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
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
Senator John Thune today commented on the announcement by the Veterans Health Administration that the Office of Rural Health will allocate over $1.5 million for mental health services for veterans living in rural areas surrounding Sioux Falls, South Dakota and St. Cloud, Minnesota. Overall, the Office of Rural Health is... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune, Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today issued the following statement on President Obama’s announcement of his nominee to the Supreme Court: “Now that President Obama has announced Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, I expect a thorough and... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today questioned Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the Obama administration’s plan to terminate the Next Generation Bomber program at a full Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Secretary Gates had previously expressed support for the Next... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today commented on a memo compiled by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which warns of the negative economic consequences of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently released “endangerment finding,” which would pave the way for the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions under the... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune was today joined by representatives from the South Dakota Corn Growers Association, the South Dakota Soybean Association, the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council, POET, and the American Coalition for Ethanol to voice their opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to include carbon outputs resulting from... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune issued the following statement in response to the detailed budget proposal President Obama submitted to Congress today: “The President again failed to follow the example of South Dakotans who are making prudent financial decisions by not spending beyond their means. The President and the Democrats in Congress... Continue Reading
