fill gaps in America’s regulatory market to ensure predictability and certainty for innovators. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) and I published an op-ed in the Washington Times detailing the urgency of the issue.

Click here or the image above for Johnson’s remarks.

BIG Idea

In 2022, President Biden signed an executive order that could lead to the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). A CBDC is essentially a digital dollar and would allow the government to track and restrict transactions of private citizens. Governments like the Chinese Communist Party use this technology to surveil their citizens. Canada even went as far to freeze the bank accounts of individuals who participated in trucker protests. This is antithetical to American values.

I voted to pass the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act to prevent the U.S. from developing a digital currency. We must protect the financial privacy and liberty of Americans.

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