Thune Amendment to Prohibit Misuse of TARP Funds Adopted

Senator John Thune today offered an amendment to the Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act (S.2869) during the Senate Small Business Committee’s markup of the bill. Senator Thune’s amendment would prohibit the use of funds made available under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) from being diverted... Continue Reading

Rail Reform Bill Passes Senate Commerce Committee

The Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2009, co-sponsored by U.S. Senator John Thune, the ranking member of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, was passed out of the Commerce Committee today by unanimous consent. “This is a crucial first step forward for... Continue Reading

Senate Democrats Defeat Thune Proposal to Remove Budget Gimmicks from Health Care Bill

Senator John Thune today criticized Senate Democrats for voting against his motion that would delay the tax increases in the current health care bill until the time when most of the bill’s new programs become effective. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) was the other lead sponsor of the motion. Senator... Continue Reading

Senator Thune Touts New Rail Reform Bill

U.S. Senator John Thune, the ranking member of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today announced his support of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2009. “This comprehensive, bipartisan bill to reform and improve the Surface Transportation Board (STB) is perhaps the... Continue Reading

Thune Responds to Guantanamo Detainee Decision

Senator John Thune today issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s announcement that scores of terrorists will be transferred from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to a prison in Illinois: “Moving dangerous terrorists from a secure location in Cuba into the heartland of the United... Continue Reading

Thune Supports Effort to Reverse EPA Endangerment Finding

Senator John Thune today applauded and pledged to support a resolution of disapproval proposed by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that would reexamine the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announced endangerment rule on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses. The Murkowski resolution would allow Congress to nullify the EPA’s new regulation under... Continue Reading

Thune Applauds House Republicans for Forcing Vote on Ending TARP

Senator John Thune today applauded Republicans in the House of Representatives for offering a motion that would amend pending financial reform legislation by ending the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and requiring that unspent funds lower the budget deficit and that returned TARP funds be used to pay down the... Continue Reading

Thune: Opposition to Democrats’ Government Health Care Plan Grows

Senator John Thune today commented on the growing opposition to the Democrats’ government health care plan that would increase taxes, increase premiums and increase the cost of doing business for American small businesses. “I applaud the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) for highlighting the negative impact the Democrats’ health... Continue Reading

Thune Criticizes Overreaching Clean Water Restoration Act

Senator John Thune yesterday joined a number of his Western colleagues in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urging them not to advance the Clean Water Restoration Act (S.... Continue Reading

Thune Calls for TARP Termination, Not Endless Slush Fund

Senator John Thune today reiterated his support for terminating the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to prevent the Treasury Department from spending additional funds that would add to the ballooning national debt. “Although only a fraction of the money from the nearly $800 billion stimulus bill passed earlier this year... Continue Reading

Thune Responds to EPA Endangerment Finding

Senator John Thune made the following statement in response to the endangerment finding issued today by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that classifies for the first time carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions as pollutants under the Clean Air Act: “This decision lays the groundwork for EPA to undercut... Continue Reading

Sole Surviving American World War I Veteran Speaks in Support of Memorial Bill

Senator John Thune today noted that Frank Buckles, who at 108 years old is the last surviving American World War I veteran, spoke before the Senate National Parks Subcommittee in support of Senator Thune’s bipartisan bill (S. 2097) to establish a national World War I memorial on the National Mall... Continue Reading