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Noem Protects Big Farm Subsidies, Axes Elmo

Attagirl, Kristi, taking care of your own....

Congresswoman Kristi Noem's family has made over three million dollars from us taxpayers on farm subsidies over the last fifteen years. Congresswoman Noem is now using her Congressional vote to protect those subsidies for her fellow wealthy farmers.

On February 18, Democratic Congressman Earl Blumenauer from Oregon proposed an amendment (numbered 323) to HR 1, the full-year continuing appropriations bill. Rep. Blumenauer wanted to block the USDA from paying any staff who disburse more than $250,000 in farm subsidies to any one person or company.

Now if you ask me, if you need more than $250,000 from Uncle Sam in one year to keep your farm running, you need a new business model. But if you ask Congresswoman Noem, she'll say, "Where do I sign up?" The Noems' Racota Valley Ranch took in more than $250K in subsidies in five separate years. Their best year (or the taxpayers' worst): 2000, when the ranch hauled in federal subsidies worth $528,472.

Elmo testifies to Congress
So if we move the show out to Castlewood and raise some corn, we get our funding back, right, Congresswoman Noem?

In celebration of her rich heritage of government dependence, Congresswoman Noem voted no on the Blumenauer amendment. She voted to keep handing out the big subsidies she has enjoyed. She then joined her Republican colleagues in voting for the overall appropriations bill, which eliminates funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Congresswoman Noem thinks Sesame Street and Statehouse should survive on their own merits in the marketplace. But if your big farm needs a quarter-million-dollar handout, Kristi's got your back.

9 Comments

  1. snapper 2011.02.27

    I'd like to do away with Farm Subisidies all together.

    Why can't the Argus Leader, RCJ, American News write a decent story like this? It's pretty straight forward.

  2. snapper 2011.02.27

    This is a fine line for Kristi because combined with the health care she is taking and keeping the family farm loaded with fed $$$ she doesn't look like the average South Dakotan anymore.

  3. larry kurtz 2011.02.27

    Could it be that Representative Noem is really just a Millions Infused Lifelike Farmer.

  4. Charlie Johnson 2011.02.27

    Love the puppet picture-----The state ag organizations will protect her back on this one. Subsidized federal crop insurance is the biggest "hog" in the welfare pen. There is no limitations and is being used to distort real time economic decisions down on the farm. Larger and larger farmers are using the policies(at preminum costs covered mostly by federal tax dollars) to raise land rents, land prices, all in the name of greed with the end result of beginning farmers having no access to production agriculture.

  5. moses 2011.02.27

    Kristi wantsd it all I want smaller Govt, BUT AS LONG AS i GET HEALTHC ARE AND FARM SUBSIDIES WHO CARES.

  6. snapper 2011.02.27

    She really does talk out of both sides of her mouth.

    And no big ag in SD won't back her up on this. If it gets cut regardless of how she says she voted she perpetuated the cuts and attitude that brought this era upon us.

    Noem is nothing more than a politician.

  7. caheidelberger Post author | 2011.02.27

    Hey, that comment is unfair to politicians.

  8. snapper 2011.02.27

    Actually I hope ethanol does get cut because then Noem will be running around talking about how she supports ethanol and wouldn't have voted to cut it all while running around saying she voted for the bill that killed it so she could say she voted for the cuts.

    In the end Noem is trying to have it both ways.

  9. Maryann 2011.03.31

    Let's get this woman out of office ASAP!

Comments are closed.