US Representative Kristi Noem says she is continuing to make progress in re-opening the government. She has plans to visit the white house on Thursday to speak with the President.
The Government shutdown is now in its second week, and in the views of the American public, little progress seems to have been made at this point. Noem says it’s very important for President Obama to communicate at this critical time.
"Prior to today, the President has shown very little willingness to negotiate and in a divided government both sides have to be willing to talk and to find common ground. I’m optimistic that our meeting today at the white house will be a positive development," Congresswoman Noem says.
Noem says she’s hoping progress is made in Thursday's meeting with Obama. She says she was never in favor of shutting down the government and the sooner it re-opens, the better. The congresswoman says at this point there has been very little communication between republicans and democrats. She says for things to get better, communication needs to occur.
Ranchers and Farmers in western South Dakota are still trying to recover from the winter storm suffered almost a week ago. Representative Noem says she sends her thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by this devastating storm.
"As all of you are aware, this Storm did tremendous amount of damage in both communities in the black hills and also livestock producer’s west river. Brian and I and the kids have been praying for everyone who has been facing so many challenges and will be facing challenges in the weeks ahead. And we’re hopeful that our communities in South Dakota are going to do what they’ve always done and keep pulling together to get through these hard times," Representative Noem says.
Noem says she is going to push to get a strong livestock disaster portion included in the farm bill. She says she plans to visit west river communities soon to get first hand accounts from those affected. The Congresswoman says this is important because she’ll be able to have a strong grasp of the situation when bringing it to Washington.
