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News from Rep. Stephanie Herseth
For Immediate Release
Contact: Russ Levsen, 202-226-4449

HERSETH ANNOUNCES KEY SOUTH DAKOTA FUNDING IN TWO APPROPRIATIONS BILLS

June 9, 2005, Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth today announced that funding for several South Dakota projects she requested was included in committee reports of two Appropriations Bills this week. Projects included defense research funding for the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and funding for Methamphetamine fighting, tribal law enforcement, the Children’s Home Society, and the Minnehaha County Jail.

Herseth said, “I am pleased that South Dakota is well represented at this stage in the appropriations process in these key bills. This earmark funding will help ensure that important law enforcement, research and children’s care programs in South Dakota have the resources they need.”

The Science, State, Justice and Commerce Bill included Herseth requests for:

The Children’s Home Society’s forensic interviewing project
South Dakota’s Methamphetamine Awareness and Prevention Project
Funding for Oglala Tribal law enforcement to police Whiteclay, NE, which Herseth requested with Rep. Tom Osborne
The Minnehaha County Jail for the prevention of airborne pathogens

Projects in the SSJC bill received “soft” earmarks, which do not include a specific spending figure, but importantly, they are a placeholder to receive funding in the bill that will be specifically outlined once it goes to conference.

The Defense Appropriations bill, which also passed committee this week, included important research funds for South Dakota totaling $6.5 million. These funds support collaborative research efforts at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, including research in weapons development, structures technology, and the development of advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Herseth said, “This is key funding for research critical to our national defense, and it will go directly to programs in South Dakota.”

Additionally, the SSJC bill includes important programmatic directives in the areas of community and economic development funding and law enforcement. First, the bill does not implement the President’s proposal to move the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program at the Office of National Drug Control Policy to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force within the Department of Justice. Secondly, the bill specifically rejects the consolidation component of the President’s proposal regarding the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. The President’s plan would have reduced overall funding for community development and consolidated the programs within the Department of Commerce.

Herseth said, “CDBG is crucial to rural states like South Dakota, and I am pleased to have joined with Democrats and Republicans in opposition to the proposed consolidation. Additionally, the bill includes crucial funding for law enforcement while rejecting proposed changes to HIDTA that many in South Dakota opposed.”

The bills are anticipated to receive a vote on the full House floor next week.

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