{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5EC60C56-2C21-4063-A506-30760B8B0142", "Thune: Thankful for Bravery of Vaccine Volunteers", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the ongoing negotiations in Congress on an additional COVID-19 relief package and expressed the urgent need for relief for the American people. Thune also thanked the COVID-19 vaccine trial volunteers who have bravely put themselves on the line for the sake of this country and recognized the many other quiet heroes who have kept the country running throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nThune\u2019s remarks (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cMr. President, I am encouraged that we are making progress on coronavirus relief legislation, but we need to finish up and get this bill out the door.\n\n\u201cThe virus is surging around the country, and we need to get help to struggling Americans as soon as possible.\n\n\u201cThe time for debate is over \u2013 let\u2019s get this done.\n\n\u201cMr. President, we started this week out with a tremendously hopeful moment in our COVID fight \u2013 the first vaccinations against this virus.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s incredible that barely a year since we first learned about the virus, we have a vaccine \u2013 with more vaccines likely on the way.\n\n\u201cAnd I\u2019ve been thinking a lot this week about the people who volunteered for vaccine trials.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve gained a new appreciation this year for a lot of people whose work we might have taken for granted in the past.\n\n\u201cThe farmers and grocery store workers and truck drivers who have kept food on our grocery store shelves.\n\n\u201cThe delivery drivers \u2013 whom we have relied on so heavily this year \u2013 who have brought our packages to us so that we can minimize our time at the store.\n\n\u201cAll the workers whose jobs can\u2019t be done from home \u2013 from electrical workers to trashmen to pharmacists \u2013 who get up every day and put on their masks and go out and keep our country running.\n\n\u201cAnd of course, our nation\u2019s medical professionals, who have faced down this virus with courage and determination \u2013 and great compassion.\n\n\u201cThere have been a lot of quiet heroes this year, Mr. President.\n\n\u201cAnd the people who volunteered for vaccine trials should be high on the list.\n\n\u201cA lot of courageous people stepped forward when we needed them.\n\n\u201cAnd we would not have a COVID vaccine today without their willingness to help.\n\n\u201cMr. President, Monday was the beginning of what will hopefully be a decisive victory in our COVID battle.\n\n\u201cAnd we owe that to the hard work and persistence of medical researchers.\n\n\u201cBut we owe it also to the vaccine trial volunteers, who enabled researchers to complete the process of developing a safe and effective vaccine.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s no exaggeration to say that the bravery of vaccine volunteers could end up saving hundreds of thousands or even millions of lives.\n\n\u201cI doubt we\u2019ll ever know most of the volunteers\u2019 names.\n\n\u201cBut they are heroes of this battle just the same.\n\n\u201cAnd I am very grateful for the opportunity they\u2019ve given us to defeat this virus.\n\n\u201cMr. President, before I close, I\u2019d like to take a moment to pay tribute to one of my staffers, Johanna Jablonski.\n\n\u201cJohanna is originally from the small town of Ethan, South Dakota, and is a graduate of \u2013 and former basketball star at \u2013 Mount Marty College.\n\n\u201cShe first joined our team as a summer intern, working in Sioux Falls.\n\n\u201cAnd a little over six years ago, she moved to Washington, D.C., and became a permanent member of the office.\n\n\u201cShe started out as a staff assistant and eventually worked her way up to become my scheduler \u2013 and our starting softball pitcher \u2013 here in D.C.\n\n\u201cMr. President, when Johanna first came to my office, she intended to move back home after a year or two.\n\n\u201cBut God had plans for her here in D.C.\n\n\u201cAbout three years ago, she met her husband Anthony at a Boy Scout fish fry at St. Peter\u2019s Church right here on Capitol Hill.\n\n\u201cI know Johanna regards that as a blessing for her, but it was a blessing for our office, too, because we got to keep her around a little longer than she had originally anticipated.\n\n\u201cBut now, in a couple of weeks, Johanna will move back home to South Dakota.\n\n\u201cWe are all very excited for her.\n\n\u201cBut she will be sorely missed.\n\n\u201cMr. President, I know I don\u2019t have to tell you \u2013 or any other senator here \u2013 just how important the role of a scheduler is in any office.\n\n\u201cThe days here on Capitol Hill are busy.\n\n\u201cOur schedulers are the ones who bring some semblance of organization to otherwise chaotic days, making sure we get to connect with constituents in town, make it to committee hearings and votes on time, get the briefings we need on legislation, and much more.\n\n\u201cJohanna is not only a good scheduler; she is a great one.\n\n\u201cI will miss her patience, her professionalism, and her unparalleled ability to keep the trains running on time.\n\n\u201cBut what I \u2013 and I think the rest of my staff \u2013 will miss most about Johanna is her kindness.\n\n\u201cJohanna has had a positive impact on pretty much every staffer who\u2019s worked for me during her time here, taking the time to get to know each of them on a personal level.\n\n\u201cWhether she\u2019s interacting with an agency head, a constituent, or a fellow staffer, she is always the same \u2013 unfailingly gracious, patient, and kind.\n\n\u201cNo matter how busy or chaotic the day, Johanna can be counted on to bring a steady hand and a positive attitude.\n\n\u201cShe is a woman of faith, and it shows.\n\n\u201cI am sad to see her go.\n\n\u201cBut I want to wish her the very best of everything as she embarks on this new chapter.\n\n\u201cJohanna, thank you for all your hard work on behalf of South Dakota.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5EC60C56-2C21-4063-A506-30760B8B0142"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9806489106267691, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}