Press Releases

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, released the following statement on the Senate confirmation of Elaine Chao as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. “Elaine Chao has the experience, ability, and now the bipartisan backing of the Senate to... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), today outlined the Senate Republicans’ agenda for the 115th Congress: growing the economy, creating jobs, increasing wages, and lifting the burdens the Obama administration placed on the American people. Thune highlighted the importance of one of the first items on the agenda, which is to... Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) recently introduced the Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act of 2017 (S. 243), legislation that would permanently prohibit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from enforcing direct supervision policy for certain outpatient therapeutic services, a harmful regulation that would jeopardize... Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) today wrote to President Trump to express their strong support for Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Chairman David Flute’s request for a disaster declaration on the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Reservation. If approved, the federal disaster assistance would... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is currently seeking college students to serve as summer interns in his office in Washington, D.C., as well as in his offices in Aberdeen, Rapid City, and Sioux Falls.  Interns in Thune’s state offices will participate in constituent service and state outreach activities, while students... Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) today wrote to President Trump to express their strong support for South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s request for a major disaster declaration that would cover 24 counties and two tribal governments across South Dakota. If... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement after President Trump took administrative action to move the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipeline closer to approval. “For eight years, former President Obama impeded progress on the Keystone XL pipeline, and in the process crushed thousands of jobs... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today praised the committee’s members for passing several bipartisan bills during the committee’s first markup of the 115th Congress. Thune’s MOBILE NOW Act – plus the Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act, which Thune cosponsored,... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, today reintroduced legislation to permanently repeal the federal estate tax, more commonly known as the death tax. Thune’s bill, the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017, would finally end this purely punitive tax that has the potential... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after the White House announced that President Trump will nominate South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T) President Heather Wilson to serve as the next secretary of the Air Force: “As an Air Force veteran, former member of Congress, and... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, discussed the committee’s tech agenda for the 115th Congress during a speech at the State of the Net internet policy conference. Sen. Thune’s prepared remarks are below: “It’s hard to believe, but the Internet as... Continue Reading