South Dakota Legislature Resolves: Move Forward on Economic Stimulus, Mr. Daschle

South Dakota House passes resolution instructing Tom Daschle to move forward on economic stimulus

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the South Dakota House of Representatives passed a resolution instructing its members of Congress to support President Bush\’s economic security legislation.

The bill\’s passage comes as a blow to South Dakota\’s senior senator, Democrat Tom Daschle, who is majority leader of the United States Senate.

Despite passage in the U.S. House of Representatives last winter, the U.S. Senate has not moved forward with legislation to stimulate the nation\’s sluggish economy. In fact, Tom Daschle told reporters on February 5th that he would "pull the bill tomorrow," instead of hammering out a compromise between senators of both parties in the legislative body.

"Tom Daschle\’s obstructionism in the United States Senate is hurting every man, woman and child who has any involvement in the American economy," said taxpayer advocate Grover Norquist, who heads Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) in Washington. "But this obstructionism especially hurts the people of South Dakota, who voted overwhelmingly for President Bush in the last election." ATR spearheads tax relief efforts across the nation, and supported the economic security legislation passed by the U.S. House early last winter.

The South Dakota resolution states: "South Dakota\’s delegation in the United States Congress is strongly encouraged to break the Congressional gridlock, return to negotiations, and proceed with legislation that creates jobs and ensures a strong economy for our state and nation\’s prosperity and security." The resolution can be found at: http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2002/bills/HCR1027p.pdf

"The people of South Dakota want economic security, the people of the United States want economic security, and the only thing standing in the way of it is Tom Daschle\’s negligent, partisan control of the Senate docket," continued Norquist. "If he weren\’t so busy trying to woo the left wing of the Democrat party, and instead listened to his constituents, Daschle would move forward with this legislation immediately."