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(Continued from page 5)
crease homeowners will see in their utility bills. The new design includes better insulation and windows, an airtight envelope and an energy recovery air exchanger. These houses will meet the Energy Star Standard, making those who qualify eligible for federally insured mortgages which are available only to energy efficient homes.
• Homeownership is a part of the American dream, and the Governor's House program has made that dream come true for hundreds of South Dakotans - people who may not otherwise ever own a home. By continuing to make the homes even more efficient and affordable, we'll be making that dream a reality for many more in the future.
• To learn more about the Governor's House program and how to apply, visit sdhda.org and click on "Governor's House Program" under the "Home Buyers" tab or just type "Governor's House" in your internet search engine.
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Standing Tall for Family Farms
• By Rep. Kristi Noem
• Often times when I talk with folks in Washington about farming, they still picture a tanned man in a straw hat and flannel shirt perched atop a small, cab-less tractor. Sure, there are still animals to feed, cows to be milked, and dusty fields to work in. We still wake up early and spend the day doing hard labor. But the industry has changed since then. I love being able to share what it's like to be a producer today and stand tall when I say that I too was a farmer.
• The modern day farmer and rancher is a jack-of-all-trades. We're chemists and IT specialists. We need to know about marketing, business, and mechanics. We invent. We innovate. We modernize. And we are subject to a litany of government regulations - many written by those who have never dropped a digger into the ground.
• Two years ago, the U.S. Department of Labor handed down a new proposal that would have undermined traditional family agriculture. Many South Dakotans hire their nieces or nephews to help out during the summer, but these requirements would have put new limits on what they could do. Safety on farms and ranches is imperative, but we need to have a commonsense approach to how we address the issue.
• I joined other Members of Congress from rural areas to put pressure on the Department of Labor and by the end of April 2012, the Department of Labor withdrew (Continued on page 7)
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