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for assistance," Johnson said. "And since Congress hasn't finished a farm bill, West River ranchers have to wait for disaster assistance."
• Beyond restoring protections for livestock producers, the wide-ranging farm bill contains a number of pieces that are important to South Dakotans.
• There is language that would keep the basic framework of crop insurance in place, a key piece for farmers. Both the House and Senate bills provide funding for academic agricultural research. And there are provisions designed to protect native soil and support land conservation.
• Noem said negotiations on the farm bill are ongoing and this week included meetings among staff on both sides. She said everyone involved realizes how important it is to pass legislation before the end of the year.
• "We recognize that we need to get this done," she said.
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AP News in Brief
Military sexual assault bill set for debate this week splits Senate over role of commanders
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has secured public support from nearly half the Senate, but not enough votes, for her proposal to give victims of rape and sexual assault in the military an independent route outside the chain of command for prosecuting attackers.
• Gillibrand's solution for a problem the military calls an epidemic appears to have stalled in the face of united opposition from the Pentagon's top echelon and its allies in Congress, including two female senators who are former prosecutors.
• Opponents of the proposal by Gillibrand, D-N.Y., insist that commanders, not an outside military lawyer, must be accountable for meting out justice.
• Even so, major changes are coming for a decades-old military system just a few months after several high-profile cases infuriated Republicans and Democrats.
• "Sexual assault in the military is not new, but it has been allowed to fester," Gillibrand said in a recent Senate speech.
• ___
Philippine president to camp in Tacloban until aid situation improves; residents attend Mass
• TACLOBAN, Philippines (AP) -- President Benigno Aquino III said Sunday that he will stay in typhoon-battered Leyte province until he sees more progress in the (Continued on page 22)
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