Press Releases

Earlier this morning, U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, appeared on NBC’s TODAY Show to discuss the importance of protecting honest online reviews. The segment previewed today’s Commerce Committee hearing on this topic and its impact on consumers and the economy.... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after a majority of Senate Democrats blocked the Federal Water Quality Protection Act (S. 1140), legislation which would overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule: “The Obama EPA’s WOTUS rule – of the largest federal... Continue Reading

Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), along with Senators John Thune (R-SD), Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) yesterday introduced No Bonuses for Tax Cheats Act, which withholds bonuses from federal employees who are delinquent on their taxes or have engaged in documented misconduct. “Today, we’re... Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) today introduced legislation that would allow Americans to make certain qualified sports and fitness purchases, like gym memberships, fitness equipment, and youth sports league fees, with money they have saved in pre-tax health care accounts.... 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 commented on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA’s) release of its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) with respect to the Black Hills Health Care System... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today released the following statement after he and 48 of his colleagues introduced resolutions of disapproval with bipartisan support to stop the regulatory overreach of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan rule: “Yet again, President Obama has circumvented the role of Congress by issuing this mandate,... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after the Air Force announced it has awarded its Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) contract: “The Air Force has been extremely diligent in its review process,” said Thune. “Now that the contract has been awarded, I hope we can move forward in... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), today urged IRS Commissioner John Koskinen to institute a top-to-bottom culture change at the beleaguered tax-collecting agency. Thune’s primary recommendation was to implement the Taxpayer Bill of Rights... Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after the Obama Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) final rule to lower the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone, or smog, was published in the Federal Register. The new standard is an unprecedented 70 parts-per-billion (ppb), down from the... Continue Reading