Weekly Round[s] Up: June 23 - July 1, 2025

Welcome back to another Weekly Round[s] Up. The Senate worked through the weekend and Monday to pass our reconciliation bill which delivers on President Trump’s agenda. This bill contains many important provisions such as securing the border, lowering taxes and providing for our national security that will benefit American families. The most important piece for hard-working South Dakota families is the permanent extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Without this extension, the average South Dakota household would have seen their taxes raise by around $2,400. After 24+ hours of nonstop voting on amendments, I’m pleased that this bill is across the finish line in the Senate to create a stronger America. It now goes back to the U.S. House where they will have the final vote before it becomes law. Read more about my week in my Weekly Round[s] Up:

Invitation to President Trump: This past week, I joined Rod Woodruff of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip to extend a formal invitation to President Trump to attend the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this August. South Dakota is Trump Country and the Buffalo Chip is the gathering place for thousands of patriots each year during the Rally. I know he’d get a warm welcome from this crowd and enjoy all of the America First pride on display at the Sturgis Rally. Read more about this and the full letter here.

South Dakota groups I met with: South Dakota representatives from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; South Dakota members of Clean Fuels Alliance America; South Dakota members of the American Academy of Family Physicians; Sheila Gestring, President of the University of South Dakota; Shane and Kelli Penfield of Lemmon and Gary Chytka of Belle Fourche who were visiting DC this past week; South Dakota AARP; students from McCook Central FFA; and Sonja Seivert of Sioux Falls, National Youth Delegate at the Washington Youth Summit on Environment.

South Dakota towns represented: Aberdeen, Belle Fourche, Lemmon, Rapid City, Salem, Sioux Falls, Spearfish, Vermillion and Watertown.

Other meetings: Sean Plankey, nominee for the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; members of the Embassy of Rwanda in the United States; Prineha Narang, a quantum physicist who does work with the Department of Energy; Admiral Stephen “Web” Koehler, Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet; Robin Vince, CEO of BNY; Kirsten Davies, nominee to be Chief Information Officer at the Department of Defense; Cho Hyun-dong, South Korea’s Ambassador to the United States; John Byrnes, Director of Strategy at Concerned Veterans for America; and Phill Swagel, Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

I attended the signing ceremony for the peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These countries have been at war for decades and I want to congratulate President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and leadership from both nations on getting this deal done to establish lasting peace in the area. I spoke to a group of interns from across Capitol Hill about my work in the Senate. I also attended our weekly Senate Bible Study, where our verse of the week was 1 John 3:17, and our Senate Prayer Breakfast, where Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire was our speaker.

Hearings: I attended six hearings this past week. In one hearing of the Appropriations committee, we discussed the President’s rescissions package with Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought. I asked Mr. Vought about protections for tribal radio funding, watch the clip here.

In addition, we had Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell in front of the Senate Banking Committee this past week, which you can watch here. We had two hearings in the Senate Armed Services Committee to question nominees for the Department of Defense, which you can watch here and here. I also attended two hearings in the Select Committee on Intelligence.

Classified briefings: I attended one classified briefing on the United States’ strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

PASS Act provision: This past week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1713, the Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025. This legislation included provisions of legislation I introduced titled the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security (PASS) Act. The House legislation would require the Secretary of Agriculture to review all agriculture transactions reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS). It would also give the U.S. Department of Agriculture the ability to refer cases to CFIUS for review if there is reason to believe an agriculture land transaction may raise a national security concern. This will make it easier to flag any unusual activity by our foreign adversaries that could threaten the United States. Read more here.

Intern with us: Our office is currently accepting applications from college students to serve as interns during the fall 2025 semester. Positions are available in the Washington, D.C. office and the state offices in Pierre, Rapid City and Sioux Falls. Fall internships typically run from September to December, but dates can be tailored to specific schedules. Learn more about our internship program here.

Votes taken: 50 – Most were on procedural votes and amendments for the reconciliation package, with a few votes being for confirmations of administrators in the Defense, Commerce and Treasury Departments.  

My staff in South Dakota visited: Fort Pierre, Hartford, Madison and Pierre.

Steps taken: 54,182 steps or 24.52 miles.

Passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: The reconciliation package that I voted for includes several important provisions for South Dakotans, see here for a comprehensive list of South Dakota priorities that passed. Toplines include:

• $3.3 billion for Border Security to fund Department of Defense personnel and logistics support to Department of Homeland Security to help carry border, immigration, and counterdrug enforcement.
• $25 billion for Golden Dome for America, a layered missile defense shield, to develop the space-based assets needed to support the system.
• Permanent continuation of the current tax rate for the average South Dakota household, avoiding a $2,400 increase per year.
• Permanent increased and enhanced child tax of $2,200 per child beginning in 2025.
• Lower taxes for seniors by providing a $6,000 bonus income exemption.
• No tax on tips for millions of tipped workers by creating a deduction of up to $25,000 for qualified tips.
• No tax on overtime for overtime premium payments of up to $12,500 for hourly workers.
• Establishes savings accounts for newborns and children up to age 18, building financial security for the next generation.
• Makes the 20 percent small business deduction permanent.
• Prevents Medicaid payments for beneficiaries who have died, are enrolled in multiple states or do not qualify for the program.
• Ends Medicaid financing gimmicks that increased federal spending.
• Supports rural hospitals in South Dakota by providing $50 billion for the Rural Hospital Relief Fund.
• Supports nursing homes by eliminating burdensome Biden-era staffing mandates that threatened to close facilities.
• Invests in USDA’s premier animal health programs that defend against livestock disease outbreaks and mitigates threats like New World Screwworm, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and African Swine Fever.
• $4.5 billion for expansion of production capacity of B-21 long-range bomber aircraft, including tooling and expansion of supplier base  and purchase of aircraft only available through the expansion of production capacity.
• $100 million for Impact Aid to local educational agencies.
• $100 million for Defense Community Infrastructure Program to support infrastructure needs like Douglas School District.

Video of the week: I joined KOTA TV to discuss my invitation to President Trump to attend the Sturgis rally: