HOT SPRINGS, S.D. — Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Brian Bengs, Independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in South Dakota, today condemned the administration’s recent handout of American taxpayer dollars to financially bailout Argentina, a U.S. agricultural export competitor. Making the situation even more ludicrous is that Washington’s trade war with China is destroying the livelihood of South Dakota’s soybean producers because China is now buying American-subsidized soybeans from Argentina.

“Let me get this straight. We sent $20 billion of hard-earned taxpayer dollars to bail out Argentina. Then China paid them above market rate for their soybeans while American farmers are forced to watch their harvests rot in the field?” Bengs, a retired U.S. Air Force officer, former Northern State University professor, and former Wind Cave National Park ranger stated, “The entire situation is outrageous, and really demonstrates just how broken Washington’s priorities are.”

Bengs emphasized that the South Dakota economy is built on agriculture, yet family farmers are routinely shortchanged by trade policies that reward foreign competitors.

“South Dakota farmers don’t need handouts or lip service. They simply need fair markets and leadership that actually fights for them,” Bengs said. “Instead, Mike Rounds sits on his hands and keeps his mouth shut while American tax dollars are used to undercut American producers. When will he finally stand up for South Dakota farmers?”

The Bengs campaign highlighted that this is merely the latest example of Rounds siding with a status quo that harms rural South Dakotans instead of demanding accountability.

“I’m not here to serve party bosses or special interests. I’m here to serve South Dakotans,” Bengs said. “Unlike Mike Rounds, I will never stand aside quietly for a raw deal that puts the bailout of a corrupt foreign government ahead of South Dakota’s farmers. Our people deserve better, and that’s what I’ll fight for in the U.S. Senate.”