U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today announced the committee will convene on Wednesday, July 15, to consider and vote on S. 1732, the Comprehensive Transportation and Consumer Protection Act of 2015. The legislation authorizes the office of the secretary of... Continue Reading
U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), co-chairs of the Senate Finance Committee’s Business Income Tax Working Group, today submitted the working group’s report to the full committee. The report, developed with the input of the fourteen members of the working group, represents the culmination of a months-long... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase acreage allocations for SAFE, a continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) initiative, to the maximum extent possible in South Dakota and other states with SAFE allocations at or near 100 percent enrolled. Boosting SAFE acres will help... Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is currently seeking intelligent, hard-working college students to serve as fall interns in his Senate offices located in Aberdeen, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, and Washington, D.C. Interns in Thune’s state offices will participate in constituent service and state outreach activities, while students in the Washington,... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, submitted the following comments to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for its public hearing in Fargo, North Dakota this morning focused on the region’s rail service issues that continue to negatively impact agriculture producers,... Continue Reading
Following months of rail service delays and backlogs U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today announced the committee will hold a hearing on U.S. rail service issues on Wednesday, September 10, 2014, entitled “Freight Rail Service – Improving the... Continue Reading
Today Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) wrote U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting that USDA stop requiring the destruction of vegetative cover on certain CRP contracts at a cost to taxpayers. “CRP holds a significant role in the success of South Dakota’s agriculture and rural economies,” said... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced an amendment (S.Amdt. 2093) to the National Defense Authorization Act that would reiterate Congress’ commitment to the development of the next generation Long-Range Strike Bomber. “As potential adversaries continue to modernize their anti-aircraft systems, our ability to penetrate those systems must also modernize,” said Thune.... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today announced his selection of Ryan and Rhonda Kelly and their family of Rapid City for the 2013 Angels in Adoption Award presented by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, of which Thune is a member. The Kellys have welcomed six daughters from China into their family in... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) has added a survey to his website asking South Dakota farmers and ranchers for their suggestions on changes that could be made to programs that would assist in dealing with this summer’s ongoing drought conditions. The National Climatic Data Center reported today that the U.S.... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) today sent the following letter regarding haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres in South Dakota to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack after meeting this past weekend with ranchers in Western South Dakota. Such emergency action has been permitted for CRP acres... Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, D.C.–U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, issued the following statement regarding President Barack Obama’s comment earlier today that the “private sector is doing fine” despite a record 40 consecutive weeks of unemployment above 8 percent: “President Obama’s statement earlier today that the `private sector... Continue Reading
