Press Releases

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) issued the following statements after the House passed Thune and Heitkamp’s Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016 (S. 3395), bipartisan legislation that would require collaboration between the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and local officials before initiating a prescribed burn on USFS... Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined 21 of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter, led by Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), to President Obama requesting the administration stop issuing non-emergency rules and regulations in the final weeks of his term. Thune and Rounds stressed to the... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued the following statement after the Senate last night approved H.R. 1561, the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2016, by unanimous consent with a Senate amendment. The bill, as amended, which Thune and... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after the Republican-led Senate voted to reauthorize sanctions against Iran through 2026. “Iran’s attempts to test the United States and destabilize the Middle East must not go unchecked,” said Thune. “The Obama administration’s flawed nuclear deal with Iran has failed to... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued the following statement after the Surface Transportation Board (STB) published its final rule on performance data and metrics reporting requirements for Class I railroads throughout the United States. The final STB rule makes permanent... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the long list of accomplishments during the 114th Congress under Republican leadership. The Republican majority worked hard to pass a balanced budget, a major energy bill, a multi-year transportation bill, a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization, and an education reform bill, among many others.... Continue Reading

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, applauded the Senate’s unanimous passage of bipartisan, bicameral legislation that will outlaw the use of “gag clauses” in non-negotiable form contracts. Some businesses have attracted national scrutiny for using gag clauses to punish... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. David Young (R-Iowa) applauded the Senate’s passage of the No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act, legislation first introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this year. The bill seeks to address shortcomings in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after being re-elected chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. As Conference chairman, which is the third-ranking Republican leadership post in the Senate, Thune is responsible for creating and implementing the communications strategy for the Republican Conference.   “I’m honored my colleagues... Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) today issued the following statements regarding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) final environmental impact statement (EIS) on the Black Hills Health Care System and the... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, issued the following statement on the 2016 elections: “Congratulations to President-elect Trump for his election to serve as president of this great country. The American people have cast their votes and elected Republicans to the majority in the Senate... Continue Reading