Kristi Noem

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. Madam Speaker, for many years, my perspective of human trafficking was based off of a scene I had seen in a movie. It was a scene in which a father came to a playground, took the hand of his 6- year-old daughter, took her off to have sex with someone, and then brought her back to play. That was a scene from a country far, far away, but it changed me forever. Oftentimes, when I have thought about human trafficking or sex trafficking over those years, I have thought about its being far, far away from home. Then I began to learn about what a problem we have here in the United States. It is not just happening in other countries. It happens here. It happens in States like New York, Florida, and California, but it also happens in South Dakota, and that is devastating for me for many reasons. I have two daughters, and I know that the average age that a young girl is trafficked is between the ages of 12 and 14. I have a son who is 12, and the average age of boys who are trafficked is between the ages of 11 and 13. I cannot imagine my children having to go through what some of these victims have had to go through. I also spent my life involved in many different youth organizations. I have been a children's minister for many years. I still teach Sunday school. I have also been involved with 4-H. I have spent my life with kids, trying to help their lives become better so that they can build the kinds of traits and character they need to benefit the world. I recognize that many children don't have those opportunities; yet I see the devastating effects of this industry here in our country. They say one of the first steps to recovery is admitting that you have a problem. We have got a huge problem in this country, and that is why you will find these bills on the House floor today. We want to make sure that we not only recognize that there is a problem, but that we give our law enforcement officers as many tools as possible to get rid of this industry and to help as many victims as possible. Hundreds of thousands of children are trafficked every single year in the United States. Most of these victims are women and girls. Many come from tough backgrounds that have led them to the situations they are in today; but did you know that most of them, if they are involved in the sex trafficking industry, are forced to have sex 25 to 48 times a day? That is unfathomable to me. We as a nation have a responsibility to do everything that we can to prevent trafficking. When prevention efforts fail, we have a responsibility to help those victims recover. I know many of my colleagues today have also made this a priority, and I am grateful for their leadership on this issue. Last year, we passed many of these bills through this House, but they got hung up in the Senate even though they were extremely bipartisan over here in the House. That is why they are back again today, because we need to get these bills signed into law to save our children. Now, as we begin the 114th Congress, our resolve is brought forward again to fight against human trafficking. I am grateful for everyone here today who has sponsored the bills, who has worked on behalf of these bills, and I am grateful for their leadership to make sure that we pass these bills and get them signed into law. The bill that I have sponsored here today is going to make sure that when we spend Federal resources that they are spent in a manner that is going to actually help kids and help people get out of this industry. It is going to make sure that we are cooperating with nonprofits and with other organizations that have been involved in the industry before and that were being effective while we put those efforts forward. Then it is going to make sure that we have the dollars available to have shelters for those victims who are trying to come out of this situation. We have fewer than 200 beds available for victims in this country who want to recover, who want to heal, and who want to get on with their lives in pursuing the American Dream, like so many other people in this country have. That is why this bill is important. That is why all of these bills are important. It is why we need to pass them.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, human trafficking is a real problem, and it is happening right here in America. It is not just happening overseas. And whether you live in a State like mine of South Dakota or in New York City, it is impacting every single State in our country, right in our backyards. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, and boy, do we have a problem. I am thrilled that we have so many Members here to speak on this important issue, not only the problems we are having, but what we are doing this week to address those here in this country, to give as many tools to our law enforcement officers to make sure that we address the problems we are seeing on our streets every single day and protect as many children and victims as possible. I would like to yield now to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho). He has been extremely active in the fight to end human trafficking through legislation on Capitol Hill as well as through community engagement at his home in Florida. In his district, Congressman Yoho has brought together representatives from Homeland Security, from local police and sheriff's offices, and State's attorneys for roundtable summits to raise awareness and develop best practices for ending human trafficking in Florida.

Mrs. NOEM. I thank the gentleman for being involved in the issue and working so hard to protect as many victims as possible across the country. I now yield to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler). Last year, Congresswoman Hartzler held a human trafficking summit in Columbia, which was one of her most successful events that she did all year. Additionally, she held a foster care listening session with Congresswoman Bass where they also listened to concerns regarding foster youth and how human trafficking does impact our children who are involved in foster care.

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his work on establishing safe harbor laws. Truly, what they do is that they make sure the victims are not prosecuted, that they are treated like the victims that they truly are. It is so important that we get his bill passed tomorrow, along with my bill and the other bills that will be coming to the floor. A lot of time and effort has been put into these to make sure that they are right, that they give the tools to our law enforcement officers to make sure that this industry is ended as soon as possible. I now would like to turn to the gentleman from Minnesota, Representative Emmer. He is from Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District and is a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations; and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. As part of his responsibility through his committee work, Mr. Emmer works closely with the committee to oversee Federal agencies, international organizations, and NGOs to discuss and to improve governmental responses to human trafficking. With that, I yield to the Representative from Minnesota.

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his words and for his actions and the actions that we will be taking here on the House floor this week. I turn now to the gentlewoman from Virginia, Representative Comstock. She has been a leader in the fight against human trafficking in the Commonwealth of Virginia and now here on the House floor. I yield to the Representative from Virginia.

Mrs. NOEM. I thank the gentlewoman for being involved in the issue and for telling the stories that so many of us need to hear. It is when you hear these stories that truly your heart is impacted to where you can't let it go, where you start to work day in and day out to do all that you can to make sure that we have the tools necessary to stop this industry. I turn next to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who is a longtime advocate for human rights and for the alleviation of human suffering. He is the sponsor of International Megan's Law, which cracks down on the practice of sex tourism. He is also sponsor of the Human Trafficking Prioritization Act, which will make sure that our government gives human trafficking the top priority it deserves in our diplomacy with other countries. With that, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).

Mrs. NOEM. I thank the gentleman for his continued leadership on this issue. For years, he has invested time and effort and heart and soul into protecting as many victims as possible, and for that, we will always be grateful. I want to yield to the good Representative from Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen). Representative Paulsen has been a longtime defender of the victims of human trafficking. In fact, in 2006, when he was a member of the Minnesota Legislature, he was the author of legislation that would form the first statewide human trafficking task force. That task force was the first step toward Minnesota's safe harbor law. The legislation that he will have here on the floor this week is modeled after that on a Federal level, and I certainly appreciate his time and investment in protecting as many children and victims as possible. I yield to Representative Paulsen.

Mrs. NOEM. I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, over the past several years, my eyes have really been opened to the disturbing type of slavery that we have seen across the world and here at home. I have heard about human trafficking before and young children being sold for sex overseas, but I guess I didn't really realize how much it was happening here in the United States and even in my home State of South Dakota. The more I learned about human trafficking and the risk that it posed to our kids, the more I became convicted that I needed to do something about it. The average age of a child that is trafficked is just 11 to 14 years old. Many times, the trafficker will lure these children in, pretending to be their friend or their boyfriend, control them through the use of drugs or alcohol, and give them the comfort and stability that they may be lacking at home. After they have them isolated and dependent, they sell them for sex. It is heartbreaking for me as a mom, as an aunt of many nieces and nephews, as a 4-H leader, and as a person who works with our youth every single day to think about the innocent children that are being forced into this disgusting industry and becoming slaves to these predators. Every year, hundreds of thousands of children are at risk to being trafficked here in the United States, so this isn't a problem that is far away. It is a problem that is right here in our backyards. Back in South Dakota, I held a lot of roundtables and a Justice Against Slavery Summit. I heard from local shelters, from law enforcement officers, tribal leaders, from victims and advocate groups and learned from their expertise. I learned a lot about what was being done to stop human trafficking and what additional tools they needed from Congress and what we should pursue. While we talked about the problem, I wanted them to focus on what they needed for solutions. With the insight of all these community leaders, we identified ways we could rout out the disgusting industry and help victims recover. That is why I am so proud to be here today to introduce H.R. 5135, the Human Trafficking Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery Act. This bipartisan bill was based on those conversations that I had during those roundtables and the summit that I held in South Dakota on how best to prevent and combat human trafficking. The best way to stop human trafficking in its tracks is to prevent it. My bill launches a task force review to look into Federal and State trafficking-prevention activities. The review will be in done in consultation with nongovernmental organizations, like those I heard from in South Dakota, and will work to identify and develop best practices to prevent trafficking. Next, it requires an inventory to be done of existing antitrafficking efforts by the Federal Government. It is important to take a hard look at all of these programs across the Federal Government to ensure that Federal resources are targeted and that they are used where they are needed. We can also identify any gaps in Federal programs that need to be filled, and finally, my bill improves existing Department of Justice grants and allows them to be used for shelters for survivors. Did you know, nationwide, there is only about 200 beds available for underage victims of sex trafficking? Many of these kids, once they are rescued from their trafficker, have nowhere safe to go. They don't have any other option, and so often, what they are forced to do is to return to their trafficker. Many who are in the foster care system don't have the family support that is necessary to be safe and to recover. Sadly, without a place to recover from the trauma that has happened in their lives, kids return back to those traffickers, and that is why it is important that we use Federal resources wisely to promote more facilities to help these recovering children. I am proud to be standing here with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take action on this bill today and the other bills that were brought to deal with sex trafficking. It is an issue that we can and we should all stand together on. Together, these bills will do more to prevent trafficking, give law enforcement more tools to deal with it, and help our victims recover. I am grateful for my colleagues and to the leadership for making this a priority in the House. I urge my colleagues to support this package and continue our fight to end human trafficking.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mrs. NOEM. I thank the chairman and the ranking member and all of the committee staff for their hard work on this bill. Mr. Chairman, one of the most important things during the appropriations process is making tough decisions and identifying priorities that need funding. One area that is specifically important is providing water throughout the country, including in rural areas. In my State and across the West, there are critical water infrastructure projects that are waiting to be funded. They were promised to be funded by the Federal Government years ago, and construction is underway on many of these projects. Many communities have put in more than their fair share of funding. The States have done so as well. The only entity that has failed to follow through on that commitment is the Federal Government. Water is one of our most basic needs, and we need to ensure that we have safe and affordable drinking water across this country. For rural areas, it is also a jobs issue. Without the completion of rural water projects, businesses aren't able to create much-needed jobs, and local economies suffer. Unfortunately, year after year, the funding for these projects continues to decline under the President's budget requests. We have the opportunity here today to make some meaningful progress on these projects and ensure that the Federal Government follows through on its previous commitments. Even with my amendment, the funding for rural water projects is still below what it was for fiscal year 2014. My bill increases the funding for rural water projects, and it does not increase net budget outlays. We need to support critical infrastructure and essential access to water, and I urge my colleagues to support the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Daines).

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Chairman, a couple of facts to follow up on the gentlelady's comments. What we are trying to do is to get clean drinking water to individuals, to people, where the Federal Government has failed to follow through on commitments that it has made previously. The reason that we have already plussed up some of these dollars is that the President's budget requests have been so low over the last few years, so we have had to do that in order to try to meet the need. Water projects still, even if my amendment is adopted, will receive less than they did in 2014. I certainly understand your concerns, as I am a supporter of an all- of-the-above American energy supply as well, but we have people waiting for clean drinking water. That should be a priority, and this amendment should be adopted. Last year, it was voice adopted because everybody recognized the importance of making sure that people in this country could get clean drinking water. They at least should have that basic privilege. With that, Mr. Chairman, I ask for everyone's support on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman and our leadership and colleagues for helping to move these bills forward. Sex trafficking is an issue that I have always known has existed, but it wasn't until I learned more about it and realized how often it is happening right here in the United States and in our neighborhoods. As a mom of two daughters and a 12-year-old son, I am so pleased that we are voting on these bills today. We are standing up to this illegal industry, and we are showing that Congress will not ignore this horrific problem. This legislation is going to better support survivors. It gives law enforcement officers more tools to go after the criminals who are exploiting our children. These bills can make a difference for victims who are trying to get back on their feet. We need to do all that we can to put an end to human trafficking. The bills we have here today are just the beginning. We need to talk to parents, teachers, hotel employees, anyone who will listen, so that they are aware of what is going on, and we can all work together to stop it. I urge my colleagues to pass these bills, and I call on the Senate to do the same. We should not quit. We must continue to fight together to ensure that this evil does not triumph.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Chairman, as you may know, the Department of Veterans Affairs manages thousands of historically significant parties, and according to a recently released study and report by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the VA has a track record for neglecting these national treasures. By neglecting these properties, veterans in South Dakota and across the country have suffered by creating obstacles, so veterans can't gain access to health care. Many of them have to travel many, many hours for just a simple checkup. My amendment is very simple and straightforward. It protects rural veterans access to health care by ensuring that no funds will go towards closing rural hospitals in high-need areas that are designated as national historic landmarks. Reports have shown that the VA needs to pay more attention to these national landmarks it is entrusted with and focus on the veterans that these facilities serve. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment. I want to thank the chairman, ranking member, and the committee staff for helping me offer it today, and I ask for your support. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding, and I want to thank him for the honor of being a part of this group today that is talking about TPP and the importance of trade in the region. I did have a chance to get back this morning from a weeklong trip in Asia discussing trade and the importance of the TPP--Trans-Pacific Partnership--the European Union trade negotiations, and the ways that we can expand trade that would benefit our economy. The first step to seeing these benefits in these agreements is renewing trade promotion authority, and then we set our goals and our priorities in these agreements. This was a big topic of conversation throughout the week as we met with leaders from Japan--including Prime Minister Abe--South Korea, and then also with the leaders in China and the People's Congress. Time and time again, America has reaped the benefits of completed trade agreements in our country. For me, the profound impacts that we have seen in agriculture are particularly interesting. We have seen an 18 percent increase in ag exports since we have signed the agreement with Panama. There has been a 68 percent increase in agriculture exports to Colombia since passing trade agreements with those countries. We have also generated new business in other sectors of the economy, like manufacturing and the service industry. We have created jobs here at home, while benefiting those people across our country and economies abroad and built relationships with them that we certainly reap the benefits for when it comes to foreign policy and security issues as well. In my home State of South Dakota, we have seen export support and create jobs and higher wages for our economy, including our State's number one industry: agriculture. Currently, South Dakota agriculture exports total more than $3 billion annually, and they support over 20,000 jobs on and off the farm. It is estimated that more than one in five jobs in South Dakota depend on international trade. Those plants that do export goods pay higher wages, they hire more people, and they do it a lot faster than those who don't. Soybeans, corn, wheat, feed grains, and livestock grown in South Dakota are already shipped to countries around the world. We can increase that by growing our access to markets through free-trade agreements. As we are working towards trade promotion authority and negotiating the trade agreements, I think of the enormous benefits that it can have for our country. Especially as our economy struggles to recover, increasing exports in trade and markets across the Asia-Pacific and Europe is essential. Japan is one of those countries that is included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks and is already one of the largest purchasers of U.S. corn and soybeans. With a good TPP agreement, we could see an increase in grain and livestock exports to Japan and the entire region. That would spark economic activity throughout our country as well. Of course, we need to ensure that we get it right. I have asked for assurances from our U.S. trade representative that we won't close the TPP negotiations with Japan unless they agree to eliminate trade barriers to agriculture. I appreciate that the bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act outlines trade negotiation objectives. It includes prioritizing agriculture. We need to ensure that food safety and animal and plant health measures are restrictions justified based on sound science. Ultimately, we need to ensure that we have an agreement that is fair to our agriculture producers. When I had the opportunity to travel to Asia last week and discuss some of the ways that our country and Japan and China and others in the region can mutually benefit from trade agreements, I made it very clear how important the ag industry is in finalizing any final trade deal and some of my concerns that we already had with existing barriers. We are making progress. We need to give those who are negotiating some of the agreements in the region the tools that they need to get this job done. This is one of the main topics I heard from leaders involved in these discussions. It is something these leaders see as key to coming to an agreement on these free-trade agreements, and it is key to agreeing on how a final deal will impact the agriculture sector. I think a lot of folks don't realize that Japan has the number three economy in the world, behind the United States and China. If we can finalize an agreement with them, it will set the table for TPP and also for the region on how our discussions go forward with China as well. It will open up new opportunities in China where 1.3 billion people call home. There is no way that China can continue to feed its own people and will rely on outside sources for their proteins, for their grains, to make sure their people are well fed into the future. In fact, some of the discussions I had with businesses and government officials was the difference between USDA beef and United States beef and South Dakota beef than what they are currently enjoying today. As incomes have risen in China and people are making more money, they have a desire for more proteins in their diet. Today, their main source from that protein is from Australian beef; but yet, every day, they ask: When can we get USDA beef? That is what these agreements would bring, not only open markets for us and increase our exports, but bring the Chinese people the kind of goods, food, and services that they want to enjoy as well. Fifty percent of the people in this world live in that region. It is a market that we can't ignore and that we need to prioritize into the future. We need to take this first step, so that we can continue reaping the benefits of trade in South Dakota, in the United States, and across the world. It is imperative for job growth here at home and for prosperity for all of the countries involved. Historically, when you have looked at free-trade agreements with other countries, the prosperity of all the countries involved have risen after those agreements have come forward and been done and completed. I believe that as we focus on this issue, as we approve TPP, as we negotiate agreements that work for all of our countries involved and we finalize with TPA authority, we will certainly get an agreement that is good for all of our countries and beneficial to create jobs here in the United States. I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this discussion tonight.

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Chairman, if I may, I would just like to expand on that a little bit because a lot of our discussions that we had with the Prime Minister of Japan and also with the leadership in China was the fact that, not only as we negotiate these trade agreements our economies are linked in creating jobs and prosperity for both of us, but then it helps our foreign policy as well. We recognize how much we need our allies in the region to come alongside us. We recognize that it sets the table for agreements that we have with China and for keeping peace throughout a region that, right now, the United States is very focused on, where we have had to be a leader of strength in order to keep peace and to keep presence. By having trade and interactions with their leadership and their people dependent upon us for their food and their protein sources, it certainly is going to be beneficial for us today, tomorrow, and long into the future if we can continue to do that and to make these trade agreements finalized.

Mrs. NOEM. Very true. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this bill to change the definition of ``full time'' in the IRS code to 40 hours per week on average. The 30-hour workweek instituted in ObamaCare is limiting economic opportunity across the country. It is especially harmful for women when 63 percent of those who are most at risk are women. South Dakota has one of the highest rates in the country of working women, and I have had them come up to me time and time again, talking about how this regulation has impacted them. They no longer are getting the hours that they need to pay their bills as their hours have been cut. Where they are working, they may be forced to take on another part-time job. If you want to talk about putting challenges in their way when they are trying to fulfill all the requirements of work, of paying their bills, of being with their children, of having successful family lives, this regulation is one of the worst. ObamaCare pressures employers to restrict their full-time ranks in order to avoid the employer mandate, putting millions of workers at risk of having their hours cut. Now we have two definitions--the Department of Labor definition and then the new IRS definition defined by ObamaCare. Only here in Washington, D.C., do things like that happen. There are two different and exclusive definitions for the very same thing. Thus, many workers have had their workweeks cut down to a maximum of 29 hours. In many instances, the possibility of their being promoted to full time no longer rests on their dedication or on their achievements but now on their bosses' abilities to weed through the regulatory environment here in Washington, D.C. Mr. Speaker, I used to run a small family business, so let me close by saying that women-owned businesses have surged over the past 20 years. We should not be putting obstacles in their way, making it more difficult for them to own those businesses, to undermine their growth and their ability to create jobs. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Let's take a step towards restoring economic freedom in this country.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote No. 133, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' Personal Explanation

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding, and for his leadership on the farm bill, and also Ranking Member Peterson for all of his hard work and diligence in finding some common ground on a bill that has been under negotiation for far too long. I am so happy to be standing here with all of our Members and our colleagues from the farm bill conference committee, which I was honored to be a part of, and also with everyone else who is going to support this bill. It is extremely bipartisan. It has taken a lot of hard work to get to this point. I am proud of the fact that we have a product in front of us that is not only good for producers, it is good for consumers. It secures our food supply into the future, which is one of the safest in the world. We make reforms. We save billions of tax dollars. It is accountable to the taxpayer in this country. We conserve wildlife habitat. We provide a viable safety net for those who grow our food and for those who rely on food assistance as well. While Congress was writing this bill, my home State go hit with droughts and blizzards that cost us tens of thousands of livestock. The livestock disaster programs that I authored are in this bill and will provide much-needed relief to those who are struggling so hard during this difficult time. Our Black Hills National Forest is going to gain some regulatory relief and additional tools to combat the pine beetle that is destroying our Black Hills and our forests across this country. The nine tribes in South Dakota are going to get a permanent Office of Tribal Relations--a real victory for all of our tribes across this country who really need to have better communication within USDA. Thousands of hunters in South Dakota and across the country every year are going to be glad to know that they have got a provision in place that will help protect grasslands. Whether you grow corn, wheat, soybeans, or cotton, producers are going to have more choices, which really at the end of the day is going to help them cover their risk that they take every year. I am proud of the bill, I am proud of our work, and I urge our colleague to support the bill.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise today as a cosponsor of H.R. 3685, the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act. I am very proud to do so. In my home State of South Dakota, there are nearly 8,000 volunteer firefighters and over 350 volunteer fire departments. These men and women are on the front lines protecting our families, our homes, and our businesses. Nearly every one of them fulfills that duty while holding down a full-time or part-time job that oftentimes covers their health insurance coverage. I had one constituent from Rapid City drive home the point to me, talking about the shoestring budget they operate on. Many departments raise money privately at community events and dinners to make ends meet. Requiring them to cover health insurance, as the Affordable Care Act may do, would be extremely detrimental. Emergency service volunteers are essential to our safety and well- being for South Dakota families and businesses. That is why I am proud to support this bill and proud to speak on its behalf today.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Chairman, I certainly support the amendment and the underlying bill. I wanted to speak to one concern that I had. Mr. Chair, Congress has consistently limited the authority of the Corps of Engineers and recognized the long-established State water rights to protect federalism. This bill is certainly no exception. In my State of South Dakota, and in the Upper Missouri Basin, the Corps is planning to charge for water from the Missouri River. This is after the Dakotas gave up hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland during the creation of the dams along the Missouri River, for which we have never been fully compensated. The issue of the Corps charging for surplus water is a concern for many communities, tribes, and cities up and down the Missouri River. Chairman Shuster has assured me that he would work with us into the future to move forward on conferees to resolve this issue and to stop this attempt to take our water. For that, I certainly appreciate the efforts.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, for 2\1/2\ years, I have come to this House floor and talked about the importance of a farm bill and the need to have a farm bill for our national security interests. Our producers in this country make sure the people that live in this country have the opportunity to partake in an affordable and safe food supply, not relying on another country to feed us, or they truly would control us. We don't have a farm bill today, but the Speaker has assured me we will go to conference soon and get one done. But let me tell you about a tragedy that happened in South Dakota last week. This picture beside me would be very sad if it just reflected one situation in South Dakota, but western South Dakota is littered with tens of thousands of dead cows, horses, and sheep that were killed by a tragic blizzard that hit South Dakota just last week. The stories we have heard of losses to families are tragic. One mother visited with us and told us about driving her kids to school every day, and it looks like she is driving down a road covered with dead cattle filling the ditches. We have a farm bill because we need to make sure that there are disaster programs to cover situations like this. The livestock programs that I authored that are included in the farm bill that needs to be signed into law would help protect some of these families and keep them in business in the future.

Mrs. NOEM

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, this past Friday, a storm struck western South Dakota and dumped up to 4 feet of snow throughout the region. This has left thousands without power and devastating livestock losses in the area. Some estimate that hundreds of thousands of livestock have been killed, many of which are still buried in the melting snow. The weekend's blizzard is expected to cost local governments millions of dollars. Those counties and the Governor are expected to petition the President for disaster status and for FEMA funds so they can clear the fallen trees and help ranchers remove all the cattle that died during that storm. Some in South Dakota are wondering if this partial government shutdown will affect the timing of potential assistance. It certainly does not have to. There may be disagreement over certain parts of the Federal budget, but not on FEMA. Last week, the House passed a bill to fund FEMA. It passed with Democrat support because there is bipartisan recognition that we should fund noncontroversial aspects of our government and stop the attempts of some to make this partial shutdown as painful as possible. It does not have to be this way. I call on our Senate colleagues to act immediately on the funding measures that we have sent them. It's time to negotiate, to work together, so that we can end this shutdown.