Senator John Thune today voted for Kids First, a comprehensive proposal to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through 2013. SCHIP was created in 1997 to help states provide health coverage to the children of working-poor families who did not qualify for Medicaid. “We created SCHIP when I... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today voted against confirmation of Treasury of Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner. The Senate confirmed Mr. Geithner 60-34. Prior to the vote, Senator Thune spoke on the floor regarding the confirmation. The following is the text of Senator Thune’s floor remarks: “Madam President, our country is going through some... Continue Reading
Encouraging much-needed job creation and investment in transportation construction and repair, U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Roger Wicker, (R-Miss.) re-introduced today the bipartisan “Build America Bonds” Act (S. 238). The funding from this one-time federal bonding program has the potential... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune will present Alvina Pettigrew, a veteran of the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) organization during World War II, with an oil painted portrait of her by artist Cynthia Berry, of Great Falls, Virginia. A digital version of the portrait decorates a historic emergency call box... Continue Reading
Today Senator John Thune announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has agreed to use the 2007/2008 crop years for the new Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program, and that signup has begun for the 2009 Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment (DCP) program. In September, Senator Thune led several... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today commented on the Wind-Hydro Integration study released by the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA). The study analyzes the potential integration of wind power in central South Dakota and the use of hydroelectric power generated by the Missouri River. “South Dakota has tremendous energy resources in the... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune on Thursday introduced legislation designed to block a recent environmental proposal which could regulate many South Dakota farms and ranches. Thune’s legislation would exempt farms and ranches from the onerous regulatory requirements of the Clean Air Act. Specifically, the legislation calls for an exemption for any emission... Continue Reading
United States Senator John Thune (R-SD) today announced that the Department of the Interior finalized updated regulations regarding the possession of firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. The ruling allows an individual to carry a concealed weapon in a national park or wildlife refuge if that person is permitted... Continue Reading
With the state of South Dakota’s preliminary damage assessment from the severe winter storm that occurred November 5-7, 2008, conducted in conjunction with FEMA completed, U.S. Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD) and John Thune (R-SD) and U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) today called upon President George W. Bush to declare... Continue Reading
Following months of work in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, yesterday the White House Office of Management and Budget approved a plan that will allow the City of Sioux Falls to advance fund the remaining federal share of the Big Sioux Flood Control Project. Without the protection... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune met yesterday with U.S. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General William Fraser III to discuss the proposed expansion of the Powder River military training airspace and potential “bridge” mission options for the South Dakota Air National Guard (SDANG). General Fraser was the Wing Commander at Ellsworth... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune, along with other Senate colleagues, yesterday sent a letter to President Bush requesting that as federal agencies prepare their budgets for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, they should include funding authorized for tribal justice, health care, and water projects under Senator Thune’s amendment to the foreign aid bill... Continue Reading
