Senator John Thune today announced that the Senate Small Business Committee accepted his amendment to the Small Business Contracting Revitalization Act at today’s markup of the bill. Senator Thune’s amendment would explicitly state the federal government’s policy to avoid competition with the private sector, including small businesses. “Private sector job... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune last night introduced an amendment to a tax extenders bill currently before the Senate that would create and expand small business tax incentives. The incentives are targeted at helping small businesses invest in new capital and hire workers. Senator Thune has proposed redirecting unspent portions of last... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has allocated an additional 33,500 acres to South Dakota for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This announcement is part of a 300,000 acre nationwide general CRP sign up. CRP, which was reauthorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, provides... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today announced that the National Guard Bureau is replacing the South Dakota Air National Guard’s 18 Block 30 F-16’s at Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls with 18 more modern Block 40 F-16’s later this year. “This is good news for the South Dakota Air National Guard... Continue Reading
Today U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Thune (R-SD) announced legislation with that will help make internet users more aware of privacy and security risks associated with peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing programs. The bill, known as the P2P Cyber Protection and Informed User Act, would require software developers to clearly... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today applauded the announcement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects to commit $2 million to the Black Hills National Forest to fight the effects of the pine beetle infestation. Last year, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced he would be reallocating $40 million to fight the... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune commended Republicans in the House of Representatives for offering a motion that would have given House Members an opportunity to end the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and allow unspent funds that are paid back to lower the national debt. Democrats successfully blocked the measure to proceed... Continue Reading
Senators Chuck Grassley, John Thune, and Mike Johanns today reacted to the Obama administration’s approval of the final rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement the new Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) following Congressional passage of the 2007 energy bill. Sadly, the final rule includes flawed indirect land... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a proposed rule for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which Senator Thune authored and included in the 2008 Farm Bill. The program makes payments to producers of energy-dedicated, nonfood crops. “Biofuels and other forms of renewable... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today reacted to President Obama’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 budget proposal, which was delivered to Congress this morning. The President’s budget more than doubles the debt, drives spending to a new record of $3.8 trillion in FY 2011, increases the deficit to a new record of $1.6... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune released the following statement after the Senate today voted to raise the debt ceiling by $1.9 trillion to $14.294 trillion. The $1.9 trillion increase is the largest ever—roughly double the previous record increase to the debt limit. This is the second such increase in two months and... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune made the following statement today regarding the President’s State of the Union Address: “President Obama lived up to his reputation as a great orator and delivered a good speech this evening, but well delivered speeches won’t solve even one of the many problems facing our country. Americans... Continue Reading
