Johnson Gets 10 Million In Funding or South Dakota

Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Senator Tim Johnson has secured $9.83 million for South Dakota in the FY 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending bill, including $3.65 million for the National Children's Study that will go directly to South Dakota State University. The bill now moves to the full Senate Appropriation's Committee for approval on Thursday.

According to Johnson, The National Children's Study will be able to continue its landmark research at SDSU because of the funding in this bill. Across the board, the funding levels are an improvement to the President's budget request, which failed to address the research and rural health needs of South Dakotans. The bill also includes funding to improve health care quality and access to services on reservations, where there are large disparities in health care.

Recognizing the devastating impact of a recent increase in the number of suicides in South Dakota, Johnson secured $200,000 in the bill to fund suicide prevention programs on the Rosebud Indian reservation.