Kristi Noem attendance

Below are snippets from an article--edited to the max of five paragraphs--from the front page of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, the largest newspaper in the state, and one which had strongly supported Kristi Noem in 2010. They aren't supporting her now, even though, presumably for "balance" they also carried an article about Noem making a radio address spouting Republican talking points attacking Obama's economic record, particularly with regard to jobs.



http://www.argusleader.com/article/20120513/NEWS/305130022/Attendance-Congress-question?odyssey=mod|mostview




But the South Dakota Democratic Party contends that Noem hasn’t been a strong voice for farmers and ranchers, at least not on the House Agriculture Committee. Of 20 committee and subcommittee meetings held since Noem’s appointment in June 2011, South Dakota Democratic Chairman Ben Nesselhuf said she’s attended four.

. . .


In 2010, when Republicans took control of the House, part of their plan to bring greater transparency to the chamber included posting official attendance of committee meetings. But according to Politico, Republicans voted Jan. 4, 2011, to abandon that plan. They did so on a voice vote, meaning there’s no record of how the members voted.

. . .

When Noem started in Congress, she initially was not on the Agriculture Committee, having instead been assigned to the education and natural resources committees [because that was what she requested--she deliberately chose not to be on the agriculture committee when she first entered Congress, and then, only after having caught flack over it, belatedly requested an additional assignment]. It was the first time in 30 years South Dakota hadn’t been represented on the committee. Then, in June 2011, Noem won a third assignment on agriculture. At the time, she said her seat on the committee would ensure that South Dakota’s interests were represented in the reauthorization of the farm bill, which is ongoing.


Of six conservation subcommittee meetings, there’s a record of Noem attending only one, Democrats say. A record shows her at a livestock meeting. That came April 26 when she was being profiled by a network news channel. Of nine full committee meetings, there is record of her in two.

. . .

“We know for a fact that she’s made one comment,” he [Nesselhuf] said. “That is a fact. We can see that in the transcripts.”