Press Releases

U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD) and U.S. Representative Kristi Noem (R-SD) announced today that the Mni Waste’ Water Company in Eagle Butte will receive an additional grant and loan package from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, bringing total funding to $72.87... Continue Reading

A bill authored by U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, that would modernize the way both the states and the federal government track the shipment of hazardous waste was passed by Unanimous Consent early this morning by the full Senate. The Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest... Continue Reading

U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, today sent the following letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Jeffrey Zients. The letter requests that OMB provide an updated timeline to the... Continue Reading

U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) today sent the following letter to Deputy Bureau Director, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA OJS), Darren Cruzan and National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland requesting permission to retain a Breath Alcohol Testing mobile vehicle (BATmobile) in the BIA Great Plains... Continue Reading

U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, today issued the following statement regarding the late release of an Obama administration report detailing its plans for implementing sequestration that will take effect on January 2, 2013.... Continue Reading

U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) today sent a letter to Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-Okla.). In their letter, the Senators urge Senators Boxer and Inhofe to promptly... Continue Reading

U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, released the following statement today regarding the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon, the World Trade Center, and Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania after heroic actions by passengers: “Today marks 11 years since... Continue Reading

Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) says the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) report released today clearly shows that the Democrat-controlled Senate’s recently passed tax legislation would jeopardize the future of 71 percent of South Dakota’s family farms because it intentionally returns the death tax exemption to $1 million next year instead... Continue Reading

U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Representative Kristi Noem (R-SD) today announced that the National Weather Service has upgraded its Sioux Falls forecast office with life-saving technology. The office has been equipped with the new dual polarization radar that will give meteorologists more tools to... Continue Reading