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Thune on Fox Business: We Want to Pass a Law to Reform Policing, Show Americans We Hear Them

“Let’s get a result. Let’s put something on the president’s desk that actually improves policing in this country and sends a clear message to those out there who are frustrated that Washington isn’t listening.”

June 17, 2020

Washington — 

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today joined Fox Business’ “CAVUTO Live” to discuss the Republican-led JUSTICE Act, sponsored by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), aimed at improving policing in America. Thune also discussed legislation he’ll be introducing to help relieve remote and mobile workers of unfair tax burdens – an issue highlighted by the experiences of health care workers during the coronavirus outbreak.  

Click here or on the image above to watch the video. 

Thune on the JUSTICE Act to improve policing in America:

“This is a good bill. It’s a strong bill. It was put together based upon the consensus of law enforcement around the country, and meetings with members from the African American community. I think that Tim Scott has really done a nice job, and I think he deserves a lot of credit for it … Ultimately what we want to do is make a law. We want to get a result. We want to demonstrate to the people of this country that we’ve heard them, that we’re listening, and in the end, we want to do some policing reforms. 

“The question will be whether or not the Democrats actually want a result or they want the issue, and we will find out next week… There’s common ground out there. What the Democrats want to see happen, Republicans want to see happen, there’s 70-75percent overlapIf they’ll allow us to get onto the bill, we will open it up to amendments. And if the Democrats have ideas about how to improve it through the amendment process, they’ll get that chance.”

“Let’s get a result. Let’s put something on the president’s desk that actually improves policing in this country and sends a clear message to those out there who are frustrated that Washington isn’t listening.”

 

Thune on cities and states having a harder time recovering after COVID-19:

“People who are packed into densely populated areas of the country, our bigger cities, may be looking for a little bit more open space, and I also think a lot of that has to do with our tax policies … this may be an opportunity for people to give consideration to another place around the country, say South Dakota, where we have low taxes.

 

Thune on his Remote and Mobile Worker Relief Act:

“The state of New York, if you can believe this, will tax people who have volunteered to go in there to provide COVID relief. So heath care workers who have gone to New York… they’re considered under New York tax law, and they have to pay the income tax. They’re required to do that. I have a bill that would relieve them of that responsibility.”  

 

Thune on America’s relationship with its history:

“If there are Confederate generals who don’t have good records – and obviously they were people who rebelled against the United States – maybe there are more recent generals that we could name some of our military installations after. So I think it’s okay to have that discussion. I’m open to that.”

“But classics like Gone With the Wind and some of the other things that are now being banned from some of the content providers in this country, it seems to me at least that you can carry this discussion too far… There are stains on our history. We’ve learned from them. We’re continually trying to improve. We want to be a more perfect union and a place where everybody is equal under the law – that’s what we aspire to. But we can sometimes go too far with some of these crusades.