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 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
Senator John Thune today released the following statement in anticipation of the 8:00 PM ET cloture vote tonight on the motion to proceed to the health care reform proposal unveiled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday: “The American people have asked for health care reform that will lower... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today hailed the signing of Veterans’ Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act as an important step forward for improving the veterans’ health care system. The new law requires Congress to allow advance funding for the Veterans Affairs Department’s medical programs one year in advance of the... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released $188,100 to the Community Health Care Association of the Dakotas. The funds, which were requested by Senator Thune in the Fiscal Year 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill, will be used to... Continue Reading
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD) released the following weekly Republican address. Full transcript of Senator Thune’s address: “Hello, I’m Senator John Thune of South Dakota. With summer in full swing, children across the country are enjoying vacations and time off from school. Too many of their parents, however, don’t get... 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 joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues in sending a letter to fellow Senators urging them to cosponsor the Rural Veterans Health Care Improvement Act (S.658). This legislation would expand access to medical care for veterans who live far from Veterans Administration (VA) facilities. Senator Thune is... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today joined his colleagues in introducing the bipartisan Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act, which would allow Americans to legally purchase Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved prescription medications from other developed countries. It is estimated that the bill would save U.S. consumers more than $50... Continue Reading
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, 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
Senator John Thune today announced that he is an original cosponsor of S. 3406, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act. This bipartisan legislation would clarify the intent of the original ADA and would better protect the rights of all Americans with disabilities. “The original Americans with Disabilities Act... Continue Reading
