Senator John Thune joined other members of the Congressional Coalition for Adoption today in sending a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking that as plans are made for U.S. and international response to the crisis in Haiti, that the needs of orphan children be considered in the next... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today highlighted a report on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) by the Congressional Oversight Panel that criticizes the program for overreaching and questions how the government program will divest itself of private businesses in the future. Over the last year, Senator Thune has worked to end... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today sent a letter signed by all 40 Republican Senators to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) urging him to make the negotiations between members of the Senate and House of Representatives on the health care reform bill as transparent as possible. Senator Thune’s letter reiterates the... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today announced that South Dakota agricultural producers can now sign up for the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) Program. The program is one of the permanent disaster relief programs Senator Thune helped to establish as part of the 2008 Farm Bill. Benefits are available to producers starting... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asking him to bear in mind the severity of the pine beetle infestation in the Black Hills National Forest and surrounding forest land. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently redirected $40 million to combat pine beetle... Continue Reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
