U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement on Senate Democrats’ continued filibuster of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act: “If ever there were an issue that should be above and beyond politics, protecting children from human trafficking is it. The fact that Senate Democrats are choosing to... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today offered an amendment to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act that would make federally recognized Indian tribes eligible for a block grant authorized by this bill to help prevent trafficking of Native American children or provide support services to Native American child trafficking... Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed Senate Democrats’ attempt to politicize a bipartisan bill to help eradicate human trafficking and provide support to its victims. Click here to watch Thune’s full statement. Excerpts below: “You got a unanimous vote coming out of the committee – all Democrats voting... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today led 29 of his colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell calling on the secretaries to stay within statutory guidelines, consider the most relevant... Continue Reading
U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) today introduced a bill clarifying that sports medicine professionals who travel outside their primary licensed state to provide care for the athletes will be covered by their medical malpractice insurance. Thune and Klobuchar’s bill, the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act, stipulates... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today criticized the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) proposal that would severely limit access to rifle ammunition used primarily for sporting purposes. Thune, a long-time champion of gun-rights, made the following statement on the ATF’s guidelines for determining whether certain ammunition meets... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today voiced his concern for the victims of human trafficking and his support of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, which is currently being debated in the Senate. “[T]he truth is, human trafficking occurs in every country, including right here in the... Continue Reading
U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and John Thune (R-SD) today introduced bipartisan legislation that increases the transparency of healthcare costs in Medicare—helping doctors, health systems, private insurers and research institutions provide more efficient, higher quality healthcare and better patient outcomes. “Medicare is the single largest payer of healthcare services... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Jeh Johnson and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Thomas Perez calling on the agencies to reach an immediate agreement on issuing important seasonal employment work visas (H-2B) critical to the South Dakota... Continue Reading
U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) today commented on a newly released report that they called for from the U.S. Department of Agriculture examining the rail service challenges in the Upper Midwest in 2013 and 2014 and the implications these issues had on the region’s agricultural sectors.... Continue Reading
Today, U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Reps. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) and Rick Larsen (D-Wa.) introduced their bipartisan, bicameral legislation to modernize and streamline the federal Impact Aid program, which provides payments from the federal government to local school districts to make up for local taxes... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement on the Senate’s failure to override President Obama’s veto of a bill that would approve the Keystone XL pipeline: “The American people are behind us on this issue – and so is a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate and... Continue Reading
