U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today introduced a bill to prevent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) from listing the northern long-eared bat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 2011, the FWS reached a secret sue-and-settle agreement with two radical environmental groups to require listing determinations on more... Continue Reading
Today, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson’s (D-Fla.) bipartisan Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act by voice vote. “While I believe most manufacturers are dedicated to putting vehicle safety first, there have been disappointing examples where that did not... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued the following statement on the FCC’s 3-2 vote to regulate the Internet: “Despite the Federal Communication Commission’s partisan action to approve a 317-page power grab over the Internet, the fight to keep the Internet unburdened from... Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), both members of the Senate Finance Committee, today introduced the “Better Efficiency and Administrative Simplification Act,” which would allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive important Medicare benefit notices electronically and improve the way the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)... Continue Reading
Following a February 10 letter from the South Dakota delegation to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald urging the Obama administration to withdraw its budget proposal plans to reconfigure the Hot Springs VA, U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), member of the Senate Veterans’... Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, issued the following statement on President Obama’s veto of the bipartisan bill to approve the job-creating Keystone XL pipeline, which is supported by 62 senators and 270 representatives: “It’s disappointing but not surprising that the president has yet... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today questioned U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack at a 2014 Farm Bill implementation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee about Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Mid-Contract Management policies and a backlog of undetermined wetlands in eastern and northeastern South Dakota. Video of Thune’s... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, issued the following statement on the agreement to end a West Coast ports labor dispute that has unnecessarily disrupted commerce to the detriment of U.S. businesses and consumers. “Despite the unnecessary impacts of this prolonged labor... Continue Reading
Following a new report from the Obama administration’s Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which advises the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the suggested 2015 dietary guidelines, U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) expressed... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is currently seeking intelligent, hard-working 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,... Continue Reading
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security Chairman Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety Chairman... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today issued the following comment after a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction against the president’s immigration executive overreach: “The U.S. District Court judge in Texas is raising the same legal concerns the president himself raised 22 times:... Continue Reading
