Rounds Calls for Federal Gas and Diesel Tax Suspension to Lower Prices at Pump, President Trump to Invoke Defense Production Act

PIERRE – Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) called for a suspension of the federal gas and diesel tax for 90 days in a letter today to President Donald Trump. Additionally, Rounds asked states to consider suspending their own gas and diesel taxes. This would temporarily save consumers on average 60 cents per gallon on diesel fuel and 52 cents per gallon on gasoline. To offset the loss of revenue to the Highway Trust Fund, Congress can consider authorizing a one-time transfer from the General Fund. Rounds also urged President Trump to consider using his authority under the Defense Production Act to help domestic refineries expand their capacity, including refining capacity that is already online.

“The prices at the pump are being driven by a global shortage of refining capacity,” wrote Rounds. “Americans feel the impact of this refining bottleneck every time they fill up at the pump, but farmers can’t stop their tractors and combines in the middle of harvest, and truckers can’t quit running their routes. We need to act now to bring down the price of diesel. The solution is one that you have promoted since your first Administration: unleash American energy dominance.”

“Broader regulatory changes will of course take time. What we can and should do right now is explore suspending the federal gas tax through the end of the year to give Americans immediate relief,” continued Rounds. “The federal gas tax is 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel and 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline…Those savings would make a huge difference for the American people.”

Read the full text of the letter HERE or below.

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Dear President Trump:

I write to urge you to use your authority under the Defense Production Act to help domestic refineries expand their capacity. Democrats are telling the American people that the conflict with Iran is the sole cause of high fuel costs and that, if the conflict ended today, fuel prices would magically plummet tomorrow. As you know, that is false. Oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The prices at the pump are being driven by a global shortage of refining capacity—a weakness in the global fuel supply chain that we should start addressing here at home.

Severe refining deficits across Russia and the Middle East have left the United States and China as the last major refining powers standing. Americans feel the impact of this refining bottleneck every time they fill up at the pump, but farmers can’t stop their tractors and combines in the middle of harvest, and truckers can’t quit running their routes. We need to act now to bring down the price of diesel. The solution is one that you have promoted since your first Administration: unleash American energy dominance. In this case, that means invoking the Defense Production Act to expand domestic refining capacity.

Your authority under the Defense Production Act is tied to national defense, which Congress defined to include “programs” for “energy production or construction.” The Act authorizes you to prioritize contracts relating to “materials, equipment, and services” in order to “expand . . . refining” and to “provide for the modification or expansion of privately owned facilities.” You also have the authority to incentivize domestic refinery expansion through loans and loan guarantees, subsidy payments, and purchase commitments. Together, these authorities can be wielded as powerful tools to expand refining capacity, including refining capacity that is already online. We won’t see the results overnight, but the sooner we start, the better.

More broadly, we need to ease permitting requirements and cut through the other bureaucratic red tape obstructing American fuel production. As we clear these regulatory logjams, we also need to confront the bigger question of why no new major refinery has opened in the United States since the 1970s. Oil and gas companies are understandably hesitant to invest billions in new refineries when a change in the political winds could spell disaster. After all, onerous regulations and high compliance costs in California, a notoriously oil-and-gas-unfriendly state, recently forced two refineries to close. We need laws and policies that give oil and gas companies confidence to invest in large-scale refineries here at home, not regulations that stifle the industry.

These broader regulatory changes will of course take time. What we can and should do right now is explore suspending the federal gas tax through the end of the year to give Americans immediate relief. The federal gas tax is 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel and 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline. To offset the loss of revenue to the Highway Trust Fund, Congress can consider authorizing a one-time transfer from the General Fund. I also strongly encourage States to consider suspending, or at the very least reducing, their own gas taxes. The average State gas tax is 35.5 cents per gallon on diesel fuel and 33.3 cents per gallon on gasoline. Suspending both federal and State gas taxes would amount to an average savings of 60 cents per gallon on diesel fuel and 52 cents per gallon on gasoline. Those savings would make a huge difference for the American people.

Please let me know how I can be of assistance. I greatly appreciate your consideration.

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Attorney General Jackley Announces South Dakota Circuit Court Rules Murder Defendant Received Effective Defense Counsel

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces a South Dakota Circuit Court has ruled a woman who was sentenced to prison for murder received effective defense counsel.

Maricela Diaz and Alexander Salgado were accused of killing Jasmine Guevarra in 2009 in a rural area of Hanson County. Diaz was convicted of her charges, and Salgado pled guilty to his charges.

“Diaz was not convicted due to any error of her trial counsel.  She was convicted because the evidence of her role in this murder was conclusive,” said Attorney General Jackley. “This ruling brings this case a step closer to final justice for Jasmine and her family.”

At the time of the crime, Diaz was a juvenile but was tried in adult court. She wasconvicted by a Minnehaha County Jury of First Degree Murder, Felony Murder Arson, First Degree Arson, Felony Murder Aggravated Kidnapping, and Second Degree Aggravated Kidnapping. She received an 80-year prison sentence for First Degree Murder and a concurrent 50-year sentence for Second-Degree Aggravated Kidnapping.

South Dakota’s Supreme Court upheld the murder conviction.

Diaz filed a Habeas Corpus petition in Hanson County Circuit Court stating that she did not receive effective defensive counsel. An evidentiary hearing on her request was held in that court this past February.

The court ruled that Diaz failed to show that her counsel’s performance was deficient or deprived her of a fair trial.

Salgado was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

The Attorney General’s Office represented the State at the Circuit Court hearing for Diaz.

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Gov. Rhoden and Colleagues Urge Passage of Permitting Reform

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden and 21 fellow Republican governors urged Congress to pass permitting reform to cut red tape, lower energy costs, and strengthen our nation’s infrastructure. You can find a copy of the statement here.

“Republican governors are working every day to cut red tape, increase investment, and make our states the best places in the world to build, innovate, and do business,” wrote Governor Larry Rhoden and his colleagues. “Unfortunately, outdated federal bureaucracy continues to delay critical energy and infrastructure projects and drive up costs for hardworking families at a time when speed and efficiency matter most.”

The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act would deliver cheaper energy, good-paying jobs, and responsible growth – all while ensuring AI data centers pay for their increased electricity use. Earlier this year, Governor Rhoden signed the “Data Center Bill of Rights,” which similarly protects South Dakotans from increased utility costs and utility shortages caused by data centers.

“Republican governors urge Congress to act swiftly, pass meaningful permitting reform, and send this legislation to President Trump’s desk,” continued Governor Rhoden and his colleagues. “By bringing greater certainty and accountability to the permitting process, we can unleash American energy dominance, strengthen our grid, bring manufacturing and investment back home, and ensure the United States leads the next generation of economic growth.”

Governor Rhoden was joined in signing this statement by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Indiana Governor Mike Braun, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Puerto Rico Governor Jennifer González-Colón, South Carolina Governor Henry Dargan McMaster, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.

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From South Dakota Democrats on Facebook, they are oddly showing their candidate for Congress on a box in the photo.

I’m guessing that’s a soapbox that “gun-grabber Gronli” is standing on.

Gov. Rhoden and Colleagues Protect Missouri River

PIERRE, S.D. – Earlier this week, Governor Larry Rhoden and five Governors urged congressional leaders to protect resource management of the Missouri River. They sent a letter to leadership on the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. You can find a copy of the letter here.

“We look forward to working with you to ensure that any final legislation respects established principles of federal and state law while supporting the long-term needs of communities throughout the Missouri River Basin and beyond,” wrote Governor Larry Rhoden and his colleagues.

The letter urged congressional leadership to protect resource management of the Missouri River by removing Section 120 from the 2026 Water Resources Development Act.

According to Section 120, water cannot be diverted or exported from the Missouri River or any of its tributaries without unanimous approval from Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Wyoming governors. Furthermore, unanimous approval by the Missouri River state governors is required for the Corp of Engineers to simply study the possibility of such projects.

“Section 120 would grant the 10 governors of the Missouri River states absolute veto power over an entire sector of interstate resource distribution without any standards or guiding principles…This subordinates the Corps of Engineers’ statutory duties based solely on the whim of a single governor,” continued Governor Rhoden and his colleagues. “Such a provision is certain to invite protracted litigation, as well as delay necessary infrastructure projects.”

Governor Rhoden was joined in signing this letter by North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.

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This is just a bizarre string of happenstance.

Former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who found himself the subject of a House Ethics Committee report, where the House Ethics Committee found evidence that Gaetz paid for sex—including with a 17-year-old—and abused illegal drugs during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives recently interviewed outgoing crackpot legislator John “California” Carley.

Carley, aside from other things, was the subject of the public’s ire for running and hiding from a vote this last legislative session. Seriously, he left the capital, was not able to be found, and later claimed he went to a dentist appointment.

Why was the earth’s population subjected to the meeting of these paragons of ethical conduct?  They were upset that current South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson said she’d rather vote for a Democrat than support the puppet of the election conspiracists, Heather Baxter as her successor to the office, as they detail on the OAN network:

“unfortunately, very quickly turned and aligned with no election integrity and a kind of corrupt establishment… She went and endorsed a Democrat secretary of state candidate.”   “California” Carley claiming we have a ‘corrupt establishment?’  Yeah. I think he understands the meaning of the word as much as he understood his oath of office. As in not at all. 

If Matt Gaetz and John Carley are for someone… it kind of gives a person pause as to whether you want to be on the same side as these guys.

Pro-Amendment L Group Calls for Truth in Advertising

SIOUX FALLS – The grassroots coalition leading the Yes effort on South Dakota’s proposed Constitutional Amendment L sent cease and desist letters to South Dakota media organizations this week, requesting that they immediately stop airing misleading and untruthful commercials funded by opponents of Amendment L.

Proposed Amendment L protects the South Dakota Constitution and South Dakota citizens by requiring a 60 percent vote to change the Constitution. All other measures remain unchanged.

“Voters deserve an open and honest debate on the merits of Amendment L,” said State Representative John Hughes (R-13), prime sponsor of the measure. “These blatant lies by anti-Amendment L activists are a desperate attempt to mislead voters, and the deceptive advertisements need to be removed from the airwaves immediately.”

The request to pull the misleading advertisement points to opponents’ false claim that the Yes on L effort is funded by wealthy non-residents. Specifically, the ad falsely states “Out of state billionaires and their lobbyists are coming to South Dakota pushing Amendment L” and “Our constitution isn’t for sale to some Californian.”

A ballot question committee in support of Amendment L, Save Our South Dakota Constitution, consists of South Dakota residents and groups of concerned citizens. Supporters of Amendment L include Protect South Dakota Kids, South Dakota Family Voice, South Dakota Retailers, and South Dakota Right to Life.

Official campaign finance disclosures filed with the South Dakota Secretary of State in mid-October will demonstrate that Save Our South Dakota Constitution is funded entirely without financial backing from any California billionaires. Ironically, according to public documents, anti-Amendment L special interest groups have already spent more than $400,000 misleading voters.

“Our state Constitution is a foundational document that makes South Dakota a great state, and that’s worth protecting by passing Amendment L,” Hughes added. “We are asking voters to defend against radical special interest groups who want to allow late-term abortions, take away gun rights, and legalize recreational marijuana.”

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Amendment L was placed on the ballot by the South Dakota Legislature during the 2025 session as House Joint Resolution 5003. The measure passed the Senate with 29 yes votes and 4 no votes; it passed the House with 61 yes votes and 5 no votes.

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“Dindependent” US Senate candidate Brian Bengs launched a laughable online store this week to scrape together donations.

The comment made me laugh. I would agree. Strangely, no signs or shirts depicting him snapping his fingers at people. If you want evidence of one of the worst run campaigns by one of the worst candidates in years, shop wisely, as he’s hitting people for $20 for a yard sign.  Trust me. I sell the things. That’s quite the markup.

If only there were items available that were useful in the real world.  I’m holding out until they add this shirt to the shelves.

Thune: Republicans Help America’s Small Businesses Grow, Put More Money in Americans’ Pockets

“We’re setting the conditions for a brighter future and keeping the American Dream alive and strong for future generations.”

Click here to watch the video.

 WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the above remarks on the Senate floor.

Just a note for any collectors of political items out there, I’ve revamped and updated my long ignored eBay store, and linked it with my listings on Facebook Marketplace, whatnot, and Etsy, and I’m clearing out a number of duplicates and things gathering dust.

Lots of South Dakota related presidential pins, as well as other political items as I come across them in drawers and as I unpack what I had for sale when I had a booth at 605 Antiques in Sioux Falls.  (Comics too, but this probably isn’t the venue).

You can check out my current listings of political items on eBay here.