ISSUES

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ELECTION FRAUD

Taffy is committed to ensuring that all elections are honest and fair, and fully supports a forensic audit. A free people must have fair and transparent elections to continue self-governance. 

Taffy voted for numerous election integrity bills (1), and strongly opposed Dusty Johnson’s votes to ignore voter fraud in Arizona and Pennsylvania (2). She is working hard to restore trust in our election process.

SECOND AMENDMENT

Taffy believes that the Second Amendment protects all other rights. She stands for the right to citizen self-defense, and strongly supports our proud heritage of hunting and responsible firearms ownership. 

Taffy opposes all infringements on the Second Amendment.  She stood against proposed “red flag” gun confiscation legislation in Pierre last year (3), and strongly opposes Dusty Johnson’s vote for “red flag” gun confiscation this year. (4) 

Taffy was privileged to co-sponsor and vote for South Dakota’s pro-gun Constitutional Carry law. (5)

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IMMIGRATION

Taffy supports enforcement of all immigration laws to end the invasion at the southern border.  

While Dusty Johnson voted against Trump’s border wall (6), Taffy stands with President Trump for the wall and supports increasing security measures so that all who enter the country have been thoroughly vetted.

America should be a safe, secure, and welcoming place for those who wish to become legal immigrants and citizens.

AGRICULTURE, JOBS & BUSINESS

Taffy is working for real economic growth by cutting red tape and getting government out of the way.  

She opposes Biden’s so-called “Build it Back Better” plan which includes a cattle tax and numerous new burdens on jobs and businesses.  She supports real job growth through accelerating the free market.

Taffy is a proponent of mandatory Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL).  She stands with South Dakota’s farmers and ranchers against further encroachment from the federal government, especially from OSHA and the EPA, and opposes the “Green New Deal” and every other attempt to use “climate change” to tax or restrict agricultural production.

We must continue working to grow jobs, improve the business environment, and support agriculture.  We must aid in innovation and building for the future by returning government to its most beneficial role.

NATIONAL DEBT

Taffy has spent the last five years on the House Appropriations Committee in South Dakota, with a focus on providing budget transparency and cutting taxes for her constituents. She is a fiscal conservative and has a track record of voting for common sense policies. 

As Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, she stands against tax-and-spend policies and is committed to accounting for every dollar the government spends, ensuring that South Dakota families can thrive.

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FAMILY VALUES

Taffy Howard is a proud wife and is a mother of two sons. She is committed to supporting policies that will enable current and future families in South Dakota to live free and prosperous lives. 

Taffy is an advocate for school choice and stands against Critical Race Theory in schools. She supports healthcare freedom and believes that families should have the liberty to choose what’s best for themselves and their children.  

Taffy worked to protect faith-based child placement agencies and has sponsored pro-life legislation that would work towards ending abortion in South Dakota.  She co-sponsored the resolution to petition the President and Congress to defund Planned Parenthood and is a co-sponsor of the Born Alive bill. (7) 

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OPEN, HONEST, LIMITED GOVERNMENT

Taffy agrees with President Ronald Reagan: “Man is not free unless government is limited.”

As a state representative, she is working to reduce spending, provide tax relief, and defend the rights of the people.  She is fighting relentlessly to preserve the liberties of her constituents. 

Taffy firmly opposes any government-mandated business shutdowns, and is working to prevent further economic damage from the overreach caused by the federal government in the last year and a half. Taffy stands strong for the people of South Dakota, and will work in support of open, honest, and limited government.

Patent Reform

Taffy strongly supports legislation designed to restore America’s patent system as the Constitution of the United States originally envisioned it.  Congressman Thomas Massie’s HR 5874 is a return to the “first to invent” standard to ensure patent protection for America’s inventors.

As Rep. Massie has stated, “A return to a ‘first to invent’ patent protection system ensures that inventors and the investors who back them can be confident that their innovative work and ideas will be safeguarded. Patents should protect those who innovate, not those who win the race to the patent office.”

In addition to restoring patent protections to a “first to invent” standard, RALIA contains other important reforms to the patent system. Notably, RALIA affirms that a patent secures private property rights, repeals administrative post-grant reviews, abolishes the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and ends the automatic publication of patent applications unless a patent is granted.

Fixing this vital issue will help bring economic revitalization to America.

  1. Journal of the South Dakota House — HB 1125, Feb. 2, 2021 | HB 1126, Feb. 10, 2021 | SB 184, March 2, 2021
  2. Clerk of the United States House — Roll Call 10, Jan. 6, 2021 | Roll Call 11, Jan. 7, 2021
  3. Journal of the South Dakota House — SB 82, Jan. 27, 2020
  4. Clerk of the United States House — H.R. 4350, Roll Call 293, Sept. 23, 2021
  5. Journal of the South Dakota House — SB 47, Jan. 29, 2019 | SB 38, Jan. 8, 2019 | SB 82, Jan. 27, 2020
  6. Clerk of the United States House — S.J.R. 54, Roll Call 553, Sept. 27, 2019
  7. Journal of the South Dakota House —  HB 1051, Feb. 25, 2021| H.R. 1004, March 7, 2019