In response to a provision in the 2014 Farm Bill secured by U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (FS) Chief today announced that 72 contiguous units in the Black Hills National Forest have been designated as priority areas to address insect or... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today questioned the nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sylvia Burwell, at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee about the Obama administration’s decision to exempt certain union plans from the ObamaCare reinsurance tax, leaving... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) today offered two amendments to the Senate’s legislation to extend certain expiring tax provisions, commonly referred to as tax extenders legislation (H.R. 3474), that would provide relief from the ObamaCare employer mandate for the long-term unemployed and the individual mandate tax penalty. 1) ObamaCare Employer... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) today condemned an announcement from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that it will move forward with a contractor to conduct the Hot Springs VA’s Environment Impact Statement (EIS) in the wake of national reports of secret VA wait lists and preventable deaths. “The... Continue Reading
U.S. Senate Republican leaders, including Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), Conference Chairman and Ranking Member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee John Thune (R-South Dakota), Policy Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Conference Vice Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), today... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) today applauded the inclusion of a provision in the Water Resources and Reform Development Act (WRRDA) conference report prohibiting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for a period of 10 years, from moving forward with its highly controversial proposal to restrict access to Missouri... Continue Reading
Following reports of secret waiting lists and delayed care at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota), today introduced a bill to require the VA Inspector General (IG) to issue a report to Congress on the wait times veterans are experiencing at VA health care... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) today joined several of his Republican House and Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy regarding his opposition to the EPA’s efforts to expand its regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA). On March 25, 2014, the... Continue Reading
U.S. Senators John Thune (R-South Dakota), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) led 42 of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Thomas Wheeler calling on the FCC to implement a policy change that permits... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) today introduced an amendment to the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2014 (S. 2262), to block an anticipated Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to expand National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone, which would cost upward of $1 trillion per... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) joined his Republican colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee in sending a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen demanding answers as to how the IRS plans to prevent future bonus payments from being given to employees with conduct, performance, and tax... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today welcomed South Dakota business owner Mark Tilsen of Kyle, South Dakota, who testified before the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Jobs, Rural Economic Growth and Energy Innovation at a hearing entitled, “The Importance of Regional... Continue Reading
