DUSTY JOHNSON

Reps. Armstrong, Fischbach, Johnson all vote against raising debt ceiling

Sam Easter — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 20:00:00 GMT

GRAND FORKS — Upper Midwest Republicans joined with their House GOP colleagues on Tuesday evening to vote against a measure raising the U.S. debt ceiling — even as it passed in a 219-206 vote.

Reps. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., and Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., both expressed frustration with Democratic spending plans.

“Democrats continue to push through their massive partisan government spending spree that will bring the highest sustained federal spending levels in American history,” Armstrong said in a statement provided by his office. “Democrats control both chambers of Congress and the White House. If they are going to saddle future generations of Americans with more debt to pay for their far-left wish list, they will have to do it without my vote.”

Fischbach offered similar comments — also arguing that Democrats hold the majorities to move the debt ceiling without Republican assistance.

“This ‘bill’ accomplishes nothing more than kicking the can down the road as the majority insists on cramming several multi-trillion-dollar spending packages without Republican input,” she said in a statement provided by her office.

Armstrong and Fischbach were joined by Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., who also voted against the debt ceiling increase.

Others from Minnesota and their Tuesday vote were: Republican Jim Hagedorn, no; Democrat Angie Craig, yes; Democrat Dean Phillips, yes; Democrat Betty McCollum, yes; Democrat Ilhan Omar, yes; Republican Tom Emmer, no; and Republican Pete Stauber, no.

A vote to raise the debt ceiling is not a vote on any new spending, but rather a vote to allow the government to meet ongoing obligations. This vote increased the debt ceiling by $480 billion; it’s a related move — but a very different one — from passing government spending bills, which provide the money to keep the government operating or to fund new programs.

And the shift sets up a late 2021 showdown for both parties, with the next round of negotiations on the debt ceiling likely falling at roughly the same time a recent extension of government funding also expires — meaning Washington leaders could have to juggle both at once.

Anxieties over the debt ceiling grew earlier this month as the country neared Oct. 18, the likely deadline for a default without an increase in the debt ceiling. And the partisan brinkmanship that brought the government so close to the default date also led to speculation that Democrats might end the Senate’s filibuster, a 60-vote threshold on ending debate that has kept Democrats from unilaterally hiking the debt ceiling.

It’s also led to talk of nixing the debt ceiling altogether. House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, second-ranking Democrat in the chamber and a representative of Maryland, told reporters as much in the Capitol Tuesday evening.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi lambasted Republicans’ reluctance to support the increase in the debt limit prior to the vote, pointing out how close the country had come to default.

“What do you have against our own economy, where this catastrophe of unbelievable proportions could have impacts for over 100 years?” she said. “Don’t you care about that?”

Reps. Armstrong, Fischbach, Johnson all vote against raising debt ceiling

Rep. Kelly Armstrong

U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minnesota.

Rep. Dusty Johnson

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Rep. Michelle Fischbach says GOP 'lost faith' in Liz Cheney's leadership

Sam Easter — Wed, 12 May 2021 20:01:56 GMT

GRAND FORKS GOP — House Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney was removed from her leadership position on Wednesday, May 12, after months of criticizing Donald Trump — a move that consolidates the party’s continued loyalty to the former president.

The removal reportedly came by voice vote — not by ballot — in a closed-door Republican meeting. Following the vote, Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., said she’s ready to look to the future.

“Our top priority, as Republicans, must be pushing back against the liberal overreach of President (Joe) Biden and Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi,” Fischbach said. “As evidenced by today’s vote, our conference has lost faith in Congresswoman Cheney’s ability to look to the future and advance our collective priorities.”

That language echoes House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy — and much of the rest of the party — who have found Cheney’s repeated criticism of the former president, and his unsubstantiated claim that he won re-election, a distraction.

“Each day spent relitigating the past is one day less we have to seize the future,” McCarthy wrote. “This is no time to take our eye off the ball. If we are to succeed in stopping the radical Democrat agenda from destroying our country, these internal conflicts need to be resolved so as to not detract from the efforts of our collective team.”

Cheney, who represents Wyoming, previously survived a leadership challenge in February, but pressure against her mounted as she has continued to criticize Trump. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., told a reporter last week that he planned to vote against her as well.

“I really respect her, and she has absolutely every right to have this opinion. In fact, she’s not the only one in our conference that does,” Armstrong said. “What she can't do is be the conference chair when she is not willing, on these types of issues, to go where the conference wants to be.”

Though reduced in number, Cheney still has supporters within the party. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said in a statement before the vote that he would continue to back her.

“I’ve had my disagreements with Liz, but she’s a strong, conservative and independent voice,” Johnson said. “We need those qualities in leadership, and I’ll vote against her removal.”

RELATED: South Dakota's Rep. Dusty Johnson votes in support of Liz Cheney U.S. Rep Johnson called Cheney, the formerly No. 3 ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, a "strong, conservative, independent voice."
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SD's Johnson urges classroom COVID-19 PPE be tax-deductible for teachers

Shannon Marvel — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 21:19:08 GMT

PIERRE, S.D. — U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., have penned a letter to the U.S. Department of Treasury urging Secretary Steven Mnuchin to include personal protective equipment as a deductible classroom expense.

Educators can deduct up to $250 for supplementary classroom materials and equipment purchased out-of-pocket.

Johnson and Tillis wrote that teachers often cover classroom costs out of pocket during a typical school year, but the COVID-19 pandemic will likely have teachers covering the cost of safety equipment for themselves and their students, according to a news release.

“As many school districts return to in-person learning, it is likely that teachers will on a case-by-case basis make purchases to protect their health and the health of their students,” the letter states. “We ask that purchases made for COVID-19 prevention be a deductible expense.”

The letter requests guidance to ensure PPE, sanitizer, Plexiglas and other protective measures as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local governments are deductible under the Internal Revenue Service Educator Expense Deduction.

“As school districts work on providing a safe classroom environment and enough PPE, some teachers may wish to supplement these efforts and take further personal precautions for their health and the health of their students,” the letter reads.

Eligible educators can deduct up to $250 or if filing jointly and both spouses are eligible educators they can deduct up to $500 or no more than $250 each, according to the IRS.

“Qualified expenses are amounts the educator incurred for participation in professional development courses, books, supplies, computer equipment, other equipment, and supplementary materials used in the classroom,” the release states.

To enable Americans to do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19, Johnson and Tillis asked Mnuchin to ensure that essential teachers “do their part to keep the next generation from falling behind.”

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Johnson, Peterson introduce bill to help newspapers

Shannon Marvel — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 18:18:18 GMT

PIERRE, S.D. — U.S. Reps. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., and Collin Peterson, D-Minn., have introduced legislation to help local newspapers with their printing costs as part of the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

The legislation, called Preserving Readership and Information of Newspapers for Tomorrow (PRINT) Act was introduced Wednesday, Aug. 19, according to a news release.

“Currently, local media is eligible for the PPP, but printing costs are not forgivable under the program guidelines,” according to the release.

Johnson said that a free press is critical to democracy. “Our local news teams work day in and day out to keep South Dakotans informed of what’s happening both locally and nationally,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, local media hasn’t been immune from the financial impact of COVID-19. A slowdown of advertisements and subsequent layoffs continue to threaten our ability to maintain a free press, the PRINT Act will help alleviate some of the burden our print shops are facing.”

Peterson echoed Johnson’s statements in a media call, noting earlier conversations with smaller newspapers in Minnesota and their struggle to survive the COVID-19 economic conditions.

"The newspapers, small newspapers, weekly newspapers in these little towns, I had a long call with them a couple weeks ago. A lot of them aren’t going to survive if we don’t get some kind of help to them because their advertising is completely dried up,” Peterson, a Democrat representing Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, told Fargo-Moorhead area business leaders Wednesday.

“Without these weekly newspapers in these small towns, I mean you’re not going to know what’s going on with the city council, with the county board, with the school board, the local obituaries," he said. "Some of these local newspapers, you’re going to not find out which neighbor visited which neighbor. I don’t know how we’re going to survive without that.”

David Bordewyk, executive director of the South Dakota Newspaper Association, said that having the flexibility that the PRINT Act offers newspapers would be “very significant since printing costs make up a major portion of every newspaper’s ongoing fixed expenses.”

Minnesota Newspaper Association President Chris Knight said the state's newspapers are “severely challenged in their efforts to produce reliable local news and advertising products during this COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Allowing PPP funds to help cover production costs would go a long way to keep our local newspapers producing their essential publications,” Knight said.

Forum News Service reporter Dana Ferguson contributed to this report.

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Trump says he'll attend Independence Day fireworks display at Mt. Rushmore

Sarah Mearhoff — Fri, 01 May 2020 22:48:04 GMT

ST. PAUL — South Dakotans could be paid a visit from President Donald Trump this July.

Speaking on a Friday, May 1 radio show, Trump said he plans to attend the Independence Day fireworks display at Mt. Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota's Black Hills, which are set to take place for the first time since 2009 (unless they are cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic).

Trump mentioned his travel plans off-handedly as he was complimenting South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's — as well as other Republican governors' — handling of state budgets during the nationwide coronavirus pandemic. Noem has drawn national attention for being one of few governors in the country who never issued a stay-at-home executive order.

"For 20 years or something, (the fireworks display) hasn’t been allowed for environmental reasons," Trump said. "Can you believe that? It’s all stone so I’m trying to say, ‘Where’s the environmental reason?’ Anyway, I got it approved so I’m going to go there on July 3 and they’re going to have the big fireworks."

The annual Independence Day fireworks, which took place from 1998 to 2009, ended due to wildfires in the monument's surrounding forests, not of the monument, itself.

Noem, as well as U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, all South Dakota Republicans, tweeted that they are looking forward to the president's visit.

"Thank you @POTUS for working with us to make this a reality," Noem tweeted. "There's truly no better place to celebrate America's birthday."

Noem has said that at this point, the display is still planned to take place this year despite the pandemic and locals' concerns over potential water contamination, as well as the Black Hills' sacredness to the state's Native American tribes.

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Minn., ND, SD congressional leaders largely toe party lines on impeachment

Jeremy Turley — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 22:32:32 GMT

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives' Democratic-led Judiciary Committee released Tuesday, Dec. 10, two proposed articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. If the committee and the House approve the articles, Trump would be the third president in American history to be charged with high crimes and misdemeanors through the formal impeachment process.

The members of the North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota congressional delegations reacted to the major development in ways that close observers would describe as predictable. Most of the U.S. representatives and senators from the three states promoted the viewpoints of their respective parties, while one moderate declined to pick a side.

The first article of impeachment charges Trump with abusing his power by soliciting Ukraine to investigate a political rival for personal gain. It also says Trump purposely withheld military aid from Ukraine to compel the eastern European country to abide by his request. The second article charges him with obstructing Congress by blocking members of his administration from testifying and defying subpoenas for documents during the impeachment inquiry.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., said House Democrats are impeaching Trump "on charges they can't prove." The first-term congressman and member of the committee called the obstruction charge "baseless," saying the president had a right to object to subpoenas and the Democrats should wait for the courts to rule on the subject.

"In an effort to satisfy their base, House Democrats are dividing the country," Armstrong said. "Today is a sad day for our nation."

Several of Minnesota's Democratic representatives spoke in similarly somber tones to say the president should be impeached for the alleged constitutional violations. Rep. Dean Phillips, who defeated a Republican incumbent in 2018, said the evidence suggests Trump should be impeached and go on to a Senate trial.

"None of us came to Congress to impeach the President … but I do believe, based on our oath to the Constitution, we have no choice," Phillips told CNN. "I do believe the two articles are appropriate."

Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., said Trump should be impeached for his "flagrant and corrupt misconduct" that betrayed public trust.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has long been a harsh critic of Trump and a proponent of impeachment. She called Trump "one of the most corrupt presidents ever" in a tweet Tuesday and said the House would use impeachment as a tool to hold him accountable.

Actually, you have proven to be one of the most corrupt presidents ever.

You abused the power of your office and obstructed the House’s investigation. You are not above the law.

Impeachment is a tool Congress has been given to hold you accountable. And we will use it. https://t.co/LmBb55MOVm
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) December 10, 2019

A spokeswoman for Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said the congressman had no comment on the news. Peterson was one of two Democratic representatives to vote against the initial impeachment inquiry in October and said last month he was undecided on the issue. Trump won the conservative Democrat's mostly rural Seventh District with nearly 62% of the vote in the 2016 presidential election.

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said he would vote down impeachment because it would not be in the country's best interest.

North Dakota's Republican Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer chimed in to say that House Democrats have been determined to impeach Trump since he was elected in 2016. Both senators have maintained throughout the impeachment inquiry that there's more important work the House should be doing instead.

"The evidence in their articles is underwhelming at best," Cramer said. "House Democrats ought to scrap this fantasy and get back to working for the American people."

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said the public wasn't interested in Congress' political theatrics and just wanted the House Democrats to face real challenges.

More Americans searched for peloton than impeachment last week. The American people aren’t interested in political theatrics by Congress. The American people want @HouseDems to work on the real challenges that our country faces.https://t.co/Lq93aIQtUI
— Senator Mike Rounds (@SenatorRounds) December 10, 2019

The committee will debate the articles later this week, and if they are approved, a House vote could come as early as next week, according to the New York Times. If the articles clear the Democratic-held House, Trump's trial would begin shortly thereafter in the Republican-held Senate.

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Increasing political divide has region's lawmakers reined in by their own parties

Christopher Vondracek / Forum News Service — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 10:15:00 GMT

First-term Republican congressman Dusty Johnson stood before farmers at DakotaFest last month during the recess and faced a question that sounds like a broken record: why can’t politicians get along.

“What’s the chance we get some help on these roads,” asked Bruce Gleich, from Yankton, S.D. “We got a lot of flooding down around Yankton County, where we have roads that school buses can’t go down.”

But Rep. Johnson didn’t offer any false hope.

“I’m hearing nothing about that and radio silence for the $2 trillion price tag,” said Johnson, agreeing with the need for action. “It is almost impossible to pay for that in a politically practical way.”

The sober talk from Johnson is a far cry from the energetic, smiling cutouts that populated South Dakota just under a year ago before his wide election in this red state. But Washington, D.C., has maybe left its bruising mark. Johnson, a former utilities commissioner from Mitchell, took a beating from his own party for joining Democrats in the House to block President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency along the southern border. A resolution was even introduced in the State House in Pierre to rebuke Johnson for that vote.

“It’s not a strategy for survival,” said Johnson, now speaking more like a seasoned veteran than an exuberant newcomer. “The reality is being an independent mind, breaking from the herd, that is routinely going to be the case that that is going to cost you more than it’s going to gain you. We’re in a highly politicized environment.”

In June, Atlantic Monthly reported on a political survey suggesting that while affiliation to political parties is weakening, antagonistic — and even caricatured — views of political opponents is rising, contributing to an increasing gridlock in D.C. Democrats surveyed estimated only 5 in 10 Republicans found legal immigration a positive (the actual number is 9 in 10). Republicans, meanwhile, estimated less than half of Democrats would consider themselves patriotic (the actual number is 4 out of 5).

“America’s political divisions are driven by hatred of an out-group rather than love of the in-group,” wrote reporter Yascha Mounk.

The University of Minnesota Humphrey �� of Public Affairs Director Larry Jacobs agrees that that divide is only getting worse and points to the control parties have over the nominating process. But he also points back to voters.

“Most voters are more moderate [than politicians],” observed Jacobs. “On the other hand, when they get to the voting booth, they choose one or the other.”

Three new Republican congressmen arrived from the Dakotas and Minnesota this January, Johnson, North Dakota Rep. Kelly Armstrong, and Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber, where the twin pressures of fundraising and moving up into leadership positions often requires pleasing party heavyweights. But D.C. also uniquely offers a chance to get to know the other party.

Armstrong found that out playing in the annual summer congressional baseball game, a popular DC-event that can would surprise folks outside the capital with its level of across-the-aisle bonhomie. It also offered a throwback example of sausage-making. In that next morning’s Politico’s Playbook, it was reported that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence had spoken “briefly” on the sidelines of the game at Nationals Park, reaching a tentative deal over emergency funding to the border, a compromise they’d ink later that week in a vote with more Republican support than Democratic.

“People used to say that prior to this hyperpolarized [era] that everybody in D.C. got the joke,” said Rep. Armstrong, a Dickinson native who previously served in the North Dakota Legislature. “Republicans and Democrats were fighting and [then] having dinner and laughing it up together afterward.”

He acknowledged that while that extra-curricular social time has dwindled, particularly given the frequency with which members (including Rep. Armstrong) fly home, he said he counts friends on the Judiciary Committee within the Democratic caucus, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin and Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse.

“I treat it like this,” said Armstrong. “Lawyers get a bad wrap. [But] we can yell and scream at each other 1 p.m. on issue A and at 1:15, we can put that behind us and work together on issue B.”

In July, when Trump exhorted members of the so-called “Squad,” liberal congresswomen Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Ilhan Omar Of Minneapolis, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, to “go back [to their home countries],” Rep. Armstrong became one of only a few Republicans to publicly chide the president without offering a similar rebuke of Democratic members’ sharp rhetoric against the president.

“I took a lot of heat for criticizing a Trump Tweet, [but] I just didn’t like the Tweet about the members of the Squad,” said Armstrong, who issued a statement calling attacks on ethnicity and nationality “never OK.”

(Johnson also called Trump’s Tweet “inappropriate” and “the wrong way” to communicate disagreement. Stauber called the Tweet “name-calling happening on both sides of the aisle.”)

In reaching for a metaphor to describe the importance of bipartisanship, the Duluth-native Stauber, only the second Republican to represent Minnesota’s 8th congressional district in over 70 years, drew upon his former hockey player roots and whom he called “the greatest hockey coach”: Herb Brooks.

“He [Brooks] told his team that the name on the front of the jersey means more than the name on the back,” said Stauber, who previously served on nonpartisan municipal and county boards in Hermantown and St. Louis County. “That resonates with me even in this position [as U.S. congressman].”

But Stauber doesn’t gloss over the policy differences undergirding partisanship. He said alarm was OK for some Democratic presidential candidates‘ call to pass Medicare-for-All.

“That means 75% of my constituents would lose their private health insurance,” said Stauber. “Those are discussions that I want to have. We all want to drive down costs and [make healthcare] more accessible and patient-driven, but it certainly isn’t putting government in control. Those are some stark differences, and that’s a major difference between the Republicans and Democrats.”

The upper-Midwest states have a reputation for consensus-minded political compromise. The Bipartisan Coalition Policy Center, founded by four former Senate majority leaders, including South Dakota Dem. Tom Daschle, ranks a number of former politicians from the Upper Midwest, including North Dakota Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, as well as former Minnesota Rep. Vin Weber.

And — at least in his first 8 months of votes — Armstrong has voted with his Democratic colleagues across-the-aisle the fourth-most of all Republican freshmen in Congress (Stauber ranks fifth), according to Quorum.

As Congress returns to D.C., the areas of bipartisanship range from the proposed gun reform of so-called “red flag laws” to a needed spending bill to fend off another government shutdown at month’s end. If and when other vital issues get addressed —such as the quality of roads and bridges — may well depend on how well those representatives sent to Washington can work together.

It’s a common refrain that Stauber said he heard on the road in northern Minnesota during the August recess, Armstrong heard from farmers concerned over the fate of USMCA (the new NAFTA, which requires congressional approval), and Johnson heard at DakotaFest from his constituent in Yankton County concerned about roads.

Afterward, that voters — Bruce Gleich — said the answer was honest, but not entirely satisfying.

“I just kind of wish that there’d be more independent representatives that go around the gridlock and things,” said Gleich. “If 15 or 17 of them turn around and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got a problem with this,’ they’d get a lot more attention than if it was just one person yelling in the dark.”

Increasing political divide has region's lawmakers reined in by their own parties

Rep. Kelly Armstrong.

Rep. Pete Stauber listens during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Arizona in April. (Pete Stauber Twitter)

Increasing political divide has region's lawmakers reined in by their own parties

Rep. Kelly Armstrong.

Rep. Pete Stauber listens during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Arizona in April. (Pete Stauber Twitter)

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SD representative votes against Trump’s border wall declaration

Forum News Service — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 01:31:28 GMT

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., was one of 13 Republicans to support a House of Representatives measure to block President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to get additional funding for a border wall.

Democrats pushed for the measure, and the legislation passed 245-182 on Tuesday.

Johnson said in a statement that he was primarily voting against the emergency nature of Trump’s request, and to fight back against expanding executive authority.

“Throughout the last two months, I’ve reliably voted with the President on border security and the border wall,” Johnson said. “There is still work to be done, and I’m committed to working with him in Congress to continue the progress we’ve made. An emergency declaration is the wrong approach, however. I spent eight years under President Obama fighting ever-expanding executive authority. I remain committed to that principle.”

The Republican-controlled Senate will take up the matter in March. Trump has threatened a veto, which would require a two-thirds majority to override.

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