Senator John Thune today sent a letter to Bill Roderick, Acting Inspector General at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asking him to investigate the apparent suppression of scientific views dissenting from the EPA’s April 17, 2009 Endangerment Finding for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses, including methane. Recently discovered emails... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today announced that the Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously approved the National Defense Authorization bill for Fiscal Year 2010. The bill authorizes $680 billion in funding for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy, including several South Dakota defense related... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune was elected Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee (RPC) today by the Senate Republican caucus. Senator Thune’s previous position as Senate Republican Conference Vice Chairman was filled by Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee is considered the number four... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar drawing his attention to the current shortage of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement officers on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Standing Rock, which is roughly the size of Connecticut, has only 13... Continue Reading
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing three million businesses, has sent a letter to Senator John Thune and all of his Senate colleagues to express support for the Government Ownership Exit Plan Act (S. 1242). The legislation, which Senator Thune introduced last week, would prohibit... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published the Notice of Funds Availability for the initial stage of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) in the Federal Register. Senator Thune authored the BCAP, which was included in the 2008 Farm Bill. “Second generation biofuels... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune today introduced the Government Ownership Exit Plan Act (S.1242), a bill that would require the federal government to end its ownership of private entities acquired under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) by July 1, 2010. The bill also prohibits the future acquisition of new or... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today joined Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) in re-introducing the 340B Program Improvement and Integrity Act (S. 1239), a bill that would help safety net hospitals struggling to afford pharmaceuticals for their patients. “Higher prescription drug costs in recent years have hurt all consumers,” said Thune. “But the... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack urging him to reconsider the Farm Service Agency request from South Dakota that would enroll 20,000 additional acres in the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) program. The USDA recently denied the original... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune today introduced the Freedom from Government Competition Act (S.1167), a bill that would require federal agencies to rely on the private sector when providing goods and services that are readily available. The federal government has identified that roughly 850,000 federal employees perform jobs that can be... Continue Reading
U.S. Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD) and John Thune (R-SD) and U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) today sent a letter to President Barack Obama supporting Governor Michael Rounds’ request for a presidential disaster declaration in response to a series of severe weather events since March. As a result of these... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune applauded today’s announcement by Small Business Administration (SBA) chief Karen Mills regarding low-interest loans that will be available to auto dealers. Last month, Senator Thune led a bipartisan group of his colleagues in urging the SBA to provide temporary low-interest floor plan financing that private lenders... Continue Reading
