Press Releases

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, applauded the Senate’s passage of three bipartisan Commerce Committee-approved technology and telecommunications bills, including his MOBILE NOW Act. The Senate also approved the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017 and Kari’s Law... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued the following statement on Senate approval by unanimous consent of S. 19, the MOBILE NOW Act, a bill to boost the development of next-generation gigabit wireless broadband services, including 5G, by ensuring more spectrum is... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today applauded the committee’s passage of his bipartisan legislation to combat human trafficking, the No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act (S. 1532), and the Combatting Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act (S. 1536), of... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today unveiled his fifth legislative proposal that is intended to be included in the 2018 farm bill. Thune’s bill, the Forest Management Improvement Act of 2017, would make several improvements to the forestry... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, today outlined his priorities for tax reform. Thune has introduced several bills, including legislation to repeal the death tax, a bill to improve and modernize S corporations, the CHARITY ACT, the INVEST Act, and the NEW GIG... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today urged Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary David Shulkin to more prominently feature the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), a suicide crisis telephone line for veterans, families of veterans, and military personnel, on VA.gov. Specifically, it recommends that the VCL be displayed in the first... Continue Reading

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement regarding passage of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (H.R. 3364), legislation that gives the Trump administration an essential tool for deterring threats from Iran and North Korea and expands current U.S. sanctions on Russia. “The continued hostile... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) met this week with Christopher Wray, President Trump’s nominee to be director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “After meeting with Christopher Wray, I am confident he is the right person to lead the thousands of dedicated men and women at the FBI who... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today received important feedback on his 2018 farm bill proposals, including his bill to modernize and target commodity assistance and his Soil Health Improvement Protection Program (SHIPP), a short-term acreage conserving use program.... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after the Senate agreed to move forward on legislation to repeal the failing Obamacare law:  “For seven years, we’ve watched the bad Obamacare news pile up, from lost health care plans to soaring premiums and dwindling choices. Americans all across the... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it would immediately allow emergency haying and grazing on more than 450,000 Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres in South Dakota that are categorized as... Continue Reading