U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after Senate Democrats blocked a vote on the president’s nuclear concession deal with Iran, effectively silencing the voices of the American people: “Just a few short months ago, Senate Democrats and Republicans agreed the American people deserve to have their... Continue Reading
U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) today praised the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) for establishing a Medicare Advantage (MA) demonstration program to evaluate how value-based insurance design (V-BID) could reduce copayments and coinsurance for certain high-value medications and services for some MA enrollees with... Continue Reading
U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Tom Perez requesting a 60-day extension to the public comment period on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on overtime rules announced in July by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). “This massive regulation... Continue Reading
U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) announced the annual statewide selection process for the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) has begun. Two South Dakota high school juniors or seniors will join 102 other student delegates from around the country to participate in the USSYP’s 54th annual... Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement in response to an injunction by a federal district court in North Dakota that temporarily blocks the Obama Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from implementing its burdensome Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule in South Dakota and 12 other states:... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, delivered this week’s Republican address to the nation. Thune taped the address in Sioux Falls, S.D., and highlighted the growing list of accomplishments the Senate Republican majority has been able... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs Committees, and U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), today introduced legislation to allow military spouses to purchase handguns in the state where their husband or wife is permanently stationed for duty, or in a neighboring state... Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the IRS, issued the following statement after the Finance Committee released the findings of its bipartisan report on its investigation into the IRS’s treatment of organizations applying for tax-exempt status: “I... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the long list of bipartisan bills the Republican-led Senate has passed in just the first seven months of the 114th Congress to address the American people’s priorities. The full text of Thune’s floor speech follows (as prepared for delivery): “Mr. President, when Republicans... Continue Reading
U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today introduced the Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act, legislation to facilitate a permanent land transfer of approximately 200 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land to expand the Black Hills National Cemetery outside of Sturgis. “All of the... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) announcement that it has approved the Clean Power Plan, which could increase electricity bills for Americans across the country: “The Obama EPA strikes again,” said Thune. “If there is one thing for which... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today introduced S. 1916, the Rural Health Care Connectivity Act of 2015, a bill that would amend the Communications Act to permit skilled nursing facilities (SNF) to apply for support from the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) Rural Health Care Program (RHCP). The USF’s RHCP provides... Continue Reading
