Press Releases

Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) released the following statement today after David Bernhardt was confirmed to be secretary of the Department of the Interior. “Secretary Bernhardt will be an important force at the Department of the Interior. I supported his nomination because I know he will continue to... Continue Reading

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today convened a hearing titled, “Illegal Robocalls: Calling All to Stop the Scourge.” During the hearing, Thune asked a panel of witnesses about his... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today applauded U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue for quickly approving a March 27 Thune-led request for USDA to provide timely Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) assistance to agriculture producers and delegate LIP approval authority to... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today discussed his bipartisan Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, legislation he introduced with Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) to combat annoying, illegal, and abusive robocalls.... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today applauded the committee for unanimously passing his bipartisan Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, legislation he introduced with Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.)... Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today reintroduced the Tribal Veterans Health Care Enhancement Act, legislation that would improve tribal veterans’ access to health care. The bill, which was first introduced in the 114th Congress and again in the 115th Congress, would allow the Indian Health Service (IHS) to cover... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed Senate Democrats’ historic obstruction of noncontroversial, qualified nominees, simply because they were nominated by President Trump. For context, during President Obama’s first two years in office, his nominees were only subjected to 12 cloture votes. During Trump’s first two years in office, his... Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) today urged U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to provide Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) assistance as quickly as... Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) today reintroduced the Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act (S. 895), legislation that would permanently prohibit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from enforcing its direct supervision policy for certain outpatient therapeutic services, a harmful regulation that would jeopardize access... Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), and Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) today issued the following statements after the U.S. Air Force announced that Ellsworth Air Force Base has officially been selected to receive the new B-21 training and operational squadron, which means... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) released the following statement today after Senate Democrats failed to support their own Green New Deal agenda on the Senate floor. “Weeks ago, Democrats in Congress were practically tripping over themselves to support the costly, ineffective Green New Deal. But today, they banded together in... Continue Reading