url,title,date,year,month,party,chamber,state,member_name,bioguide_id,domain,scraper,source,date_source,text,has_text,collected_at,updated_at https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2019-in-review-,2019 in Review,2019-12-27,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"As 2019 comes to a close, I’ve had time to reflect on the past year. As a state, we celebrated the commissioning of the USS South Dakota, a Virginia-class nuclear submarine designed to fulfill 21st century mission requirements. We also worked to secure Ellsworth Air Force Base as the location for the first two B-21 Raider bomber squadrons - the training squadron and the operational squadron - solidifying Ellsworth’s long-term role in our national security. We were also hit hard by Mother Nature this year as tornadoes, flooding and late-winter storms wreaked havoc across the state. On a personal level, our family experienced its most difficult challenge to date, as Jean began cancer treatment for a malignant high-grade aggressive tumor near her sciatic nerve. Thanks to her highly-talented team of doctors and our extended South Dakota community who has continually supported us, we are on a path to recovery. Looking back on what we’ve accomplished in Washington, we’ve scored some significant victories. On the health care front, the CREATES Act was included in the end-of-year spending package. This legislation, which I cosponsored, will help lower the cost of prescription drugs by fast-tracking the approval process for generic drugs, thereby enhancing competition in the prescription drug market. We also fully repealed the Cadillac Tax, which is an Obamacare tax that threatened to raise healthcare premiums even higher by imposing a 40 percent tax on certain employer-sponsored healthcare plans. I led this effort in the Senate with Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, and our bill to repeal the Cadillac Tax had 64 cosponsors. Now that it is repealed, it no longer threatens to raise the premiums of over 400,000 South Dakotans who get their health insurance through their work. The Senate has also continued to confirm a record number of judges to federal courts. In the past three years, we’ve confirmed 187 judges, nominated by President Trump, to serve lifetime appointments on the federal bench. These judges are committed to upholding the rule of law and not legislating from the bench. We also saw year-round sales of E-15 for the first time this year. E-15 is 15 percent ethanol blended with 85 percent gasoline. As South Dakotans know, corn and corn ethanol production are vital components of our economy. The corn ethanol industry supports thousands of jobs in our state and contributes a significant amount of revenue to our local communities. The decision to allow year-round sales of E-15 is a huge win for our state. We were also finally able to enact legislation to make sure thousands of “Blue Water” Navy veterans can receive the disability and health care benefits they earned after their exposure to the dangerous pesticide Agent Orange while fighting in the Vietnam War. More recently, we passed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020, which includes a number of South Dakota priorities. In addition to fully funding the B-21 Raider bomber program, it includes my legislation to create a cyber consortia for certain universities, including Dakota State University in Madison. The consortia will provide an opportunity for schools designated as National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security Centers of Academic Excellence to lend their cybersecurity expertise to the Department of Defense. In addition, the NDAA includes the largest pay raise for our troops in a decade, continues to rebuild our military, gives our service members additional resources to meet new challenges and takes care of military families. When it comes to trade, we’ve made significant progress. The administration secured a unilateral trade deal with Japan this year that will cut tariffs and pave the way for more sales of American beef and other ag products to Japan. And the Trump administration is closing in on a phase 1 trade deal with China that they say seeks to increase ag exports to $40 or $50 billion. Additionally, the House finally passed the USMCA trade deal between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, and we expect to take it up in the Senate soon into the new year. As we look ahead to 2020, we are hopeful for the future. Jean will begin radiation treatment in January, the final step in her cancer treatment. We appreciate the continued prayers during this time. In the Senate, I’ll continue to bring South Dakota values to Washington so we can further grow the economy and improve the lives of hardworking families. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=466111FE-E80C-4AAD-BD16-5FAC3023D14A,"Happy 100th Birthday, Dad",2019-12-20,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Sen. John Thune In 1906, two brothers, Nikolai and Matthew Gjelsvik, arrived at Ellis Island from Norway. The only English they knew were the words apple pie and coffee, which they learned on the boat on the way over. The immigration officials at Ellis Island asked them to change their last name because they thought it would be too difficult for people in this country to spell and pronounce. So the two brothers picked a new name. They chose the name of the farm they worked at near Bergen, Norway which was called the Thune farm. So Nikolai Gjelsvik became Nick Thune my grandfather. The two brothers worked on the railroad as they built it west across South Dakota, learned English, and saved up enough money to start a small merchandising company, and then later a hardware store, in Mitchell, South Dakota. To this day there is a Thune Hardware in Mitchell, although the family sold it many years ago. In 1916, Nick Thune married an Iowa girl who had moved to South Dakota to teach school, and they had three sons. Their middle son, Harold, will turn 100 on December 28. That middle son is my dad. My dad is a World War II veteran, a member of the Greatest Generation, and he shares the qualities of so many in that generation humility, patriotism, quiet service. Dad was a Navy pilot who flew Hellcats off the USS Intrepid. And he was an excellent pilot. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down four enemy planes in one engagement (that commendation was issued by Admiral John McCain, Sen. John McCain's grandfather.) But my dad didn't and still doesn't talk about his own exploits. In fact, without my mom, I'm not sure I'd ever have known about my dad's record in World War II. I interviewed Dad for the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project a few years back, and he shared a lot of wonderful details about his service. But as usual, his focus was never on his own achievements, but on those of his fellow pilots. I'd also probably never have learned what an outstanding athlete my dad was if it hadn't been for my mom. My dad grew up in the small town of Murdo, South Dakota, during the Great Depression. They didn't have a lot, but there were a lot of basketball hoops around Murdo on barns, poles, garages and my dad learned to play. In fact, he learned to play so well that he took his high school basketball team to the state championship game where, although they lost narrowly, he was named the tournament's most valuable player. My dad had hoped to attend college in South Dakota, but a doctor in Murdo named Joseph Murphy thought my dad was good enough to play at the University of Minnesota and used his contacts to get my dad up to Hibbing Junior College in hopes that the Minnesota Gophers would notice him. They did, and he went down to the Twin Cities on a scholarship and played three seasons for the Gophers. He was the team's most valuable player in his junior year. In fact, he was high point man in Madison Square Garden on his birthday, December 28, 1940. While at the University of Minnesota, Dad met a girl who served sodas at a drugstore just off campus. They were married within a couple of years, while my Dad was in flight training for the Navy, and spent the next 69 years together. After the war, they came back to South Dakota. My dad had been thinking about a career in the Navy, but his dad asked him to come back and run the family hardware store. My dad said that his heart sank, but he knew what he had to do. So he came home and went to work for his dad. The hardware store struggled, so dad eventually went back to school to get a teaching degree. All parents are teachers for their kids, but my parents were my teachers several times over. Kids usually get a break from their parents when they're at school, but my dad was a teacher at my high school. He was also a coach. And the athletic director. And he drove the bus. And my mom was the school librarian. So it's safe to say my brothers and sister and I were pretty much always under the watchful eye of my parents. I never had my dad for a class, but my brother Rich did. Rich was the valedictorian of his high school class, and the only B he got in high school was from my dad. That was Dad for you. He never showed any preference or gave any of his kids better treatment than anybody else. In fact, some of us might argue that he gave us a harder time because we were his kids! He believed very firmly that you had to earn your achievements. As a coach, my dad taught us about being a team player. He made it clear that being on a team was not about building your personal statistics but about making the players around you better. It's a lesson I've carried throughout my life, and one I try to live by every day. A few years ago, the Jones County School District named the auditorium in Murdo after my dad in recognition of his service and achievements at the school. It was particularly special since my dad was one of the volunteers who originally built the auditorium. My dad told me that he was more scared up on the scaffolding of that building than he'd ever been flying off a carrier during World War II. You might think that with my dad as a coach and athletic director, sports were the main focus around our house, and they certainly were a big part of our lives. But my mom was determined that we would grow up to be well-rounded people, and my dad always supported her in that. They worked hard to ensure that we grew up with a perspective on life that went beyond just the latest sporting event. Mom made us study piano and, during the summers, come in from outside and read for an hour every day. We complained at the time, but I know that all of us today are grateful to her and my father for that. Mom and Dad made a good team Mom was an optimist and Dad was a pessimist or, as he'd put it, a realist and they really balanced each other. We didn't have material riches growing up, but we were beyond rich in those things that money can't buy but that lend purpose, joy, and meaning to life. All of us Thune kids are very grateful for that heritage. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention something that was life-changing for my parents, and that was their strong faith in Christ. My dad has always had real discernment and wisdom in no small part because of his daily dependence upon God in his life. He's always prayed for wisdom, and God has blessed him with it. Dad, thank you for the example of faith, integrity, character, and humility you've given to me and Bob and Rich and Karen and Tim. Thank you for faithfully serving God's purpose for your generation, and happy 100th birthday. (Audio/ video available here.)",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=20CBE167-60DF-41BE-A78F-74451A1D7C98,Thune Statement on RFS Final Rule,2019-12-19,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule that establishes the required renewable fuel volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for 2020 and the biomass-based diesel volume for 2021. The EPA has committed to ensuring a net of 15 billion gallons of ethanol is blended in 2020, among other reforms. The administration has committed to reaching 15 billion gallons of ethanol-blended fuel next year, and South Dakota will hold them to it, said Thune. This final rule unfortunately falls short of the deal we reached in the Oval Office, and while the proof will be in the implementation, I am glad that EPA has at least recognized the compounded hardships the last three years of small refinery exemptions have placed on farm country. In addition to reducing the number of waivers and having more accountability, I am pleased to see EPA taking additional steps to build off our win to permit the year-round sale of E15, like by supporting an infrastructure program and reducing labeling requirements.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=8E7C71F1-EE14-407B-8239-99EC62408F82,President Expected to Sign Thune-Markey Bill to Crack Down on Illegal Robocalls,2019-12-19,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and current chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), also a member of the Commerce Committee and author of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, issued the following statements after the Senate approved a modified version of their bipartisan Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act (S. 151) by a simple voice vote. The Senate first passed S. 151 by a vote of 97 to 1 on May 23, 2019, and the House of Representatives passed a modified version of the bill by a vote of 417 to 3 on December 4, 2019. It now heads to the president, who is expected to sign it into law. Amidst ever-increasing numbers of robocall scams, the TRACED Act, which the Washington Post editorial board recently said is what good, old-fashioned legislating looks like, gives regulators more time to find scammers and levy fines for those who are caught, promotes call authentication and blocking adoption,and brings relevant federal agencies and state attorneys general together to address impediments to criminal prosecution of robocallers who intentionally flout laws. I have yet to meet someone who says they enjoy receiving those unwanted and illegal robocalls that plague our phones, whether we're at home, at work, or in the car, which is why the TRACED Act takes several important steps in the fight to curb this scourge, said Thune. This bill represents a unique legislative effort that is not only bipartisan at its core, but it's nearly unanimously supported in Congress. Most importantly, this is a significant win for consumers in every corner of the country, and it finally and officially puts illegal robocallers on notice. While no process is perfect, I'm glad we were able to work together with Republicans and Democrats, senators and members of the House to reach this important compromise, which, once signed into law, will begin to make an important down payment on the fight against illegal robocalls. The U.S. Senate today sent Americans a holiday gift on everyone's list: stopping the plague of robocalls, said Markey. The annoying and harassing robocalls we receive every day are neither a Democrat nor Republican menace; they are a universal menace. The TRACED Act cracks down on scammers by requiring phone carriers to authenticate whether calls are legitimate, and then blocking unverified robocalls at no charge to consumers. I thank Senator Thune for his unwavering partnership on this important consumer protection issue. I hope the President quickly signs this bill into law so that families can enjoy a new year of family calls instead of robocalls. In November 2019, House and Senate negotiators, including Thune and Markey and U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), and Bob Latta (R-Ohio),announcedan agreement on this bipartisan, bicameral compromise. Summary of the TRACED Act: Broadens the authority of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to levy civil penalties of up to $10,000 per call on people who intentionally flout telemarketing restrictions. Extends the window for the FCC to catch and take civil enforcement action against intentional violations to four years after a robocall is placed. Under current law, the FCC has only one year to do so, and theFCC has told the committeethat even a one-year longer statute of limitations for enforcement would improve enforcement against violators. Brings together the Department of Justice, FCC, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Commerce, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other relevant federal agencies, as well as state attorneys general and other non-federal entities to identify and report to Congress on improving deterrence and criminal prosecution at the federal and state level of robocall scams. Requires voice service providers to adopt call authentication technologies, enabling a telephone carrier to verify that incoming calls are legitimate before they reach consumers' phones. Directs the FCC to initiate a rulemaking to help protect subscribers from receiving unwanted calls or texts from callers. Directs the FCC to initiate a rulemaking process to protect consumers from one-ring scams. Requires the FCC to establish a working group to issue best practices to prevent hospitals from receiving illegal robocalls. Thune and Markey introduced the TRACED Act on January 17, 2019, and its cosponsor list quickly grew to more than three-quarters of the Senate. The bill is supported by attorneys general in all 50 states, by all current commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission, and by industry and consumer groups, including AARP. It was also the subject of a Thune-led hearing entitled, Illegal Robocalls: Calling All to Stop the Scourge. In 2018, when Thune served as chairman of the Commerce Committee, the committeeheard testimonyunder subpoena from Adrian Abramovich, the president of a now defunct company called Marketing Strategy Leaders. Abramovich, who has since been assessed a $120 million fine by the FCC for making nearly 100 million robocalls between 2015 and 2016, described a telemarketing operation as rather easy to put together and nimble, thus making enforcement difficult. His identification by the FCC and assessment of civil penalties raised questions for the committee about the lack of criminal prosecution for offenders caught intentionally and repeatedly violating telemarketing laws.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-statement-rfs-announcement,Johnson Statement on RFS Announcement,2019-12-19,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,Dusty Johnson,J000301,dustyjohnson.house.gov,dustyjohnson,https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases,scraper,"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today made the following statement after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a finalized rule, establishing renewable fuel volumes for 2020 as required under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). ""EPA's announcement is an improvement in restoring integrity for the RFS, but there is much more work to be done to undo the Small Refinery Exemption abuses and the demand destruction SRE's have caused South Dakota's ethanol industry. I will continue to work with the administration to remove regulatory barriers and encourage ethanol exports across the world."" In May, along with Agriculture Committee Chairman Peterson, Johnson introduced the Renewable Fuel Standard Integrity Act of 2019 which establishes an annual June 1st deadline for refineries to submit small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions from their RFS blending obligations each year and increases transparency in the process. The RFS Integrity Act would increase transparency by making information with respect to a petition subject to public disclosure. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-statement-on-final-ethanol-rule,Rounds Statement on Final Ethanol Rule,2019-12-19,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule to establish the required renewable volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for 2020: “President Trump has made clear that he expects the EPA to follow through on his commitment to farmers by meeting the 15 billion gallon requirement under the RFS. I heard it firsthand during multiple meetings with the president at the White House.” “I understand the hesitation of South Dakota corn and corn ethanol producers to trust that the EPA will follow through on this commitment. While the final rule fails to provide a guarantee, the EPA has committed to using the tools available to make sure 15 billion gallons of ethanol is blended into our fuel supply in 2020. You can be sure we’ll be holding their feet to the fire.” ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/weekly-column/the-magic-of-christmas,The Magic of Christmas,2019-12-19,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"As we celebrate the holidays with our loved ones, we are reminded of the true reason for the season: the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. His teachings remind us to be kind to others, share our gratitude for all the good things in our lives and give back to those less fortunate. Through these acts, we can experience the real magic of Christmas. You may be surprised to hear that Christmas magic is alive and well even in the most unlikely of places—the United States Capitol. Despite what you too often see in the news, we don’t always disagree and bicker. We certainly have our differences, but I have made many friends in Washington on both sides of the aisle. The camaraderie we share as legislators seeking to improve the lives of all Americans is amplified during the Christmas season, and we enjoy taking time out of our busy days to celebrate. Since joining the Senate, I’ve been a regular member at weekly prayer breakfast meetings. Our group is made up of both Republicans and Democrats—we leave our politics at the door and focus on what we have in common, which is our shared faith. At a recent prayer breakfast, we celebrated Christmas by singing some of our favorite carols. I have made good friends through our prayer breakfasts—men and women I may not have gotten to know on a personal level otherwise. The annual bipartisan Secret Santa gift exchange is another holiday tradition we celebrate on Capitol Hill. Each of us is given the name of a senator from the other party, and we all get together for a reception to exchange small gifts. This year, I was able to wrap up some of my favorite chocolates from Deadwood’s Chubby Chipmunk to give to Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada. Senator Tom Carper of Delaware gave me a baseball cap commemorating USS Delaware SSN 791, a nuclear attack submarine that was commissioned shortly after USS South Dakota SSN 790. Of course, none of us would be able to celebrate the holidays freely if not for our men and women in uniform. This time of year we are reminded of those who are spending the holidays away from home as they fight to protect our freedom. Our servicemembers deserve our eternal gratitude for the sacrifices they make on behalf of our country. I spent some time this month writing holiday cards to our troops stationed overseas thanks to the American Red Cross’s Holidays for Heroes event. They set up tables in the Capitol each year for members of congress and our staffs to send warm wishes to our armed forces. This year, our family is grateful for God’s many gifts, including our ten wonderful grandchildren who all live in the Pierre/Fort Pierre area near our home. We’re also grateful for Jean’s team of hardworking doctors and nurses who have given us hope that she will beat her cancer diagnosis. Thank you to everyone who has said a prayer for her this year. We wish all South Dakotans a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=F82E27C5-4124-4AEF-AD53-50270F8AB0AC,Thune Reflects on 2019 Accomplishments,2019-12-18,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed his number one priority in the Senate: serving the people of South Dakota. Thune discussed the importance of passing the National Defense Authorization Act, which will authorize the full annual funding request for development of the B-21 bomber, his effort to help Sioux Falls become one of the most rural 5G-enabled cities in the country, and other wins for the people of South Dakota. Thune also discussed his continued effort to strengthen the agriculture economy for our farmers and ranchers in South Dakota. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, we're wrapping up the year here in the Senate, and I'm looking forward to getting home to Sioux Falls for Christmas. Before we leave, we'll wrap up this year's spending bills, including the defense funding bill. Yesterday, we passed the National Defense Authorization Act, yearly legislation to authorize funding for our military and our national defense. I'm pleased to report that this year's bill authorizes the full annual funding request for development of the B-21 bomber, which will be coming to Ellsworth in the not-too-distant future. Thenews that Ellsworth Air Force Base had been selected as the first home of the future B-21 Raider was exciting news this year. Ellsworth has been a priority of mine since I first came to the Senate and worked with a lot of dedicated people to prevent Ellsworth from being closed by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 2005. Since then, I've worked with the other members of the South Dakota delegation and Air Force and community leaders to make sure the base never again finds itself in the same position. Among other things, our efforts resulted in the expansion of the Powder River Training Complex into the largest training air space in the continental United States. And it's undoubtedly partly thanks to this air space that Ellsworth was chosen as the first home for the B-21. Ellsworth is going from strength to strength, and I'm honored to advocate for our national security and the airmen at Ellsworth in the Senate. Mr. President, agriculture is the lifeblood of our economy in South Dakota, and our farmers and ranchers are always at the top of my priority list here in the Senate. Thanks to natural disasters, protracted trade disputes, and several years of low commodity prices, farmers and ranchers have had a tough few years. This spring, farmers throughout the Midwest were hit with heavy rainfall and flooding. By the time the soil finally dried out enough for planting, it was too late for many farmers to plant their normal crops, and many had to turn to quick-growing cover crops that could be used for feed and grazing and to protect the soil. But farmers in South Dakota and other northern states faced a problem. The Department of Agriculture had set November 1 as the first date on which farmers could harvest these cover crops for feed or use them for pasture without having their crop insurance indemnity reduced. Farmers who hayed or grazed before this date faced a reduction in their prevent plant indemnity payments crop insurance to help them cover their income loss when fields can't be planted due to flooding or other issues. While November 1 is a reasonable date for farmers in southern states, for farmers in northern states like South Dakota, November 1 is too late for harvesting thanks to killing frost and the risk of late fall and early winter storms. And it is too late to maximize the use of cover crops for pasture, since a killing frost is liable to flatten cover crops before they are grazed. So beginning in early May, I started pressing the Department of Agriculture to change the November 1 date. And in June, the Department of Agriculture announced that it would move up the November 1 date for 2019 by two months, to September 1 a significant amount of time that allowed South Dakota farmers to plant cover crops without worrying about whether they would be able to successfully harvest or graze them. A year ago this week, the president signed into law the 2018 farm bill, which contained nearly 20 provisions I authored based on input from South Dakota farmers and ranchers. This year I've closely monitored the Department of Agriculture's implementation of the bill. In particular, I've pressed the Agriculture Department to implement the bill's improvements to the Conservation Reserve Program and hold CRP sign-ups, and I'm pleased that the administration opened a CRP sign-up earlier this month. When I talk to farmers and ranchers at home in South Dakota, they emphasize that the most important thing Washington can do to boost our agriculture economy is to take action on trade agreements. Farmers and ranchers need access to new and expanded markets for their products. And just as importantly, they need certainty about what international markets are going to look like going forward. I've spent a lot of time this year pushing for Congress to approve the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. After months and months of unnecessary delay, I'm pleased that this agreement is now moving forward. I'm hopeful that the Senate will pass it in January so that farmers and ranchers can start experiencing the benefits. One piece of good news for corn farmers came this year with the administration's announcement that it would permit the year-round sale of E15, 15 percent ethanol-blended fuel. I've spent over a decade advocating for the year-round sale of E15, and I was very pleased by the administration's announcement. However, for corn farmers to see the full benefit of year-round E15 sales, the Environmental Protection Agency needs to start accounting for its unprecedented use of small refinery exemptions. These so-called hardship waivers should be limited only to instances where small refiners would no longer be profitable or competitive by complying with their blending obligation under the Renewable Fuel Standard. On Friday, the EPA is poised to finalize a supplemental rule that it assures us will deliver on the president's commitments to account for waivers and truly blend 15 billion gallons of ethanol each year. However, based on this EPA's track record, it's difficult to trust it will retreat from its aggressive issuance of small refinery exemptions. I hope the EPA proves me wrong, but I think I speak for most of farm country when I say I'll believe it when I see it. On the topic of renewable fuels, I'm happy to be able to say that the biodiesel tax credit will be extended for five years, through 2022 , as part of this week's tax extenders deal. Biodiesel is a good deal for farmers, as it adds value to each bushel of soybeans by making use of the oil from bean processing. And it's a good deal for our environment, because the use of this fuel lowers emissions. Mr. President, as a former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and current chair of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, I've spent a lot of time over the last few years focused on internet, communications, and data privacy issues. One big priority of mine has been paving the way for 5G the next generation of wireless technology and ensuring that rural areas and not just big cities get this technology. Last year, the president signed into law my bipartisan MOBILE NOW Act, legislation I introduced to help secure adequate spectrum for 5G technology. And earlier this year, Senator Schatz and I introduced the STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act to address the other part of the 5G equation infrastructure. I was thrilled to be home in Sioux Falls to mark a huge milestone for the city and for South Dakota the unveiling of Sioux Falls' first 5G small cells, small antennas that will join traditional cell towers to support 5G technology. 5G has tremendous promise for rural areas, but it will only deliver on that promise if we ensure that 5G cells are actually deployed in these areas. I'm proud that we've made a good start in South Dakota. Sioux Falls' mayor Paul TenHaken has worked aggressively to remove barriers to telecommunications investment in Sioux Falls. Advancing 5G will continue to be a priority of mine in the Senate. We want the United States and not China or South Korea to win the race to 5G and seize the economic benefits 5G will bring. Another thing I've spent a lot of time working on in the Commerce Committee this year is data privacy. In October I introduced the Filter Bubble Transparency Act, which is designed to address one aspect of the data privacy problem the issues that arise from internet companies' use of consumers' personal data to shape what consumers see on their platforms. I also introduced legislation this year with Senator Ed Markey to address the problem of annoying and illegal robocalls. I'm hopeful that our legislation, the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act or TRACED Act will pass the Senate soon and be on the president's desk before Christmas. Mr. President, I've worked on a lot of other bills this year to make life better for South Dakotans and American families. I've introduced tax reform bills to help small businesses, update the tax code for the 21st century economy, encourage charitable giving, and permanently protect family farms from the death tax. I've introduced legislation to protect access to health care in rural areas. Help Americans repay their student loans. And more. And I will continue to work on these issues in the new year. As always, my priority will be ensuring that Congress is addressing the challenges facing South Dakota families. The holidays are a time to reflect on the blessings we've received, and I feel truly blessed to call the great state of South Dakota home. It is an honor and a privilege to represent the people of South Dakota here in the Senate. To all South Dakotans, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a joyful holiday season. And I look forward to continuing to represent your priorities in Washington in the new year.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A5F9ABBD-2E64-42F3-A6DD-23F26A030E52,Thune Reflects on 2019 Accomplishments,2019-12-18,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed his number one priority in the Senate: serving the people of South Dakota. Thune discussed the importance of passing the National Defense Authorization Act, which will authorize the full annual funding request for development of the B-21 bomber, his effort to help Sioux Falls become one of the most rural 5G-enabled cities in the country, and other wins for the people of South Dakota. Thune also discussed his continued effort to strengthen the agriculture economy for our farmers and ranchers in South Dakota. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, we're wrapping up the year here in the Senate, and I'm looking forward to getting home to Sioux Falls for Christmas. Before we leave, we'll wrap up this year's spending bills, including the defense funding bill. Yesterday, we passed the National Defense Authorization Act, yearly legislation to authorize funding for our military and our national defense. I'm pleased to report that this year's bill authorizes the full annual funding request for development of the B-21 bomber, which will be coming to Ellsworth in the not-too-distant future. Thenews that Ellsworth Air Force Base had been selected as the first home of the future B-21 Raider was exciting news this year. Ellsworth has been a priority of mine since I first came to the Senate and worked with a lot of dedicated people to prevent Ellsworth from being closed by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 2005. Since then, I've worked with the other members of the South Dakota delegation and Air Force and community leaders to make sure the base never again finds itself in the same position. Among other things, our efforts resulted in the expansion of the Powder River Training Complex into the largest training air space in the continental United States. And it's undoubtedly partly thanks to this air space that Ellsworth was chosen as the first home for the B-21. Ellsworth is going from strength to strength, and I'm honored to advocate for our national security and the airmen at Ellsworth in the Senate. Mr. President, agriculture is the lifeblood of our economy in South Dakota, and our farmers and ranchers are always at the top of my priority list here in the Senate. Thanks to natural disasters, protracted trade disputes, and several years of low commodity prices, farmers and ranchers have had a tough few years. This spring, farmers throughout the Midwest were hit with heavy rainfall and flooding. By the time the soil finally dried out enough for planting, it was too late for many farmers to plant their normal crops, and many had to turn to quick-growing cover crops that could be used for feed and grazing and to protect the soil. But farmers in South Dakota and other northern states faced a problem. The Department of Agriculture had set November 1 as the first date on which farmers could harvest these cover crops for feed or use them for pasture without having their crop insurance indemnity reduced. Farmers who hayed or grazed before this date faced a reduction in their prevent plant indemnity payments crop insurance to help them cover their income loss when fields can't be planted due to flooding or other issues. While November 1 is a reasonable date for farmers in southern states, for farmers in northern states like South Dakota, November 1 is too late for harvesting thanks to killing frost and the risk of late fall and early winter storms. And it is too late to maximize the use of cover crops for pasture, since a killing frost is liable to flatten cover crops before they are grazed. So beginning in early May, I started pressing the Department of Agriculture to change the November 1 date. And in June, the Department of Agriculture announced that it would move up the November 1 date for 2019 by two months, to September 1 a significant amount of time that allowed South Dakota farmers to plant cover crops without worrying about whether they would be able to successfully harvest or graze them. A year ago this week, the president signed into law the 2018 farm bill, which contained nearly 20 provisions I authored based on input from South Dakota farmers and ranchers. This year I've closely monitored the Department of Agriculture's implementation of the bill. In particular, I've pressed the Agriculture Department to implement the bill's improvements to the Conservation Reserve Program and hold CRP sign-ups, and I'm pleased that the administration opened a CRP sign-up earlier this month. When I talk to farmers and ranchers at home in South Dakota, they emphasize that the most important thing Washington can do to boost our agriculture economy is to take action on trade agreements. Farmers and ranchers need access to new and expanded markets for their products. And just as importantly, they need certainty about what international markets are going to look like going forward. I've spent a lot of time this year pushing for Congress to approve the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. After months and months of unnecessary delay, I'm pleased that this agreement is now moving forward. I'm hopeful that the Senate will pass it in January so that farmers and ranchers can start experiencing the benefits. One piece of good news for corn farmers came this year with the administration's announcement that it would permit the year-round sale of E15, 15 percent ethanol-blended fuel. I've spent over a decade advocating for the year-round sale of E15, and I was very pleased by the administration's announcement. However, for corn farmers to see the full benefit of year-round E15 sales, the Environmental Protection Agency needs to start accounting for its unprecedented use of small refinery exemptions. These so-called hardship waivers should be limited only to instances where small refiners would no longer be profitable or competitive by complying with their blending obligation under the Renewable Fuel Standard. On Friday, the EPA is poised to finalize a supplemental rule that it assures us will deliver on the president's commitments to account for waivers and truly blend 15 billion gallons of ethanol each year. However, based on this EPA's track record, it's difficult to trust it will retreat from its aggressive issuance of small refinery exemptions. I hope the EPA proves me wrong, but I think I speak for most of farm country when I say I'll believe it when I see it. On the topic of renewable fuels, I'm happy to be able to say that the biodiesel tax credit will be extended for five years, through 2022 , as part of this week's tax extenders deal. Biodiesel is a good deal for farmers, as it adds value to each bushel of soybeans by making use of the oil from bean processing. And it's a good deal for our environment, because the use of this fuel lowers emissions. Mr. President, as a former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and current chair of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, I've spent a lot of time over the last few years focused on internet, communications, and data privacy issues. One big priority of mine has been paving the way for 5G the next generation of wireless technology and ensuring that rural areas and not just big cities get this technology. Last year, the president signed into law my bipartisan MOBILE NOW Act, legislation I introduced to help secure adequate spectrum for 5G technology. And earlier this year, Senator Schatz and I introduced the STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act to address the other part of the 5G equation infrastructure. I was thrilled to be home in Sioux Falls to mark a huge milestone for the city and for South Dakota the unveiling of Sioux Falls' first 5G small cells, small antennas that will join traditional cell towers to support 5G technology. 5G has tremendous promise for rural areas, but it will only deliver on that promise if we ensure that 5G cells are actually deployed in these areas. I'm proud that we've made a good start in South Dakota. Sioux Falls' mayor Paul TenHaken has worked aggressively to remove barriers to telecommunications investment in Sioux Falls. Advancing 5G will continue to be a priority of mine in the Senate. We want the United States and not China or South Korea to win the race to 5G and seize the economic benefits 5G will bring. Another thing I've spent a lot of time working on in the Commerce Committee this year is data privacy. In October I introduced the Filter Bubble Transparency Act, which is designed to address one aspect of the data privacy problem the issues that arise from internet companies' use of consumers' personal data to shape what consumers see on their platforms. I also introduced legislation this year with Senator Ed Markey to address the problem of annoying and illegal robocalls. I'm hopeful that our legislation, the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act or TRACED Act will pass the Senate soon and be on the president's desk before Christmas. Mr. President, I've worked on a lot of other bills this year to make life better for South Dakotans and American families. I've introduced tax reform bills to help small businesses, update the tax code for the 21st century economy, encourage charitable giving, and permanently protect family farms from the death tax. I've introduced legislation to protect access to health care in rural areas. Help Americans repay their student loans. And more. And I will continue to work on these issues in the new year. As always, my priority will be ensuring that Congress is addressing the challenges facing South Dakota families. The holidays are a time to reflect on the blessings we've received, and I feel truly blessed to call the great state of South Dakota home. It is an honor and a privilege to represent the people of South Dakota here in the Senate. To all South Dakotans, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a joyful holiday season. And I look forward to continuing to represent your priorities in Washington in the new year.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-statement-on-house-impeachment-vote,Rounds Statement on House Impeachment Vote,2019-12-18,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON—U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement after the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump: “The House Democrats have voted to impeach this president, and yet, they still have not provided the evidence to substantiate an impeachable offense. The Senate will execute its constitutional duty, bring this process to a close, and get back to doing the people’s work.”",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=6F06E6F9-75A0-43A9-95F0-0BE056E71389,Thune: Tax Reform Has Delivered on Its Promises,2019-12-17,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the upcoming two-year anniversary of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act being signed into law and the positive results it has delivered to the American people. Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act became law in December 2017, hard-working middle-income American families have seen lower rates, improved benefits, better job opportunities, and many other positive results. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, December 22 will mark the second anniversary of the signing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Tax reform was a big priority for Republicans. We wanted to help American families by reducing their tax burden and spurring the kind of economic growth that would result in better jobs and better wages. And so at the end of 2017 we passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. We cut tax rates for American families, doubled the child tax credit, and nearly doubled the standard deduction. We lowered tax rates across the board for owners of small and medium-sized businesses, farms, and ranches. We expanded business owners' ability to recover the cost of investments they make in their businesses, which frees up cash that they can reinvest in their operations and their workers. And we lowered our nation's massive corporate tax rate which up until January 1 of 2018 was the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world and brought the U.S. international tax system into the 21st century so that American businesses are not operating at a competitive disadvantage next to their foreign counterparts. And over the last two years, tax reform has done exactly what we intended. It's allowed American families to keep more of their hard-earned money, and it's helped spur wage growth and increase the availability of good jobs for American workers. For 2018, the average family of four with an income of $75,000 saw a tax cut of more than $2,000. On top of that, company after company responded to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by issuing bonuses, improving benefits, or increasing wages. At least 100 utility companies around the country announced plans to cut utility rates for consumers. And then of course there's the economic growth the law has spurred. A whopping 266,000 jobs were created in November, smashing expectations and bringing the average monthly job creation for 2019 to a strong 180,000. Job creation since President Trump was elected has exceeded the Congressional Budget Office's 2016 pre-election prediction by more than 5 million. The unemployment rate is at a 50-year low and has been at or below 4 percent for an incredible 21 straight months. 2019 has also seen record-low unemployment rates for African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Americans with a disability, Americans without a high-school diploma, and veterans. For 20 straight months, there have been more jobs available than Americans looking for work. Meanwhile, wages for American workers are growing steadily. Wage growth has been at or above 3 percent for 16 straight months. Before the start of this streak, the last time wage growth had reached 3 percent was more than a decade ago. Income inequality has declined. The poverty rate has fallen to a 17-year low. And the list goes on. Now that's a lot of numbers and percentages. But they all boil down to one thing: American families are doing better. Thanks to Republican economic policies, fewer Americans are having to choose between a car repair and a doctor's bill. More Americans are able to put away money each month for their retirement or their children's education. There are more good jobs available for Americans looking for work. Of course, Mr. President, there's still more work to be done. Our farm economy, for example, is not doing as well as the economy as a whole, and passing policies that will bring relief to our farmers and ranchers and expand markets for their products is a priority of mine. But two years on from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, we can celebrate the fact that millions of American families are bringing home more money in their paychecks and have access to better jobs and better opportunities. Preserving and building on those accomplishments is a Republican priority. Unfortunately, our Democrat colleagues are more likely to suggest tax hikes than preserving the tax cuts that have brought so much economic progress over the past couple of years. Democrats opposed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, despite the fact that many of the ideas included were the product of both Republican and Democrat proposals, because they were determined not to work with this president. Two years on, Democrats would still like to pretend that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act didn't help American families despite the reams of statistics on the economic progress we've made and the fact that an estimated 90 percent of middle-class families received a tax cut. After all, if Democrats acknowledged that tax cuts have made life better for families, it would be even harder for them to defend the massive middle-class tax hikes that would be needed to fund their socialist proposals like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. It's unfortunate that Democrats are so opposed to policies that have made life better for millions of families. I'm proud of all that we've achieved for American families with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. And I will continue to work with my colleagues to keep our economy growing and expand opportunities for Americans even further.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=74BEE8BA-8347-4149-89B1-5FA613FE4F6A,Delegation Urges Veterans Affair Secretary to Prioritize Hot Springs VA in 2020,2019-12-17,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today urged U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie to prioritize visiting the Hot Springs VA medical center in 2020 and address the long-standing matters of uncertainty at the facility. The letter follows the secretary's September 27, 2019, statement of intent to visit Hot Springs, which he issued in advance of traveling to the Fort Meade VA medical center. As you look ahead to your 2020 schedule, we request that you expand upon this experience and work to address the long-standing matters at the Hot Springs VA, the delegation wrote. As you know, the Hot Springs VA is a priority for veterans in western South Dakota and neighboring states.Unfortunately, thecampus has endured a persistent cloud of uncertainty for nearly a decade, which has affected employee recruitment and retention, reduced urgent care hours, required the use of short-term contractors. In November 2018, the South Dakota congressional delegation wrote to request that you visit Hot Springs to meet with veterans and VA employees that would be personally affected by the VA's realignment plan, as well as see firsthand the quality care and healing environment in the Veterans Town.' Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) was copied on the letter. Full text of the letter below: December 17, 2019 The Honorable Robert Wilkie Secretary U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20420 Dear Secretary Wilkie: Thank you for your continued work to address the significant challenges facing America's veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as you seek to improve access to quality care and increase VA accountability. We hope your October 3, 2019, visit to the Fort Meade VA medical center was productive and informative with respect to the unique challenges veterans in our region of the country face concerning access to care. We especially appreciate your attention to the needs of rural and Native American veterans, including housing. As you look ahead to your 2020 schedule, we request that you expand upon this experience and work to address the long-standing matters at the Hot Springs VA. As you know, the Hot Springs VA is a priority for veterans in western South Dakota and neighboring states. Unfortunately, thecampus has endured a persistent cloud of uncertainty for nearly a decade, which has affected employee recruitment and retention, reduced urgent care hours, required the use of short-term contractors. In November 2018, the South Dakota congressional delegation wrote to request that you visit Hot Springs to meet with veterans and VA employees that would be personally affected by the VA's realignment plan, as well as see firsthand the quality care and healing environment in the Veterans Town. For example, the Hot Springs VA has an outstanding Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program that holds promising potential for expanded compensated work therapy programs and recreational and retreat opportunities for veterans receiving treatment for PTSD and substance abuse. As the fourth VA Secretary to oversee this matter, we believe you have a real opportunity to revisit the VA's record of decision, the disputed data behind it, and move forward in a collaborative way, but this will require direct dialogue. We know the demands of your schedule are many, which is why we appreciated your September 27, 2019, statement of your intent to visit Hot Springs months after your travel to Fort Meade. We look forward to working with you to foster a productive discussion with the veteran stakeholders in Hot Springs. Thank you for your continued consideration and attention to this important matter. Sincerely,",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A7C2AE45-B988-4329-B96F-6A0625E54E30,Thune Statement on Senate Passage of the National Defense Authorization Act,2019-12-17,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), today issued the following statement after the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA is a positive step toward ensuring our troops are able to continue the important work of protecting Americans at home and abroad. Support for our national defense is essential and should never be subjected to partisan posturing. I am pleased Congress has been able to come to a consensus on this important legislation legislation that also delivers the largest pay raise for our military in a decade and authorizes a significant down payment for the B-21 bomber, which will soon be based at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. In today's global atmosphere, we must ensure America's military stands strong. With the passage of the NDAA, Congress delivers on fulfilling that fundamental responsibility.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/ndaa-passes-senate-with-rounds-support-includes-a-number-of-south-dakota-priorities,"NDAA Passes Senate with Rounds Support, Includes a Number of South Dakota Priorities",2019-12-17,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON– U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today issued the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020. It now heads to the president’s desk for signature. “Providing our troops with the tools they need to complete their missions fulfills one of our most fundamental duties: to provide for our national defense,” said Rounds. “This year’s NDAA continues to rebuild our military, gives our service members additional resources to meet new challenges and takes care of military families. I look forward to the president signing it into law.” “Mike has been an important voice on the Armed Services Committee and throughout negotiations on the final Defense Authorization Act,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe. “As chairman of the Cybersecurity Subcommittee, he spearheaded numerous provisions in this year’s bill that will protect our networks from our adversaries and expand our cyber capabilities to maintain our technological edge. I thank him for his leadership on these and other critical defense issues.” Bill Highlights: Implements the National Defense Strategy, which provides clear direction for restoring our military’s competitive edge in an era of re-emerging, long-term power competition. Authorizes a 3.1 percent pay raise for our troops, the largest in a decade. Authorizes full funding for the B-21 Raider bombers, to be stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Creates a Space Force as a sixth branch, under the Air Force, devoted to military operations in space. Provides additional resources to research and begin cleanup of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. PFAS substances have emerged as a widespread contaminant to the drinking water sources of communities across the country, as well as military installations, largely due to their use in firefighting foam used by the Department of Defense. Rounds Major Provisions Included: Cybersecurity of the Defense Industrial Base - Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to create a framework for the cybersecurity of the defense industrial base, particularly with regard to the myriad subcontractors who demonstrate tremendous cyber vulnerabilities. This results from a major cyber breach of a Navy contractor resulting in serious theft of information. Readiness of the DOD Cyber Force to Accomplish its Mission - Requires DOD to develop readiness metrics for the cyber force and, based upon these metrics, brief the armed services committees on a quarterly basis. Establishment of a Cyber Consortia for Centers of Academic Excellence like Dakota State University (DSU) in Madison – Requires the DOD to establish a university consortia to advise and assist DOD on cybersecurity. It would provide a single portal for DOD to access the expertise of universities designated as National Security Agency (NSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Centers of Academic Excellence, such as DSU. Establishment of Principal Cyber Advisors Within Each Branch – Creates a “Principal Cyber Advisor” position within each of the services to act as a single point of responsibility for cybersecurity. The goal is to bridge the gaps, seams and fragmentation within the services’ cyber postures. Innovation Pilots - Requires a pilot program to produce dual-use startups in defense technology that would attract funding from the public and private sector to include venture capital firms in the United States. Streamline Defense Acquisition Milestone Decision Process – Establishes a pilot program to improve DOD’s acquisition milestone decision process. Better Tracking of Troop Deployment Rates - Directs senior military leaders to establish and maintain ""specific and measurable deployment thresholds” to help control the amount of time that troops are away from home. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/noem-rounds-request-us-army-corps-of-engineers-increase-missouri-river-mainstem-dam-releases-to-prepare-for-spring-runoff,"Noem, Rounds Request U.S Army Corps of Engineers Increase Missouri River Mainstem Dam Releases to Prepare for Spring Runoff",2019-12-17,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"PIERRE—Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) and U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) requesting a marginal increase in releases from Gavins Point Dam. This would allow additional storage in the dam system to accommodate runoff this upcoming spring. Additionally, Noem and Rounds urged USACE to take measures to improve predictions in order to prevent significant flooding during wet years and to make sure water is available during a drought. “At this time, our primary concern is increasing the flows slightly from the mainstem system storage through next spring,” wrote Noem and Rounds in their letter. “We are not advocating the USACE increase releases to irresponsible levels, triggering ice jam formation and producing winter flooding. Instead, we request a marginal increase in system releases from Gavins Point. “Moving forward, we would like to see the USACE take measures to improve predictions on runoff entering the mainstem system. Expanding the states’ existing mesonets would be one option to improve data accessibility. We believe several other technological and equipment modernization measures could be considered to have the most sophisticated predictive analysis reasonably possible. Additionally, we would like to see the USACE look into expanding their predictive algorithms so as to dynamically manage reservoir levels, reducing the potential for floods and increasing water availability during drought conditions.” Full text of the letter: Brigadier General D. Peter Helmlinger Commander, US Army Corps of Engineers Northwestern Division P.O. Box 2870 Portland, OR 97208-2870 Dear Brigadier General Helmlinger, We are following up on your phone conversation with Senator Rounds and representatives of the State of South Dakota on November 21, 2019. We appreciate the discussion on current water levels and the United States Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Missouri River operation plans moving forward, as well as your insights on the problems with anticipating river freeze-ups and the potential for ice jams. At this time, our primary concern is increasing the flows slightly from the mainstem system storage through next spring. We are not advocating the USACE increase releases to irresponsible levels, triggering ice jam formation and producing winter flooding. Instead, we request a marginal increase in system releases from Gavins Point. For example, an increase of 7,500 cfs for 90 days would allow an additional 1.3 MAF of system storage to be evacuated prior to next spring’s runoff events. We would expect this extra water may be drafted from Oahe and Francis Case reservoirs, but naturally this is a management decision the USACE should make. Moving forward, we would like to see the USACE take measures to improve predictions on runoff entering the mainstem system. Expanding the states’ existing mesonets would be one option to improve data accessibility. We believe several other technological and equipment modernization measures could be considered to have the most sophisticated predictive analysis reasonably possible. Additionally, we would like to see the USACE look into expanding their predictive algorithms so as to dynamically manage reservoir levels, reducing the potential for floods and increasing water availability during drought conditions. There are consistent trends in runoff levels into the Missouri River mainstem system, which transcend annual averages. Whether these trends are caused by accumulation, depletion of soil moisture or broader ecological effects, clearly the trends exist. While there have been limited instances of wide gaps between total runoff during consecutive years, such as incredibly wet years chased by droughts or droughts ended by sudden floods, these instances are rare. As such, further research into the capability and potential utility of earlier trending is warranted. We appreciate the USACE’s communication updates; however, we request a specific response articulating the USACE’s current plan through March. Again, we encourage any effort to reasonably increase water evacuation in anticipation of a wetter-than-average 2020. Sincerely, Governor Kristi Noem U.S. Senator M. Michael Rounds cc: Major General Scott Spellmon Deputy Commanding General for Civil Works and Emergency Operations US Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters 441 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20314 Colonel John Hudson Commander, US Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District 1616 Capitol Ave., Ste. 9000 Omaha, NE 68102 ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-cadillac-tax-repeal-legislation-included-in-omnibus-appropriations-bill,Rounds’ Cadillac Tax Repeal Legislation Included in Omnibus Appropriations Bill,2019-12-17,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today released the following statement after it was announced that legislation he introduced to repeal the “Cadillac Tax” was included in the omnibus appropriations bill scheduled to be passed by Congress this week: “Healthcare costs for South Dakota families are already too high,” said Rounds. “The Cadillac Tax threatened to raise healthcare premiums even higher by imposing a 40 percent tax on certain employer-sponsored health care plans. I’m pleased our bipartisan measure to fully repeal the Cadillac Tax was included in the fiscal year 2020 omnibus appropriations bill, and I look forward to continuing to find ways to lower healthcare costs for hardworking families.” Rounds and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) introduced legislation to repeal the Cadillac Tax earlier this year. Companion legislation introduced by Reps. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Mike Kelly (R-Penn.) passed out of the House this summer. This month, Rounds, Heinrich, Courtney and Kelly sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging them to take swift action on their legislation before the end of the year. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-names-valley-queen-cheese-factory-of-milbank-as-senate-small-business-of-the-week,Rounds Names Valley Queen Cheese Factory of Milbank as Senate Small Business of the Week,2019-12-17,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today named Valley Queen Cheese Factory of Milbank as the Senate Small Business Committee’s “Small Business of the Week.” Rounds was invited by Small Business Committee Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to select a South Dakota small business to be highlighted by the committee. Valley Queen Cheese was founded in 1929, and remains a family-run operation. It is the largest cheese plant in our state and the largest employer in Milbank. “South Dakota is fortunate to have many thriving small businesses,” said Rounds. “It’s my honor to name Valley Queen Cheese in Milbank as the Small Business the Week. Valley Queen has been a family-run operation for four generations, and currently employs 300 individuals. It gives back to the community through its charitable foundation, which has awarded more than $300,000 in college scholarships to local students. I thank the Nef and Gonzenbach families who started and continue to run Valley Queen Cheese for the great work they do for South Dakota.” Today, Rounds submitted the following excerpt into the Congressional Record in honor of Valley Queen Cheese Factory: Mr. Rounds. Mr. President, today, it is my pleasure to name Valley Queen Cheese Factory of Milbank, South Dakota, as the Senate Small Business of the Week. Valley Queen Cheese is a prime example of the important role small businesses play in their local economies and communities. In 1929, Alfred Nef and Alfred Gonzenbach decided Milbank, South Dakota, was the perfect home for their business and founded Valley Queen Cheese. Four generations later, Valley Queen remains a family-run operation and is still owned by the Nef and Gonzenbach families. Today, it operates less than 1/2 mile from the original location. It is a recognized leader in the South Dakota business community and the greater dairy industry. Since 2017, Doug Wilke has served as CEO of Valley Queen. With guidance from the board of directors, he currently oversees the largest cheese plant in South Dakota and the largest employer in Milbank. More than 90 percent of all milk Valley Queen uses comes from South Dakota cows, and they make a conscious effort to continue South Dakota's leadership in this important industry. Thanks to a recent expansion, Valley Queen now has the capacity to produce 200 million pounds of cheese from 2 billion pounds of milk each year. Their cheese can be found in most local grocery stores, as it is sold to some of the best-known food brands in the world. To meet the growing demand, Valley Queen recently invested in a business expansion project that increased the factory's output by twenty-five percent. Valley Queen is an active leader in the Milbank community where it has grown to employ 300 people. In 2017, the Valley Queen Charitable Foundation was established to advance positive change by supporting local organizations and initiatives. In its first three years as a non-profit, the foundation has contributed more than $900,000 to local charities that have a community, educational or humanitarian focus. Since 1990, Valley Queen has awarded high school and college students over $300,000 in scholarships. In addition to the business's own philanthropy, Valley Queen makes an annual contribution to the Milbank Community Foundation, which seeks to improve the quality of life of residents in the community. Valley Queen has been recognized for their continuous improvement and exceptional process control through several awards. Earlier this year, Valley Queen won two awards and received near-perfect marks at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest for their reduced fat cheddar and Monterey Jack jalapeno cheeses. Valley Queen's sustained efforts toward improved research and development does not go unnoticed by the industry. Valley Queen is an excellent example of how small businesses fit the shared values and ideals of their community and give back in a multitude of ways. I am proud to highlight Valley Queen and its team for their integral social and economic contributions to South Dakota. Although many years removed from being a start-up company, Valley Queen remains committed to the legacy of its founders. Furthermore, Milbank South Dakota continues to serve as the perfect home for this thriving business. Congratulations again to the entire team at Valley Queen Cheese Factory for being named Senate Small Business of the Week. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-resolution-commemorating-the-75th-anniversary-of-the-battle-of-the-bulge-,Senate Passes Resolution Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge,2019-12-16,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"In recognition of the Battle of the Bulge beginning 75 years ago today, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution last week commemorating this anniversary. S. Con. Res 23 honors the valiant efforts of the Allied Forces in December 1944, as well as those who made the ultimate sacrifice in this last major German offensive in Western Europe during World War II. There were 89,000 American casualties in this 38-day battle, and 19,000 American soldiers lost their lives. The Allied victory in this battle helped make possible the final defeat and surrender of Germany in May 1945. The resolution was introduced by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and cosponsored by Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Todd Young (R-Ind.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Kennedy (R-La.), John Barasso (R-Wyo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.). ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=912A488A-AD7C-404C-812D-110CA2BE3E16,The Season to Rejoice,2019-12-13,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"The holiday season is a special time of year. We get to rejoice in God's gift to mankind while spending time with our family and friends, enjoying traditions of holidays past and the moments and memories created with those we love. It's also a good reminder to slow down and take stock of the blessings that surround us. For me, many of those blessings come in the form of family my wife, daughters, sons-in-law, and grandkids; my siblings and my dad, a World War II veteran who will turn 100 years old shortly after Christmas Day. A bounty of blessings, to be sure. The Christmas season can also be a time capsule of sorts both in terms of what you put in and everything you can take out. For example, this time of year often takes me back to a snow-covered Jackson Avenue in Murdo, which we'd sled down as kids. I'm reminded of all those Christmas Eve nights at my grandmother's house and the unmistakable aroma of her lutefisk and lefse wafting through the air. And I can't help but smile when I think of watching Brittany and Larissa perform in church and school Christmas programs through the years. I cherish the old memories and how they've shaped me and our family, but I also look forward to creating new ones with my kids and grandkids, who I hope will be able to remember these moments during Christmases yet to come. Looking back on 2019, like most years, there's a lot for which I can be thankful. Aside from health, happiness, and my family, I'm always thankful to know that I live in the greatest country on the face of the earth. There is no other place on the planet where people enjoy the same freedom and opportunities that are afforded to the American people, and we should never forget that. We also shouldn't forget that our freedom comes at a cost. A big one. I'm so thankful for the men and women in our military for their humility, honor, courage, and sacrifice. I'm also thankful for their families. Ask any service member, and they will tell you that service is a partnership, because families are just as invested as those in uniform. In Washington, I'm continually thankful and humbled to be able to serve South Dakota and work on the issues that are important to the state. As politically divided as the country might seem right now, believe it or not, we can still work in a bipartisan way. In fact, I'm hopeful that by the end of the year, my bipartisan bill that would help protect consumers from illegal robocallers will land on the president's desk. In a sea of disagreement, going after these scammers is one thing on which nearly everyone can agree, and for that, I hope we all can be thankful. As the year comes to a close, I want to wish you and your family the blessings of this holiday season, and I hope you have a safe, enjoyable, and memorable time with those who you hold dear.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-statement-on-house-judiciary-committee-impeachment-vote,Rounds Statement on House Judiciary Committee Impeachment Vote,2019-12-13,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON—U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement after the House Judiciary Committee voted to send impeachment articles to the full House floor. “This is yet another step in the Democrats’ plan to impeach the president, which started over three years ago on the day he was elected. They’re trying to undo the result of the 2016 election by making a mockery of the impeachment process. Based on what we’ve seen from the House Democrats, they have not provided the evidence to substantiate an impeachable offense. Rather, these articles seem to be rooted in Democrats’ disfavor of our president- and that is not an impeachable offense. Impeachment is a grave and serious step in our Constitution that should not be taken lightly. As a member of the Senate, we will do our due diligence to receive the claim made by the House and consider it in a deliberate manner. So far, they’ve failed to make a legitimate claim. “After reviewing the accusations made by the House, the Senate should be able to move expeditiously to bring this to a close and get back to things that matter to South Dakota families.” ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-tester-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-establish-grant-program-honoring-veterans,"Rounds, Tester Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Establish Grant Program Honoring Veterans",2019-12-13,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) introduced the Memorializing Veterans Act, bipartisan legislation establishing a grant program to help honor the lives of our nation’s veterans. “For more than 40 years, the United States has maintained its military superiority thanks to an all-volunteer force stepping up to the plate,” said Rounds. “Educating the next generation about the service and sacrifices made by our veterans is one way we can encourage young people to join the armed forces and continue this proud tradition. Many South Dakotans have proudly served our country. Sharing their stories can show our state’s young people the honor of serving in our armed forces.” The Veterans’ Legacy Program (VLP) is an educational initiative from the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) under U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) which commemorates veterans interred in NCA cemeteries through partnerships with institutions of higher learning. Under current law, institutions of higher education experience difficulty obtaining and utilizing federal funding through VLP. This bill would establish a grant program to administer funds more efficiently, facilitating research and developing educational tools to increase public awareness of veteran service and sacrifice. The Memorializing Veterans Act would makes grants available to recipients such as institutions of higher learning, local education agencies, and non-profit entities with a history of community engagement. These grants could be used for research related to national, State or Tribal veterans’ cemeteries, to produce educational materials or to promote community engagement about the history of the veterans interred at those cemeteries. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/weekly-column/south-dakota-well-represented-in-defense-authorization-bill,South Dakota Well-Represented in Defense Authorization Bill,2019-12-13,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"Every year for nearly 60 years, Congress has worked in a bipartisan, bicameral manner to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). By the end of 2019, we will have passed the 59th NDAA in a row. This one, which authorizes funding for the military for Fiscal Year 2020, includes some major wins for South Dakota, to include Ellsworth Air Force Base and Dakota State University (DSU). As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and chairman of our Cybersecurity Subcommittee, I worked with my colleagues to make sure a number of important provisions were included in the NDAA. This year’s bill provides the resources necessary to rebuild and improve our military while also taking care of our troops and their families. It provides the largest pay raise for our troops in a decade, and includes measures to help military families with housing, childcare and moving expenses. Our bill will fully fund the B-21 Raider bomber program, which will help keep the program on time for the B-21 to come to Ellsworth Air Force Base in the mid-2020s. In March, then-Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson announced that Ellsworth was selected to receive the training squadron and the first operational squadron of B-21 Raiders, which are the Air Force’s next-generation stealth bombers. This decision solidified the important role Ellsworth will play in our national defense for years, if not generations, to come. Making sure the B-21 Raider program is fully funded and delivered on time has been, and will continue to be, a top priority for me. The NDAA also fully funds additional purchases of the F-35A Lightning II fighter jets. The more of these that are purchased in the future, the greater the possibility that we will get them assigned to South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing, which is based at Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls. The unit’s current aircraft is the F-16 Block 40. Legislation I offered to establish a cyber consortia for certain universities, including Dakota State University (DSU) in Madison, was also included in the final NDAA. The consortia will provide an opportunity for schools designated as National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security Centers of Academic Excellence to lend their cybersecurity expertise to the Department of Defense. The consortia can also pave a path for college students studying cybersecurity to work on important national security issues following their graduation. Our government needs highly skilled cybersecurity employees, and students who graduate from DSU have some of the best education available for the cybersecurity workforce. The armed forces have dealt with years of underfunding which has diminished combat readiness. Thanks to President Trump, our Armed Services Committee Chairman, Sen. Jim Inhofe, senior Defense Department leaders and our bipartisan Armed Services Committee, we are making progress to rebuild and strengthen our armed forces. The NDAA further solidifies the integral role South Dakota will continue to play in the defense of our nation for many years to come. I am proud to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and be part of its efforts to make certain our troops have the tools they need to keep us safe. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A32E091B-E320-4D12-9E17-CCCA7831AB92,Thune: Proud of Bipartisan Support for TRACED Act,2019-12-12,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the image above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today discussed the TRACED Act, bipartisan legislation he introduced with Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to combat the illegal robocall epidemic. Thune also discussed the final step in getting the bill to the president's desk passing it in the Senate. Thune is hopeful his TRACED Act could pass before Christmas. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, every American has had to deal with annoying and illegal robocalls. All of us have been interrupted at one time or another by a robocall announcing we've won a prize or claiming to need important banking information so that our account won't be closed. These calls are a major nuisance. But of course they're not just a nuisance. Too many Americans fall victim to sophisticated robocall scammers and have their money or identity stolen. These individuals can spend months or years struggling to get their life back after falling prey to these scammers. There are currently laws and fines in place to prevent scam artists from preying on people through the telephone, but unfortunately these measures have not been sufficient. In many cases, robocall scammers simply build the current fines into the cost of doing business. And the Federal Communications Commission's enforcement efforts are hampered by a tight time window for pursuing violators. I've been working on this issue since my time as chairman of the Commerce Committee, and at the end of last year I introduced the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, or TRACED Act, with my colleague Senator Markey. The Senate passed our bill in May, and last week our bill was passed by the House. The TRACED Act provides tools to discourage illegal robocalls, protect consumers, and crack down on offenders. Criminal prosecution of illegal robocallers can be difficult. Scammers are frequently based abroad and can quickly shut down shop before authorities can get to them. But I believe we need to make sure there is a credible threat of criminal prosecution and prison for those who use robocalls to prey upon the elderly and other vulnerable Americans. The TRACED Act convenes a working group with representatives from the Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Commerce, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, state attorneys general, and others to identify ways to criminally prosecute illegal robocalling. And in the meantime, it expands the window in which the FCC can pursue scammers and levy fines from one year to four years. The bill also makes it easier for your cell phone carrier to lawfully block calls that aren't properly authenticated, which will ultimately help stop scammers from getting through to your phone. The TRACED Act also tackles the issue of spoofed calls where scammers make the call appear as if it's coming from a known number. I remember an article from my home state a couple of years ago that reported that scammers had successfully spoofed the number of the Watertown Police Department. To anyone who received a call, it looked as if it really was the Watertown Police Department calling. TRACED also addresses the issue of so-called one-ring scams, where international scammers try to get individuals to return their calls so they can charge them exorbitant fees. And it directs the Federal Communications Commission to convene a working group to address the problem of illegal robocalls being made to hospitals. There are numerous stories of hospital telephone lines being flooded with robocalls, disrupting critical lines of communication for hours. That can't be allowed to go on. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Markey for partnering with me on the TRACED Act, and my House colleagues for advancing this legislation. I'm proud of the bipartisan support our bill has received in both houses of Congress. One last step remains before we can get this bill to the president's desk, and that is Senate passage of the final bill. I'm hoping we can get that done in the coming days so that we can get this bill to the president before Christmas. While the TRACED Act may not eliminate all the robocalls Americans receive, it will go a long way toward making it safe to answer your phone again. I look forward to seeing this legislation signed into law in the near future.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=2302A0CE-7443-419C-8834-426B8C9213D7,Thune Statement on Committee Passage of 5G Spectrum Act,2019-12-11,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the image above to watch Thune's remarks. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today issued the following statement after the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved the 5G Spectrum Act, which he introduced in November with Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Commerce Committee. Their bill would ensure mid-band spectrum is quickly made available in the market by requiring a transparent and competitive public auctioning process. The bill would require that at least 50 percent of the first $40 billion in auction revenue be reserved for the American people and that a portion of those proceeds be dedicated specifically for rural broadband build-out. The bill prescribes a tiered system with respect to auction revenue, requiring 90 percent of the top tier any revenue above $50 billion to be returned to the American people. I support this legislation for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that if we don't win the race to 5G, we're going to lose out on the economic benefit and dividend that comes with that, said Thune. China isn't having this kind of discussion right now. They're just clearing mid-band spectrum and allowing their companies to go after it. This is important to the future of this country that we get this right, and the only way we get it right is we've got to get more mid-band spectrum made available for commercial use And I will take a backseat to no one on this committee or in the Senate when it comes to advocating for more technology to be delivered, services to be delivered to rural areas of this country, and I will continue to do that. The 5G Spectrum Act would: Bring spectrum to market that provides the coverage and capacity essential for deployment in America's rural communities. Require the FCC to conduct a public auction of C band spectrum. Require the auction to start no later than December 31, 2020. Require the FCC to make availableat least280 MHz of spectrum. Require the FCC to capture for the taxpayerat least50 percent of the fair market value of the spectrum. 10 percent of these proceeds would be specifically dedicated to rural broadband build-out, including a set-aside for tribal areas.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=C1ED44E8-F97A-4FA0-ADF7-17E2D171FFD9,Thune: Pelosi Drug Bill is a Bad Prescription for the American People,2019-12-11,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the Pelosi prescription drug bill, Democrats' latest installment in their campaign to have the government takeover Americans' health care. If passed, the bill would reduce Americans' access to lifesaving treatments. Thune encouraged Congress to find a solution to lower prescription drug costs without resorting to government price controls and cited bipartisan proposals that could be passed through both chambers of Congress. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, over in the House this week, Democrats are taking up the latest installment in their campaign to have the government take over Americans' health care: the Pelosi prescription drug bill. Now, Mr. President, there's no question that high prescription drug costs are a problem. One in four seniors reports difficulty affording medications, and there are too many stories of patients being forced to ration pills or abandon their prescription at the pharmacy counter. But the Pelosi drug bill is the wrong prescription for the problem of high drug prices. Why? Because it would reduce Americans' access to lifesaving treatments and discourage investment in prescription drug research. Mr. President, between 2011 and 2018, more than 250 new medications were introduced worldwide. American patients have access to nearly all of them. But that's not the situation for patients in a lot of other countries. The Chamber of Commerce reports that patients in France have access to just 50 percent of those new drugs. French patients, in other words, are missing out on fully half of the new drugs that have been introduced in the past eight years. So why do Americans have such tremendous access to new drugs, while other countries trail behind? Because the U.S. government doesn't dictate drug prices or drug coverage. As statistic after statistic demonstrates, when governments start imposing price controls, patients' access to new drugs and treatments diminishes. Government price controls also discourage the medical research and innovation that produces the prescription-drug breakthroughs of the future. The U.S. leads the world in prescription drug innovation, and a big reason for that is because the U.S. government doesn't dictate drug prices. It wasn't always this way. European investment in drug research used to exceed U.S. investment. But that changed when European governments stepped in and started imposing price controls. Today, European investment in drug research and development is almost 40 percent lower than U.S. investment, in large part because of European governments' price controls. No other country comes close to achieving the number of prescription drug breakthroughs that companies in the U.S. achieve. That situation is not going to last, however, if the Democrat Party has its way. The Pelosi drug bill would impose a system of government price controls on up to 250 medications. And reduced access to drugs and fewer medical breakthroughs would soon follow. The California Life Sciences Association released a statement noting that the Pelosi drug bill could result in, and I quote, an88%reduction in the number of drugs that are brought to marketby small/emerging companiesin California. Such a dramatic decline,' the association notes, would be felt most in thehigher risk/smaller populationtherapeuticareas of R&D, includingnew drugs for endocrine, metabolic, genetic andrare diseases,and pediatric cancers.' In other words, fewer medical breakthroughs for those who need them the most. Mr. President, as I said earlier, the high cost of some prescription drugs can be a real problem for many families. But the answer is not to introduce a government-run pricing system that would mean that important prescription drugs would not be there when you or your child need them. There are a lot of things we can do to lower the cost of prescription drugs without resorting to government price controls. Multiple Senate committees have been actively engaged on this topic. There are options for how to improve transparency in a complicated and often opaque drug pricing process. There are ideas to examine competition and consolidation in the pharmaceutical supply chain. To ensure generic companies can access the samples they need to develop a new generic or biosimiliar. To prevent companies from engaging in patent thicketing to block competition. To promote real-time benefit tools to help inform consumers of cheaper drug options. To advance value-based insurance design to support coverage of high-value items and services, like medicines, that people with chronic conditions need to manage their health. And to modernize the Medicare Part D plan design and cap seniors' out-of-pocket costs. Republicans in the House recently introduced legislation on prescription drug costs that both promotes innovation and contains bipartisan ideas for reform, including increased transparency in drug pricing and provisions to prevent drug companies from gaming the system. This bill includes several ideas passed by the Senate Finance Committee, while focusing on policies that can be passed through both chambers of Congress. Importantly, it eliminates those policies that divided us. There are bipartisan solutions on the table. It's unfortunate that House Democrats have abandoned bipartisan efforts on drug pricing and have decided to pursue their government-run alternative. Mr. President, it boils down to this: Government price controls mean access to fewer drugs. And access to fewer drugs means that when you, or your child, or your mom or your dad needs a lifesaving medication, that drug may be out there, but it may not be there for you. And that's not acceptable. The Pelosi drug bill is a bad prescription for the American people.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/annual-defense-reauthorization-including-johnson-s-legislation-passes-house,Annual Defense Reauthorization Including Johnsons Legislation Passes House,2019-12-11,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,Dusty Johnson,J000301,dustyjohnson.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. Today, legislation authored by U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) was included in the House passed National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1790). The Rapid Fielding Defense Capabilities and Risk Assessment Act was included in the Senate and House of Representatives NDAA Conference Report which passed the House by 377-48. The bill will allow Department of Defense's (DOD) to develop and field defense acquisition capabilities more efficiently, therefore improving military readiness. Our nation's military should never swing in the balance, said Johnson. I am proud to support a bipartisan defense agreement that supports our nation's military branches, ensures survivors of deceased service members receive their benefits, and provides the biggest raise our troops have seen in over a decade. My legislation helps streamline defense acquisition efforts, and I'm grateful it was included in this bipartisan and bicameral agreement. The fiscal year 2020 NDAA Conference Report authorizes $738 billion in defense funding and provides a 3.1% military pay-raise. Additionally, the legislation includes a three-year phased repeal of the Widow's Tax. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/annual-defense-reauthorization-including-johnsons-legislation-passes-house,Annual Defense Reauthorization Including Johnson’s Legislation Passes House,2019-12-11,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,Dusty Johnson,J000301,dustyjohnson.house.gov,dustyjohnson,https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases,scraper,"Washington, D.C. – Today, legislation authored by U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) was included in the House passed National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1790). The Rapid Fielding Defense Capabilities and Risk Assessment Act was included in the Senate and House of Representatives NDAA Conference Report which passed the House by 377-48. The bill will allow Department of Defense's (DOD) to develop and field defense acquisition capabilities more efficiently, therefore improving military readiness. ""Our nation's military should never swing in the balance,"" said Johnson. ""I am proud to support a bipartisan defense agreement that supports our nation's military branches, ensures survivors of deceased service members receive their benefits, and provides the biggest raise our troops have seen in over a decade. My legislation helps streamline defense acquisition efforts, and I'm grateful it was included in this bipartisan and bicameral agreement."" The fiscal year 2020 NDAA Conference Report authorizes $738 billion in defense funding and provides a 3.1% military pay-raise. Additionally, the legislation includes a three-year phased repeal of the ""Widow's Tax.""",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-letter-to-fema-acting-administrator-gaynor,Rounds Letter to FEMA Acting Administrator Gaynor,2019-12-11,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,Help with a Federal Agency,1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=21439B24-CED4-48C4-948C-89CEAD093013,Thune: Defense Funding Should Not Be Delayed Any Longer,2019-12-10,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the image above to watch Thune's opening statement. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that would give our troops the funding they need to best defend our country. Although this legislation has been held up by Democrats for far too long, Thune is hopeful they will come to the table and pass this critical defense funding bill before the end of the year. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, I'm very pleased to hear that a deal has been reached to finally advance the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. Every year, Congress takes up the National Defense Authorization Act to authorize funding for our military and our national defense. Like last year's NDAA, this year's bill focuses on rebuilding our military and ensuring we are prepared to meet 21st century threats. While many take it for granted that we have the strongest military in the world, in recent years our military advantage over near-peer adversaries has eroded. Budgetary impasses combined with increased operational demands left our military under-manned, under-equipped, and ill-prepared for the conflicts of the 21st century. In November 2018, the bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission released a report warning that our readiness had eroded to the point where we might struggle to win a war against a major power like Russia or China. And the commission noted that we would be especially vulnerable if we were ever called on to fight a war on two fronts. That's not a good position to be in, and restoring our readiness has been and must continue to be our top priority. This year's National Defense Authorization Act continues our efforts to rebuild our military. It invests in the planes, combat vehicles, and ships of the future, including the Joint Strike Fighter and the future B-21 bomber, which will be based at Ellsworth Air Force Base in my home state of South Dakota. It authorizes funding for research and development and advanced technology. It also focuses on ensuring we are equipped to meet new threats on new fronts, including in the space and cyber domains. And of course, this bill invests in our most valuable resource our men and women in uniform. The National Defense Authorization Act authorizes a 3.1 percent pay increase for our troops, the largest increase in a decade. This is not only something our troops have earned; it's also an important way to increase retention in our all-volunteer force. This year's National Defense Authorization Act also focuses on addressing the recent significant health and safety issues with private on-base housing. And it contains measures to support military spouses seeking employment and increase access to child care on military installations. Mr. President, I'm glad we're finally on track to get this important legislation done. The final bill is not perfect, but it will help ensure that our military receives the resources it needs to meet current threats and prepare for the threats of the future. I'm also encouraged by the fact that it looks like Democrats have decided to work with us to get fiscal year 2020 defense appropriations passed before Christmas. Needless to say, the 2020 defense appropriations bill is critical legislation that provides funding for current and future military priorities. It provides funds to support that pay increase for the men and women who keep us safe. It provides funding for the weapons and equipment our troops need right now to carry out their missions. It provides funding for the equipment and technology that our military will need to defeat the threats of the future. It provides funding for missile defense. For research and development. For ships, planes, and combat vehicles to update our aging fleets. It also provides funding for our allies, including $250 million in military assistance for Ukraine. This is a critical national security bill, and it needs to be enacted as soon as possible. It's unfortunate that we couldn't get this legislation done sooner, before the start of the new fiscal year in October. Delaying defense funding has left our military short of the resources it needs and unable to start important new projects. But I'm glad that Democrats are finally willing to work with us on this legislation. It's time to get this bill done so that we can get our men and women in uniform the resources they need without further delay, as well as uphold our security commitments to friends and allies. I hope negotiations will continue to move forward and that we can get this legislation to the president's desk within the next two weeks.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/constitutional-carry-states-rights-act-introduced-in-the-house,Constitutional Carry States’ Rights Act Introduced in the House,2019-12-10,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) made the following statement after companion legislation to his Constitutional Carry States’ Rights Act was introduced in the House of Representatives last week by Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.): “I thank Rep. Hern for introducing our Constitutional carry legislation in the House,” said Rounds. “Our bill, which I introduced in the Senate earlier this year, would close federal loopholes in the Gun-Free School Zones Act to make sure individuals who choose to exercise their Second Amendment rights are treated the same way as those who possess concealed handguns with a permit. I look forward to working with Rep. Hern and our colleagues in Congress to advance our legislation that protects the Second Amendment rights of Americans.” Background: The Constitutional Carry States’ Rights Act that would close a loophole in the Gun-Free School Zones Act to give law-abiding citizens in states with Constitutional carry laws the same legal authority to possess a firearm as individuals in states that require a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Enacted in 1990, the Gun-Free School Zones Act makes it a federal crime to possess a firearm within 1000 feet of a school zone, with exceptions for law enforcement, school-sanctioned activities and individuals licensed by the state to possess a firearm, such as an individual with a concealed carry permit. Current federal law only makes exceptions if the individual is “licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located.” The state must also verify the individual is eligible prior to issuing a license. Because of this specific requirement of state licensure, lawful individuals in states with Constitutional carry laws are not included in the exemption because they are able to carry without a specific state permit. Further, the current exemption does not apply to out-of-state individuals lawfully carrying a concealed weapon because the exemption is limited to people licensed in the state where the school zone is located. This legislation would close both of these loopholes. This would, in essence, return the federal law to what was in place before Constitutional carry was enacted in South Dakota and extend additional protections to law-abiding gun owners nationwide. Rounds introduced the Senate version of the bill in May 2019. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-colleagues-urge-congressional-leadership-to-fully-repeal-cadillac-tax,"Rounds, Colleagues Urge Congressional Leadership to Fully Repeal “Cadillac Tax”",2019-12-10,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON—U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Reps. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Mike Kelly (R-Penn.) wrote to House and Senate leadership urging swift action of their legislation to repeal the “Cadillac Tax,” a tax on high premium employer-sponsored health insurance. Legislation repealing the tax passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly earlier this year. Identical legislation, introduced by Sens. Rounds and Heinrich (S. 684), has 63 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate. In their bipartisan, bicameral letter, the Members wrote: “The status quo creates uncertainty as employers, and employee representatives negotiate benefits packages that extend well into 2022, when the tax is currently set to go into effect. A fourth delay is not a viable option. The ongoing uncertainty is already threatening the quality of employer sponsored health insurance. The time is now to act in the best interest of the American people and repeal the Cadillac Tax.” Last week, more than 1,000 employers and stakeholders sent a similar letter, underscoring the breadth of support for repeal. Full text of their letter: We write regarding the urgent need to fully repeal the 40 percent excise tax on higher premium employer-provided health plans, commonly referred to as the Cadillac Tax. Failure to act will result in higher-deductibles and loss of coverage for American workers and their families. Our legislation, the Middle-Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2019, (S. 684/ H.R. 748) has 63 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate and passed the House with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 419 to 6 in July. The House vote, Senate support, and three implementation delays enacted by prior Congresses reflects an overwhelming consensus that the Cadillac Tax should be fully repealed. This punitive tax, if allowed to take effect, will raise health insurance costs for working Americans. The status quo creates uncertainty as employers and employee representatives negotiate benefits packages that extend well into 2022, when the tax is currently set to go into effect. A fourth delay is not a viable option. The ongoing uncertainty is already threatening the quality of employer sponsored health insurance. The time is now to act in the best interest of the American people and repeal the Cadillac Tax. According to polling by Fox News, Kaiser Health and Gallup, health care remains a top concern for American families. The American public demands that Congress act to address the growing crisis of health care affordability. Repealing the 40 percent tax has wide bipartisan support and is a worthwhile first step. Postponing repeal is no longer an option. We look forward to working with you to secure lasting relief for America’s working families. Thank you for your consideration of this request. Sincerely, ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-cyber-consortia-provision-included-in-final-ndaa-package,Rounds Cyber Consortia Provision Included in Final NDAA Package,2019-12-10,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON – Last night, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees released the conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2020. The final legislation includes a provision authored by U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, that would require the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish a university consortia to advise and assist DOD on cybersecurity. The provision will provide a single portal for DOD to access the expertise of universities designated as National Security Agency (NSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Centers of Academic Excellence, such as Dakota State University (DSU) in Madison. “Dakota State has been at the forefront of cyber-related research for years,” said Rounds. “The establishment of a university consortia to advise and assist the DOD on cybersecurity will further strengthen the bond between schools like DSU and the DOD. Additionally, it will help the DOD solve complex cybersecurity problems and develop cybersecurity training. It’s a win-win. I look forward to getting the NDAA across the finish line in the coming days.” ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=176F9BF0-7A9E-449E-A25D-B3FDDFE40E79,"Thune, Klobuchar Lead Colleagues in Urging FCC to Prioritize Rural Broadband",2019-12-09,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), also a member of the Commerce Committee, today led 46 of their Senate colleagues in urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prioritize sustainable rural broadband networks as the FCC considers new rules in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) proceeding. If our rural communities are to survive and flourish, our rural constituents need access to services that are on par with those in urban areas, the senators wrote. By contrast, it would be an inefficient use of resources to promote services that cannot keep pace with consumer demand and the evolution of broadband in urban areas. As the FCC moves forward to adopt new rules in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund proceeding, we urge you to promote the deployment of networks that will be sustainable even as new advancements are made and are capable of delivering the best level of broadband access for the available USF budget for many years to come. Joining Thune and Klobuchar in sending the letter were U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-N.V.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Martha McSally (Ariz.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Jacky Rosen (D-N.V.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.). As the FCC moves forward in the RDOF proceeding, NTCA applauds Sens. Thune and Klobuchar and their many Senate colleagues for urging the Commission to structure a program that will support sustainable networks capable of delivering the best possible broadband access for many years to come, said Shirley Bloomfield, chief executive officer ofNTCATheRural Broadband Association. Full text of the letter below: The Honorable Ajit Pai Chairman, Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street Southwest Washington, D.C. 20554 Dear Chairman Pai: As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considers new rules in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund proceeding, we write to emphasize the importance of sustainable networks that meet the needs of consumers now and in the future. Given that the FCC plays a critical role in connecting rural communities to high-speed internet through the universal service fund (USF), we encourage the FCC to make the most efficient and effective use of those funds. Any large-scale infrastructure project requires reasonable planning that takes account not only of current needs, but also of projected demands over the life of the asset being funded; and the distribution of USF should be no different. For broadband specifically, this requires that networks, built using USF, must be capable of delivering speeds, latency, and usage capacity according to what the FCC deems necessary to meet the needs of consumers over the next decade. If our rural communities are to survive and flourish, our rural constituents need access to services that are on par with those in urban areas. By contrast, it would be an inefficient use of resources to promote services that cannot keep pace with consumer demand and the evolution of broadband in urban areas. As the FCC moves forward to adopt new rules in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund proceeding, we urge you to promote the deployment of networks that will be sustainable even as new advancements are made and are capable of delivering the best level of broadband access for the available USF budget for many years to come. Similarly, we believe it is important for the FCC to be responsible for USF resources and ensure that those parties receiving such support can deliver on the commitments they make. This requires monitoring and reporting once USF support is received to guarantee it is being used as intended. The FCC should also make sure before the auction occurs that the participants in the auction can successfully deliver on their promises. If a party is incapable of delivering broadband as promised, the American ratepayer loses twice over first for having contributed sums that did not go toward the deployment of broadband as hoped, and then again for those ratepayers who reside in the area that ended up not receiving the promised service. It is therefore critical that any use of an auction to distribute USF support include meaningful processes upfront to prequalify bidders. This should apply to all bidders, regardless of the technology they propose to use or the performance levels they promise to deliver. Thank you for your work to deploy reliable broadband networks in rural America. We look forward to working with you to help close the digital divide and provide rural American consumers with the same kinds of digital opportunities that many others take for granted. Sincerely,",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-increase-affordable-housing-for-volunteer-firefighters-and-first-responders,"Rounds, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Increase Affordable Housing for Volunteer Firefighters and First Responders",2019-12-09,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON– U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) to introduce bipartisan legislation that would provide affordable housing opportunities for volunteer firefighters and first responders in order to help recruit and retain more volunteers, particularly in rural and under-served communities. The Volunteer First Responder Housing Act would expand eligibility for qualified volunteer first responders to participate in certain federal housing assistance programs and provide a greater incentive for more volunteers to stay and continue to serve their communities. “Expanding the eligibility for qualified volunteer emergency responders to participate in federal housing assistance programs has a number of benefits,” said Rounds. “It encourages volunteering, provides agencies with a recruitment and retention tool, makes it easier for volunteer responders to remain living in their communities, and is a great way to say ‘thank you’ for their service. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this legislation to support our volunteer emergency responders.” According to the National Fire Protection Association’s 2017 U.S. Fire Department Profile, 65 percent of firefighters nationwide are volunteers, and fire departments rely on these volunteers to help respond to a wide array of local emergencies. Recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters is critical for thousands of communities, yet local volunteer fire departments, especially those serving small and rural communities, find it difficult to meet staffing needs and attract younger volunteers. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=CC6AE80E-2978-487F-A6F9-86C276672508,South Dakota Leading the Way,2019-12-06,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"I served four years as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which has jurisdiction over everything from planes, trains, and automobiles to the depths of the ocean and the heights of outer space. And no matter the subject, one of my favorite parts about serving in that role was giving South Dakota a seat at the table by elevating the issues that are important to the state and by providing South Dakotans with the opportunity and platform to share their expertise and experience on a wide range of issues. While I no longer serve as chairman of the full committee, I'm still a member, and I'm closing out my first year as chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet. It's been a fun and rewarding experience, particularly because I'm still able to give South Dakota a seat at the table. The subcommittee's membership mirrors the full committee's membership, so we have a variety of voices, experience, and priorities on which we can lean. I also love the subject matter. I'm able to continue working on several initiatives that began years ago, particularly my effort to ensure the United States wins the race to 5G mobile broadband technology. Winning the race to 5G isn't just about the jobs and opportunities it would create or the enhanced speed with which we'd be able to consume or share information. As important as those things are and they are very important this is also about better positioning the United States from a national security and economic security perspective. For these reasons, it's more imperative than ever that we beat our global competitors in this space, particularly China, which often plays by a different set of rules. I've been committed to doing everything I can to ensure the tools are available for the United States to be the first to carry this across the finish line, but we can't take our foot off the gas. Over the years, I've led full committee hearings on this topic. I've led subcommittee hearings on this topic. I've brought the committee to South Dakota to examine this topic. I've written bills on this topic. I've even had one signed into law. And since the federal government isn't going to win this race alone, I've also found partners at the state and local level who have been instrumental in helping South Dakota lead the way on 5G. Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken has been one of those partners, and it was a things-have-come-full-circle experience to join him and others in November as the first 5G cells in South Dakota went live. After years of putting in the work, Sioux Falls is now one of the most rural communities in the entire United States to be 5G-enabled. Because of his leadership on this issue, I recently invited Mayor TenHaken to Washington, D.C., to share his unique perspective on how important this issue is at the local level. Specifically, the mayor weighed in on the implementation of my Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act or MOBILE NOW, for short which was signed into law last year. This new law helped lay some of the important groundwork that has made it possible to more easily deploy mobile broadband networks in the country. 5G is expected to contribute $275 billion in new investment and $500 billion in economic growth, and, as I mentioned, it will help strengthen our national security, too. We're at the point in the race where the finish line is in sight, and there's no turning back. With the right investment, a committed team, and a clear vision, the United States can win, and when we do, South Dakota will have been a part of its success.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/weekly-column/a-better-way-to-determine-how-your-tax-dollars-are-spent-,A Better Way to Determine How Your Tax Dollars are Spent,2019-12-06,2019,2019-12,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"Again this month, Congress is operating under a Continuing Resolution, or CR, that expires just a few days before Christmas. The intent is to back Members of Congress and the White House into a corner, hoping they will be willing to accept a massive end-of-year spending package that they might otherwise oppose. This is not a new phenomenon – it’s been happening under our modern budget process since 1974. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept it. We must demand better when it comes to deciding how your tax dollars are spent. Here’s how our budget process is supposed to work: The regular budget process begins when the president submits his budget request to Congress, due in February, outlining his or her ideas for spending priorities for the following fiscal year that begins in October. Congress then crafts its own budget, a comprehensive road map to be used in the appropriations process between February and the October 1st deadline. The process then moves to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. These committees use the budget blueprint – which sets overall spending caps – to consider and pass 12 appropriations bills, which write the specific funding levels for individual programs within the federal government for defense spending and non-defense discretionary spending. I should make note that this only accounts for approximately 30 percent of what we spend today. Once the appropriations bills pass both houses of Congress, the differences between the bills are reconciled through a conference committee report. The conference committee report becomes the actual appropriations bill in each case. Once the conference committee reports pass the House and Senate, they then go to the president, and once he signs it the federal government is funded until the next budget cycle. This is all supposed to be done well before the September 30 deadline. But that’s not what really happens. In reality, Congress rarely passes a budget and the president’s budget is seen as little more than a messaging tool. Appropriators regularly drag their feet on getting their committee work done, Members hold up progress for political theater, and bills that actually do make it to the full Senate floor are too often riddled with ‘poison pills’ deliberately designed to kill the legislation. This leaves Congress with the false choice of passing a CR or shutting down the government, both of which waste money, harm our military and fail to bring about meaningful discussions on how your tax money is spent. When I came to the Senate five years ago, I immediately voiced my opposition to this backwards way of appropriating, along with a number of my newly-confirmed Senate colleagues. Among many other things, I’ve been deeply concerned about the impact on our military. Military leaders continue to warn that CRs have a detrimental impact on our ability to train, equip and maintain the force. Leadership understood our concerns but asked us to be patient – this broken process has been around for a long time, and it would take time to convince the ‘old bulls’ to return to regular order. We agreed to give them time, but we did not let up. After two years of going through the appropriations process without progress, I joined a group of my colleagues to call on Senate leadership to delay or cancel the in-state August work period so we could make progress on our appropriations work well ahead of the September 30 deadline of 2017, in addition to other issues. They agreed, and progress was made, though not enough. The following year, we did the same thing, again successfully, and for the first time since we came to the Senate, Congress passed and the president signed appropriations bills into law ahead of the September 30, 2018 deadline. In all, approximately 75 percent of government operations were funded on time through regular order. But the victory was short-lived, as the remaining 25 percent of government operated under a CR and – eventually – was shut down for 35 days this past December and January. This way of doing business should appall every one of us. During the appropriations process for this fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2019, as I’ve done in the past, I voted no on CRs after no progress was made. Our appropriations process is a mess. Unless more of us take a stand and reject the status quo, we’ll never get back to where we need to be to actually impact spending and to begin to rein-in our debt. I remain committed to getting us back on track. I will share more about the impact CRs have specifically on our military in a future column.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:45:33Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=8A92EF9A-9AAC-472F-A33D-6C9C5A626643,Thune Reintroduces Bill to Eliminate Government Competition With Private Industry,2019-12-05,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today reintroduced legislation that would require federal agencies to rely on the private sector when providing goods and services that are readily available. Thune's legislation, the Freedom from Government Competition Act (S. 2990), would ensure private enterprises that provide services that are replicated by the federal government have the ability to compete for the opportunity to deliver those federally provided services. Thune's legislation would make the federal government smaller and more efficient while providing the best value to the taxpayer. The bill has been likened to codifying a Yellow Pages test, meaning that if the federal government is doing something that can be found in the Yellow Pages, or now in a simple online search, the product or service should be subject to market competition. This bill is a commonsense approach in allowing small businesses to compete with the federal government if they can provide that same good or service, said Thune. These businesses can oftentimes provide services in a cheaper, more efficient manner. Fair competition will allow businesses to thrive and save taxpayers money. The Freedom from Government Competition Act does not mandate the privatization of any specific federal service and would protect those activities that are inherently governmental, such as certain national defense and homeland security functions, prosecutions, foreign policy, and activities to bind the United States to take or not to take some action by contract, policy, regulation, authorization, or order. Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) is the sponsor of the companion bill, which was introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=E0EAD38F-BB63-4B27-A478-3119C72D9E9D,"Thune Leads Hearing on MOBILE NOW, Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken Testifies",2019-12-05,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the image above to watch Thune's opening statement. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today led a hearing titled,The Evolution of Next-Generation Technologies: Implementing MOBILE NOW. The hearing examined the implementation of several mandates required by the Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless (MOBILE NOW) Act. At the invitation of Thune, Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken testified on MOBILE NOW's spectrum provisions and the streamlining of broadband infrastructure deployment on federal lands, among other things. Thune is the author of theMOBILE NOW Act, which was signed into law in 2018. Thune's opening statement (as prepared for delivery): Good morning and welcome to today's hearing examining the implementation of the Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act, also referred to as the MOBILE NOW Act. It is our job as policy makers, particularly those of us who serve on the Commerce Committee, to make sure that the United States is a leader in the deployment of next-generation technologies. To fulfill that obligation, we must ensure that the market has access to both licensed and unlicensed spectrum and that industry is not unnecessarily burdened when bringing this spectrum to market. That's where the MOBILE NOW Act plays a crucial role. MOBILE NOW reflected several years of hard work by many of the members who serve on this Committee. This important legislation made a down payment on both spectrum and infrastructure needs, positioning the United States to lead in the race to 5Ga race that has major implications for our national security and economy. It is also our job as policy makers to make sure that legislative efforts, like the MOBILE NOW Act, are implemented thoroughly. MOBILE NOW required identifying 255 megahertz for mobile and fixed wireless use, including 100 megahertz of spectrum below 8 gigahertz for unlicensed use and 100 megahertz of spectrum below 6 gigahertz for commercial licensed use. Both licensed and unlicensed spectrum play an integral role in the communications landscape. Wi-Fi is responsible for a growing amount of the data transmitted in our homes and offices and will have an increasing role as we continue to expand the Internet of Things in the 5G era. One particular band that has a lot of promise for fulfilling much of the unlicensed requirement in MOBILE NOW is the 6 gigahertz band. The FCC has begun the process to permit unlicensed use in this band while also protecting the incumbents serving critical infrastructure. It is my hope the FCC will move expeditiously on finalizing rules for that band. As this Committee has discussed previously, 5G, which is expected to contribute $275 billion in new investment, $500 billion in economic growth, and three million new jobs requires the right spectrum and smart policies on how to bring the spectrum to market. I applaud the FCC for its successful auctions of millimeter wave spectrum important for 5G, but as we have all recognized, we need much more mid-band spectrum to provide the capacity and flexibility needed to build a robust 5G network. MOBILE NOW directed the Commission to evaluate commercial wireless use in the 3.7 to 4.2 gigahertz band or the C-Band, as it's known, mid-band spectrum that is ideally suited for 5G deployment. I was encouraged to see Chairman Pai announce his intention to bring the spectrum to market through a public auction, and I want to make sure that happens with no additional delays. To achieve that goal, Chairman Wicker and I introduced the 5G Spectrum Act, legislation that would bring at least 280 megahertz of spectrum to market through a public auction and require that at least 50 percent of the fair market value of the spectrum be captured for the taxpayer. The other proceeds would help cover the costs of the auction and allow for the incumbents of the C-band to be fairly compensated for modifications to their infrastructure to clear the spectrum so that they can continue to serve broadcasters. Not having the right policies in place will slow our leadership in the deployment of next-generation technology, particularly in more rural areas, so I appreciate Chairman Wicker's leadership on the 5G Spectrum Act and I look forward to working with him to move that legislation. In addition to the FCC, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has an important role with regard to spectrum. MOBILE NOW directed NTIA, in consultation with the FCC, to examine the feasibility of commercial services in the 3100 to 3550 megahertz frequencies. Last February, I was pleased NTIA identified the 3450 to 3550 megahertz frequencies as a potential candidate for shared use, but that is only a first step under its requirement in MOBILE NOW. Today, I, along with Chairman Wicker, wrote to Acting Administrator Diane Rinaldo asking NTIA to review the remainder of the band and identify any other frequencies for shared use. Access to the right spectrum is only one part of the challenge. It can take years and tremendous investment to deploy next-generation services. MOBILE NOW streamlined the process of applying for easements, rights of way, and leases for federally-managed property, and established a shot clock for review of those applications. It also established a National Broadband Facilities Asset Database listing Federal property that could be used by private entities for the purpose of building or operating communications facilities. And importantly, it helped reduce the costs of deploying fixed broadband by establishing a Dig Once policy. Like I said earlier, the MOBILE NOW Act incorporated many provisions from members on this Committee and it is our duty to make sure it is being implemented properly. Today, we are joined by a panel of expert witnesses to discuss the provisions in MOBILE NOW and give us a perspective on what needs to be done to continue advancing American leadership in next-generation technologies. I'd like to welcome Paul TenHaken, who serves as the mayor of Sioux Falls, SD. Mayor TenHaken has done exceptional work removing barriers to wireless infrastructure deployment, resulting in the city of Sioux Falls being one of the first 5G cities in the nation. We're also joined by Mr. Scott Bergmann of CTIA, Ms. Mary Brown from Cisco, Mr. Jonathan Adelstein, President and CEO of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, and Ms. Sarah Morris from New America's Open Technology Institute. Thank you all for being here and I'll now turn to the Ranking Member for his opening remarks.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=F3BFED3B-8ECD-43C0-9145-EAD7E44EE13E,Thune Discusses His Bill to Give Consumers More Control Over Digital Content,2019-12-05,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the image above to watch the video. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today participated in a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing titled, Examining Legislative Proposals to Protect Consumer Data Privacy. The hearing examined multiple legislative proposals and how they intend to provide consumers with more security, transparency, choice, and control over personal information, both online and offline. During the hearing, Thune discussed his Filter Bubble Transparency Act, bipartisan legislation that would increase internet platform transparency and provide consumers with greater control over digital content. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding today's hearing as members of this Committee continue to work on crafting a national consumer data privacy bill. It is my hope that we can ultimately work together on a bipartisan basis to produce legislation that puts consumers' interests first while still allowing the private sector to innovate and grow the economy. All of us understandor at least shouldthat only a bipartisan proposal has a chance of clearing the Senate and becoming law. And, my view is that a bipartisan outcome must include strong consumer protections while also avoiding the regulatory patchwork that is beginning to emerge at the state level. I remain committed to working with the chairman and ranking member and our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find a consensus solution. Since we started privacy discussions last Congress, I've said that consumers are entitled to clear and concise explanations of how the services they use are collecting and using their data. One specific area where I believe consumers deserve more transparency and control is with respect to how internet platforms use artificial intelligence and opaque algorithms to make inferences from the reams of data collected about all of us that too often results in users being caught in a so-called filter bubble. The filter bubble is essentially the unique universe of information generated on an internet platform for each user. Many users are unaware of the filter bubble. That's why I've introduced the bipartisan Filter Bubble Transparency Act, which would give individuals a greater understanding of how internet platforms use algorithms to increase user engagement. It would also give consumers the option to engage with a platform without being manipulated by opaque algorithms powered by the user's own personal data. I'm proud to have Senators Blumenthal, Moran, Blackburn, and Warner as cosponsors of this bill. At the same time, whether it's algorithm transparency or privacy, I understand that bills touching on highly technical issues can have potentially unintended consequences, so I welcome constructive feedback on this bill and the committee's efforts more generally.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=46312DCE-30CC-44BD-9601-062D2891F27C,"Thune, Markey Statement on House Passage of the TRACED Act",2019-12-04,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, and Ed Markey (D- Mass.), author of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, today released the following statements after the House of Representatives passed an amended version of their Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence(TRACED) Act (S. 151), legislation to combat the illegal robocall epidemic. Their bill, which will need to be reconsidered in the Senate, passed in May 2019 with near unanimous support. In today's political climate, it's hard to find an issue on which almost everyone can agree, but we found one with the TRACED Act, said Thune. With House passage of our bipartisan, bicameral legislation to protect consumers from pesky and sometimes financially harmful robocalls, we are one step closer to getting this legislation to the president's desk. I'm hopeful and confident that we will be able to bring this legislation to the Senate floor in the very near future. I applaud House of Representatives passage of the TRACED Act, my legislation with Senator Thune that cracks down on the deluge of robocalls that drown our phones every day, said Markey. There are no red robocalls or blue robocalls, only despised robocalls. I thank Senator Thune for his partnership on this important consumer protection bill. I expect quick passage of the legislation in the Senate so that Americans can finally get the relief they deserve from these harassing and fraudulent calls. Last month, House and Senate negotiators, including Thune, Markey, and U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), and Bob Latta (R-Ohio), announced an agreement on bipartisan, bicameral legislation to combat illegal robocalls.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=D9D83124-9653-40CD-8659-50C0D4A453D6,Thune Previews Tomorrows MOBILE NOW Hearing on Senate Floor,2019-12-04,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the image above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, will convene a hearing titled,The Evolution of Next-Generation Technologies: Implementing MOBILE NOW, tomorrow, December 5, 2019, at10:00 a.m. EST. The hearing, which will be livestreamed here, will examine the implementation of several mandates required by the Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless (MOBILE NOW) Act. Witnesses, including Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, will discuss MOBILE NOW's spectrum provisions and the streamlining of broadband infrastructure deployment on federal lands, among other things. Thune is the author of theMOBILE NOW Act, which was signed into law in 2018. Earlier today, Thune previewed the hearing on the Senate floor. Excerpt from Thune's speech below: And tomorrow, in my role as chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, I'll be chairing a hearing looking at the progress that has been made in implementing the MOBILE NOW Act. We have a great slate of witnesses testifying, including Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, who has driven the implementation of advanced mobile broadband technology in Sioux Falls. The MOBILE NOW Act has helped us make progress toward the deployment of 5G, particularly in identifying licensed spectrum that can be used to support 5G deployment in more rural areas. Hearing Details: Thursday, December 5, 2019 10:00a.m. EST Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet Witness testimony,opening statements, and a live video of the hearingwill be available onwww.commerce.senate.gov.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-supports-usda-efforts-encourage-employment,Johnson Supports USDA Efforts To Encourage Employment,2019-12-04,2019,2019-12,Republican,House,SD,Dusty Johnson,J000301,dustyjohnson.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. Today, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) finalized a rule impacting able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP) benefits. This rule significantly reduces waivers, requiring ABAWDs to enroll in a training program, pursue higher education, or seek employment in order to remain eligible for SNAP benefits. U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations, issued the following statement applauding USDA's announcement: We all know education and work provide dignity and economic opportunity, said Johnson. The stats are clear. Nearly 75 percent of able-bodied SNAP recipients don't work. The unemployment rate is at an all-time low. Simply put, people who can work, should work. I applaud the administration for crafting a rule that supports adults as they transition towards and into employment. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=DCA749B8-B59F-4744-863A-18DF6D4DD438,Shop Small in South Dakota,2019-11-27,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"While I'm sure most people know about the Black Friday shopping event that follows Thanksgiving each year, a relatively new shopping holiday, of sorts, popped up in the last decade that is celebrated annually on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Small Business Saturday was created almost ten years ago to encourage people to shop small and check out their local brick and mortar stores that dot Main Streets across America. In South Dakota, with 99 percent of businesses classified as small businesses, this event is particularly special. There are over 86,000 small businesses in the state that employ over 210,500 employees, collectively. So, when you support small businesses and the hardworking people who make them possible, you also help support the economy of South Dakota. I recognize what these stores, shops, and restaurants mean to our communities.Aside from the economic impact they have on our state, they also help give South Dakota its charm. Almost every city in our state has a Main Street that is home to a number of unique stores, from restaurants to retail. A local downtown coffee shop can serve as a great spot for friends to gather. The town bookstore can be the spot for all generations to share stories and book recommendations. And these are just a few examples. Small businesses are not just Main Street shops, retail stores, and restaurants. Small businesses are also the construction companies that keep our state's communities growing by maintaining our local roads and infrastructure. They're the local dentist, optometrist, and doctor's offices that ensure our small towns have the services they need. They're the local insurance companies and law offices and many other businesses, too numerous to name. Small businesses are what make communities in our state great. Almost two years ago, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, historic tax reform that has helped small businesses expand their operations, increase wages, add new employee benefits, and hire more workers. In addition, the reduction of unnecessary red tape over the last few years has helped create a regulatory environment that continues to allow businesses of all sizes small businesses, in particular to keep thriving. I will continue to look for ways in Congress to ensure our Main Streets remain a prosperous part of our communities, because I know there is always more that can be done. This holiday season, consider supporting your local communities by shopping small. Remember how important these businesses are for our neighbors, friends, and families, and the state of South Dakota.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=728024F8-0709-4759-8C8F-B5923F984399,"Thune to Hold Hearing on 5G Next Week, Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken to Testify",2019-11-26,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, will convene a hearing titled,The Evolution of Next-Generation Technologies: Implementing MOBILE NOW, at10:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, December 5, 2019. The hearing will examine the implementation of several mandates required by the Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless (MOBILE NOW) Act. Witnesses, including Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, will discuss MOBILE NOW's spectrum provisions and the streamlining of broadband infrastructure on federal lands, among other things. Thune is the author of theMOBILE NOW Act, which was signed into law in 2018. Witnesses: The Honorable Paul TenHaken, mayor, City of Sioux Falls, South Dakota Mr. Jonathan Adelstein, president & CEO, Wireless Infrastructure Association Mr. Scott Bergmann, senior vice president of regulatory affairs, CTIAThe Wireless Association Ms. Mary Brown, senior director of technology and spectrum policy, Cisco Ms. Sarah Morris, director, Open Technology Institute, New America *Witness list subject to change Hearing Details: Thursday, December 5, 2019 10:00a.m. EST Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet Witness testimony,opening statements, and a live video of the hearingwill be available onwww.commerce.senate.gov.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/upholding-the-renewable-fuel-standard,Upholding the Renewable Fuel Standard,2019-11-26,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"While working as governor and now as your United States Senator, I’ve fought for South Dakota’s corn and corn ethanol producers to make certain they’re getting a fair deal under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). For over a decade, the RFS has provided the statutory certainty necessary for the corn industry to grow and prosper in the United States. As a result, corn ethanol has become a vital component of our nation’s fuel supply. Many consumers now seek out ethanol blends when they’re at the gas station due to their lower price tag and high octane rating. Just this year, the EPA announced that E-15—a type of fuel that is made up of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline—can now be sold year-round. This has helped South Dakota corn farmers and ethanol producers. The RFS is a program that was created by Congress in 2005. The goal of the RFS is to increase our use of renewable fuels and decrease our dependence on foreign oil. The RFS is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), so it’s the job of the EPA to make sure that 15 billion gallons of ethanol are blended into our nation’s fuel supply annually. The number of gallons required to be blended is based on targets called Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO). However, the RFS has been undermined in recent years due to the EPA issuing a high number of exemptions to small refineries which claim that complying with the RVOs would cause them significant economic hardship. In issuing so many exemptions, the demand for corn and corn ethanol has been reduced, thus impacting farmers’ revenue for the year. I have shared my concerns about small refinery exemptions with EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler on a number of occasions. Midwest farmers are facing low commodity prices, trade instability and extreme weather—they don’t need further headaches from the federal government. During multiple meetings at the White House with President Trump this month, I’ve reiterated the importance of making sure the EPA revises its practices to guarantee that any small refinery exemptions would not reduce the 15 billion gallon requirement for conventional ethanol. The agreement, as originally directed by President Trump, would require the EPA to, prospectively, account for small refinery exemptions by utilizing a three-year rolling average of exemptions granted by the EPA. However, the supplemental proposed rule released by the EPA this fall does not achieve the 15 billion gallon requirement. I have been in contact with the EPA to urge them to change their final rule. The president has told me that he is committed to making sure the EPA follows through on its obligation to blend 15 billion gallons of ethanol into the fuel supply. I’m grateful for the president’s leadership on this issue and it’s time for the EPA to uphold the president’s commitment to corn and ethanol producers. The RFS is an important program for ag states like ours. Using more corn ethanol is a win for our farmers and a win for our planet, since they have a smaller carbon footprint than fossil fuels. I’ll continue monitoring the EPA and speaking with President Trump to make sure the integrity of the RFS is upheld. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/weekly-column/extra-gratitude-at-our-thanksgiving-table-this-year,Extra Gratitude at our Thanksgiving Table This Year,2019-11-22,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"Jean and I wish a very happy Thanksgiving to all South Dakotans. This season provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the blessings we’ve received this year. Like every year, I continue to be thankful for the love and support of my family, as well as the opportunity South Dakotans have given me to represent you in the United States Senate. It’s an honor that I will never take for granted. And of course, none of us would be able to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday if not for the service and sacrifice of those who wear the uniform of the United States of America. We are grateful to every one of them, as well as their families who may not get to spend this holiday season with them. As many of you know, this year has been challenging for our family. Jean was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year after a lump was discovered on her hip, near her sciatic nerve. She has been receiving treatments at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., since this summer. Watching my wife of 41 years fight this horrible disease has been hard, but Jean is tough. She’s fought this disease with the utmost strength and courage. We are grateful for her strong support system across the state, so even when I’m working in Washington, I know she is always surrounded by our kids and grandkids, our extended family and our friends. Words cannot express our gratitude to everyone who has prayed for her recovery. Your prayers have given us strength and hope. During a recent Mayo Clinic visit, I told some of her doctors about how many folks from across the state and even from around the country have reached out to us to say they’re praying for Jean. One of the doctors turned to me and said “We’re just the tools, there is someone else in charge.” So, to everyone who has included Jean and our family in your prayers these past several months, thank you. Your prayers are working. After her most recent visit, where she underwent surgery to remove the remainder of the tumor, her doctors told us they are optimistic about her recovery. She will soon begin radiation treatment, which we are hoping will be the last step before she goes into remission. This Thanksgiving, I’m especially thankful to be able to spend some quality time with Jean and our family. To the families who are going through hardships—whether it be health-related, financial or from other stressors—know that we are thinking about you. As we gather together over a turkey and pumpkin pie, let’s all say a prayer for those who are going through a difficult time this year. I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving with those you love. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=0A53BF16-4333-40C8-8F0B-CF6C566021D3,Tis the Season to Be Thankful,2019-11-21,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"(audio/video available here) Like every Thanksgiving, I'll be home in South Dakota, celebrating with my family: my wife, my daughters, my sons-in-law, and my four soon to be five! grandchildren. I'll be taking on my traditional job of carving the turkey and helping with the dishes afterward. I'm looking forward to a lot of good pie apple pie la mode, pumpkin (with a lot of whipped cream), and my favorite, anything in the cream pie family. I'm also looking forward to spending time outdoors. My daughters and I traditionally go on a trail run on Thanksgiving morning it's a good way to work up an appetite for all that pie and we all enjoy throwing around a football before or after the meal. South Dakotans are pretty resilient when it comes to being out in the cold, and as long as we don't have tons of snow, we like to get outdoors on Thanksgiving. Like many South Dakotans, I also love to squeeze in a little pheasant hunting over Thanksgiving weekend whenever I can. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and I love sitting down with my whole family and extended family and getting to spend time in the outdoors before winter really hits us. Our current celebration of Thanksgiving can be traced to Abraham Lincoln, who issued a proclamation in 1863 inviting a national celebration of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November. In 1941, Congress codified the Thanksgiving holiday and permanently set the date as the fourth Thursday in November. I don't think it's too surprising that the celebration of Thanksgiving is a recurring part of our history. On Thanksgiving in my family, typically we go around the table and say what we're thankful for. And in this country, that's a pretty long list. The tremendous natural riches of this country, from great rivers to magnificent mountains to our wide-open access to the sea. The tremendous freedom we enjoy. In the twenty-first century, freedom of religion, of speech, of the press and other freedoms, like the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, or excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments all of these freedoms that we so often simply take for granted are still unknown to too many people across the world. The United States is not perfect, and we don't always get it right, but we enjoy tremendous blessings in this country, and it's important not to take them for granted. Thanksgiving gives us a chance to pause and reflect on all we've been given. I am grateful to God for so many blessings this year. I am thankful for the great blessing of my family my dad Harold, a World War II naval aviator who will turn 100 next month; my brothers and sister; my wife Kimberley, the best thing in my life; my beautiful daughters and my sons-in-law; and our grandchildren pretty much the most amazing grandkids ever, in my own unbiased opinion. I'm thankful for the great state of South Dakota for our fresh air and wide-open spaces, from the prairies of farm country to the rugged terrain of the Black Hills. South Dakotans are a resilient, kind, and gracious people, and I'm thankful every day that I am lucky enough to call South Dakota home. I'm also tremendously grateful for the work I get to do. Getting to represent South Dakotans in the Senate is one of the great privileges of my life. And while it's been a contentious year with a divided Congress, I've still had the chance to continue to work on important issues affecting people in my state and around the country, like helping our nation's farmers and ranchers in this tough agriculture economy. I'm grateful for the privilege of living in this great country, and I am grateful for all the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to preserve the freedoms we enjoy. Our military men and women represent the very best of America, and I am grateful every day for their service and sacrifice. In that 1863 proclamation of Thanksgiving Day that I mentioned, Abraham Lincoln, referring to the blessings America had experienced even in the midst of the horrors of the Civil War, said, No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. God has blessed us with very great gifts in this country, and it is indeed fit and proper that we should dedicate a day to reverently and gratefully acknowledge them.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-votes-no-on-cr,Rounds Votes No on CR,2019-11-21,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON– U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement after voting “no” on the Continuing Resolution (CR), which funds government operations through December 20, 2019. “Even with an additional two months to work on appropriations bills, Congress has failed again to get its work done – or even show signs of progress. CRs are no way to run a country. They’re wasteful, ineffective, destabilize government programs and could end up hurting South Dakota families. And, they jeopardize our military readiness. Military leaders continue to warn that CRs have a detrimental impact on our ability to train, equip and maintain the force. This should concern us all. “If we’re ever going to stop this reckless practice of not getting our work done on time, we need to send a strong message that enough is enough. The American people expect us to get results, not continue to kick the can down the road.” Rounds previously voted no on a CR for Fiscal Year 2020 that ran through November 21, 2019. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=9F1E69EE-A624-4C57-9823-FB7F1BA707AD,Thune: Senate Confirming Well-Qualified Judges at Record Pace,2019-11-20,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the Senate's latest action on judicial confirmations. With the confirmations of Justices Robert Luck and Barbara Lagoa, the Senate has now confirmed 48 appellate court judges during this administration more appellate court judges than had been confirmed at this point in any of the previous five presidential administrations. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, yesterday we confirmed Robert Luck, a Florida Supreme Court justice, to be a U.S. circuit judge for the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. With Justice Luck's confirmation, the Senate has now confirmed 47 appellate court judges during this administration, and 163 Article III judges overall. That's more appellate court judges than had been confirmed at this point in any of the previous five presidential administrations. And it's a particularly outstanding number when you consider the fact that Democrats have made confirming these judges as difficult as they possibly can. From day one of this administration, Democrats were determined to obstruct anything this president did and his nominations in particular. Again and again and again, they've attempted to block nominees for no other reason than the fact that they were nominated by this president. Democrats have subjected roughly 75 percent of the administration's judicial nominees to the time-consuming cloture process. Compare that to the treatment of President Obama's nominees. At this point in President Obama's administration, roughly 3 percent of his judicial nominees had been subjected to cloture votes. Just 3 percent. And the difference in these numbers is not because this president has nominated scores of supposedly extreme nominees whom Democrats felt they couldn't support. In fact, Democrats have repeatedly turned around and voted for the very same judges they've obstructed. In one particularly egregious example, in January of 2018 Democrats forced the Senate to spend more than a week considering four district court judges even though not one single Democrat voted against their confirmation. These judges could have been confirmed in a matter of minutes by voice vote. But Democrats forced the Senate to spend more than a week on their consideration time that could have been spent on genuinely controversial nominees or on some of the many important issues facing our country. Mr. President, despite Democrats' obstruction, we've continued to move forward, and as I said, yesterday we confirmed our 163rd judge to the federal bench. Today we will confirm our 164th. We're putting judges on the bench with a real respect for the law and the Constitution and a commitment to applying the law as it is written. Now those sound like basic requirements for a judge, Mr. President. But too often, it seems like my Democrat colleagues are interested not in judges who will uphold the law but in judges who will act like super legislators, rewriting the law and the Constitution when they don't fit with Democrats' political opinions. And that's a very dangerous thing. When judges rule based not on what the law actually says but on what they think the law should be, they undermine a fundamental principle of our system of government. Our system is based on a belief in the rule of law. In the American system, the law is supposed to be the final, impartial arbiter. Cases are to be decided based on what the law says, not on what a particular judge feels. Sure, it might seem nice when an activist judge goes outside the meaning of a law and rules for your preferred outcome. But what happens when that same judge reaches beyond the law to your detriment? What protection do you have if the law is no longer the highest authority? Equal treatment under the law, equal justice under law these principles can only be maintained as long as judges actually rule based on the law, and not on their personal feelings or political opinions. Now, Mr. President, my Democrat colleagues have shown a disturbing tendency to believe that their opinions are the only ones that should prevail. They disapproved of the outcome of the last election, and so for three years they have done everything they can to undermine a duly elected president. They're upset by the fact that the president got to replace a perceived swing vote on the Supreme Court, and the solution floated by more than one member of their party was to pack the Supreme Court. For anyone who needs a refresher on an idea that most thought had been consigned to the dust bin of history decades ago, the theory of court-packing is as follows if the Supreme Court is not deciding cases to your liking, add more justices to the court until you start getting the decisions you want. Listen to Democrats question judicial nominees, and it soon becomes apparent that their biggest concern is not finding judges who will uphold the law and the Constitution but judges who will uphold Democrats' political opinions and preferred policy outcomes. It's a disturbing trend, Mr. President. It's natural to want your party to prevail and to believe that your ideas are the best ones for the country. It's another thing entirely to start acting like your opinions are the only ones that should ever prevail, regardless of election outcomes or the wishes of the American people. Mr. President, I'm proud that we're putting judges on the bench who will rule according to the law and the Constitution not their personal opinions, their political beliefs, or the political party of the individuals before their court. I'm proud that we're putting judges on the bench who will help ensure that the rule of law is maintained and that everyone in their courtroom receives the equal protection of the law. And I look forward to confirming more excellent judges in the near future.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-colleagues-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-create-monarch-and-pollinator-highways,"Rounds, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Create Monarch and Pollinator Highways",2019-11-20,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON– U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today joined Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) to introduce new, bipartisan legislation to help states create pollinator-friendly habitats along roads and highways. This legislation would help address the steep decline of pollinator populations, which poses a serious threat to American farmers and the American food supply. “Bees play a vital role in making sure food gets on our table, acting as pollinators for approximately one-third of all agricultural products in the U.S.,” said Rounds. “Our legislation seeks to use innovation and targeted conservation practices to protect and improve bees’ natural habitat so they can continue to provide this essential service and make certain future generations of crops and plants are produced.” Specifically, the Monarch and Pollinator Highway (MPH) Act of 2019 would establish a federal grant program available to state departments of transportation and Indian tribes to carry out pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highway rights-of-way. MPH Act grants could be used for: The planting and seeding of native, locally-appropriate grasses, wildflowers and milkweed; Mowing strategies that promote early successional vegetation and limit disturbance during periods of highest use by target pollinator species; Implementation of an integrated vegetation management approach to address weed and pest issues; Removing nonnative grasses from planting and seeding mixes except for use as nurse or cover crops; or Any other pollinator-friendly practices the Secretary of Transportation determines will be eligible. The bill also requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to help states develop best practices around pollinator-friendly roads and highways. The bill would require DOT to develop and make available to state departments of transportation a prioritization ranking of pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highway rights-of-way, and to provide technical assistance to states that request it. The MPH Act comes as the population of monarch butterflies, honeybees and other pollinators face dangerous declines. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that approximately 35% of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators for survival. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=F9D4E182-068D-409B-B467-5AAB07AD06BB,Thune: Its Time to Get Our Military the Funding It Needs,2019-11-19,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the defense appropriations bill, legislation that ensures our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to defend our country. The bill has been filibustered by Senate Democrats the last two times it was considered on the Senate floor. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, our most fundamental responsibility as members of Congress is to provide for our nation's defense. And a big part of that is ensuring that our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to defend our country. That means, of course, that we have to ensure that our military receives adequate funding to meet today's priorities and prepare for the threats of the future. And it also means that we need to ensure that our military receives timely funding. Our military doesn't just need sufficient funding to cover defense priorities; it also needs to receive that money on time, on a predictable schedule. That means passing the defense appropriations bill before the end of each fiscal year, instead of forcing the military to rely on temporary funding measures that leave the military in doubt about funding levels and unable to start important new projects. Mr. President, right now, we're almost two full months into the 2020 fiscal year. We should have passed the defense appropriations bill by the end of September. But we didn't. Because unfortunately our Democrat colleagues were unable to resist the chance to pick yet another fight with the president. Mr. President, this wasn't supposed to happen. At the end of the summer, congressional leaders of both parties and the president reached an agreement on funding levels for 2020 and 2021. Leaders also agreed on a number of guidelines for appropriations bills, including a ban on poison pills intended to derail appropriations legislation. The idea behind this agreement was to pave the way for the timely passage of appropriations bills and prevent the kind of situation we're in right now almost two months behind on passing defense and other funding. But unfortunately Democrats chose to renege on this agreement. Senate Democrats are currently holding up defense funding by insisting on the type of poison pills they promised to forgo just a few months ago. The leader has attempted to bring up the defense appropriations bill twice, and both times Senate Democrats have filibustered the legislation. It's deeply disappointing, Mr. President. I understand that my Democrat colleagues are looking for any opportunity to pick a fight with the president. But funding for our men and women in uniform should not be subjected to Democrats' partisan whims. Thanks to Democrats, right now our military is operating under a continuing resolution that leaves the military short of the funding it needs for the 2020 fiscal year. That has real consequences. In addition to leaving the military underfunded, a continuing resolution prevents the military from starting key projects that will help ensure our men and women in uniform are prepared to meet the threats of the future. The Pentagon can't start new procurement projects. New research and development initiatives that keep us a step ahead of our adversaries are put on hold. All told, under a continuing resolution, the military's purchasing power is reduced by roughly $5 billion each quarter. To put that in perspective, that's the equivalent of losing out on about 56 Joint Strike Fighter planes, depending on the variant, every three months. That $5 billion the Pentagon is going without is urgently needed funding for critical military priorities. And the longer the Pentagon goes without this funding, the greater the consequences for our military preparedness. Mr. President, playing politics with our national defense is unacceptable. We owe our men and women in uniform timely, reliable, adequate defense funding. And we owe every man, woman, and child in the United States the same thing. The safety of every person in this country depends on the strength of our military. I hope that at least some of my Democrat colleagues will see their way to joining Republicans to get this year's defense appropriations bill to the president's desk. It's time to get our men and women in uniform the funding they need.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-and-thune-join-colleagues-to-call-on-epa-to-provide-clarity-on-biogenic-carbon-emissions,Rounds and Thune Join Colleagues to Call on EPA to Provide Clarity on Biogenic Carbon Emissions,2019-11-19,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON-- U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) today joined a number of their colleagues to send a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler requesting clarity on the regulatory treatment of biogenic carbon emissions produced from feedstocks such as corn and soybeans. This clarity will remove an obstacle to investment in rural America. “Rural communities in our states see the economic and environmental potential that a growing U.S. bioeconomy offers,” wrote the senators. “EPA’s treatment of biogenic carbon emissions from agricultural processing facilities, however, is a significant barrier to that growth. We have concerns that regulatory uncertainty is stalling significant potential investment in rural America. That investment would create jobs and draw resources to create new low-carbon products and materials.” Multiple scientific studies have stated that the carbon dioxide absorbed during growth and photosynthesis by renewable agricultural feedstocks is more or less equal to the carbon dioxide released during the processing, fermentation, or combustion of those same feedstocks within a one-year cycle. In other words, biogenic carbon emissions from such facilities are not contributing to long-term increases in atmospheric greenhouse gasses. In addition to Rounds and Thune, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). Full text of the letter: November 18, 2019 The Honorable Andrew Wheeler Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20460 Dear Administrator Wheeler: We write to urge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide regulatory clarity on the de minimis nature of biogenic carbon emissions generated from the processing of agricultural feedstocks such as corn, soybeans, oilseeds and farm residues. We were encouraged that EPA's Unified Agenda issued in spring 2019 indicated the possibility of a rulemaking on this matter in October 2019. We ask the EPA to act on this significant issue as soon as possible. Rural communities in our states see the economic and environmental potential that a growing U.S. bioeconomy offers. EPA’s treatment of biogenic carbon emissions from agricultural processing facilities, however, is a significant barrier to that growth. We have concerns that regulatory uncertainty is stalling significant potential investment in rural America. That investment would create jobs and draw resources to develop new lower-carbon products and materials, including food products, green chemicals, personal care products, compostable bioplastics, and much more. For almost a decade now, agricultural crop producers and processors have submitted multiple requests to EPA for clarity on the regulatory treatment of biogenic carbon emissions produced by the fermentation, combustion, or other processing of agricultural crops. Multiple scientific studies have stated that the carbon dioxide absorbed during growth and photosynthesis by renewable agricultural feedstocks, such as corn, soybeans, and oilseeds, and the carbon dioxide released during the processing, fermentation or combustion of those same feedstocks is more or less equal within a one-year cycle. This means biogenic carbon emissions from such facilities are not contributing to long-term increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Though EPA has made similar statements about the one-year life cycle of biogenic carbon emissions, the Agency has not proposed a de minimis standard nor has the Agency taken action to clarify the treatment of biogenic carbon emissions in the context of the Clean Air Act. It is critical that rural Americans have the ability to tap into new growth opportunities when prospects in traditional markets are uncertain or declining. Our states are ready and able to use our food and agriculture strengths to provide the nation and the world with an abundance of crop-derived consumer products and materials, as well as renewable biomass. But federal policy is deterring investment in innovation and infrastructure. As a comparison, in 2015, the European Union’s bioeconomy added over €620 billion ($688 billion USD) of value to their broader economy. In 2016, the U.S. bioeconomy was valued at $459 billion. This is EPA’s opportunity to clear a pathway for our rural communities to advance both economically and environmentally. We encourage the EPA to provide clarity on the de minimis nature of biogenic carbon emissions, and would appreciate an update on policy options the EPA is considering to address this issue. Additionally, we would like to know how the EPA is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture or other agencies, and an anticipated timeline for action on the issue. We would appreciate an update on these items by December 1, 2019. We thank you for your attention and look forward to hearing about progress towards regulatory clarity on biogenic carbon emissions. Sincerely, ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-respect-act-passes-senate-with-unanimous-support,Rounds’ RESPECT Act Passes Senate With Unanimous Support,2019-11-19,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) made the following statement after legislation he introduced, the Repealing Existing Substandard Provisions Encouraging Conciliation with Tribes (RESPECT) Act, passed the Senate unanimously: “My colleagues in the Senate took a great first step toward righting the wrongs that have been done to Native Americans throughout our history,” said Rounds. “Our RESPECT Act will repeal a number of immoral, racist federal laws related to the treatment of Native Americans. While these outdated laws may no longer be enforced, they still take an emotional toll on our Native American neighbors today. There is no reason for them to be part of our federal code, and once our bill is enacted, they no longer will be. I thank Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and James Lankford for joining me in introducing the RESPECT Act this Congress.” Rounds’ RESPECT Act first passed the Senate in 2017, but it was unable to pass the House due to time constraints on their legislative calendar. This year, Rounds was joined by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) to introduce the RESPECT Act in the Senate. Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Reps. Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.), Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.). The legislation now awaits action in the House before it can be signed into law by President Trump. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/with-funding-deadline-approaching-senators-rounds-king-lead-effort-to-support-seasonal-businesses,"With Funding Deadline Approaching, Senators Rounds, King Lead Effort to Support Seasonal Businesses",2019-11-19,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Angus King (I-Maine) led a bipartisan group of 30 colleagues in sending a letter to Senate leadership urging them to provide H-2B visa cap relief for seasonal employers in any funding agreement. In the letter, the senators stress that there are not enough U.S. workers qualified and available to meet the seasonal demand for employment – and that these seasonal positions support the jobs of thousands of American citizens. “The shortage of U.S. workers during the last several years has demonstrated that without needed guest workers, seasonal businesses are simply unable to meet their staffing needs. They have been forced to limit hours of operation, turn away customers, scale back service, and cancel capital equipment purchases,” wrote the senators. “In some cases, businesses were forced to lay off Americans whose jobs are supported by H-2B workers—or shut down their operations entirely. Seasonal businesses need meaningful and lasting cap relief so they can continue to contribute to the economy and create full-time, year-round work for Americans. According to the American Enterprise Institute, every H-2B worker is estimated to create and sustain 4.64 American jobs. “In a strong economy with record-low unemployment, the H-2B program’s congressionally mandated cap of 66,000 visas is inadequate to meet the labor needs of seasonal businesses. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) continues to report that the number of job openings actually exceeds the labor pool. Meaningful cap relief is needed to allow our seasonal businesses to supplement their workforce in the growing number of instances when Americans are not available to fill temporary positions.” In addition to Senators King and Rounds, the letter is signed by U.S. Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.). Full text of the letter: Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer, Chairman Shelby and Vice Chairman Leahy: On behalf of the seasonal employers in our states, we urge you to include H-2B cap relief in a final Fiscal 2020 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill, omnibus appropriations bill or continuing resolution. Without cap relief, many employers and their domestic workforce will continue to suffer drastic economic hardship during their peak seasonal need. The shortage of U.S. workers during the last several years has demonstrated that without needed guest workers, seasonal businesses are simply unable to meet their staffing needs. They have been forced to limit hours of operation, turn away customers, scale back service, and cancel capital equipment purchases. In some cases, businesses were forced to lay off Americans whose jobs are supported by H-2B workers—or shut down their operations entirely. Seasonal businesses need meaningful and lasting cap relief so they can continue to contribute to the economy and create full-time, year-round work for Americans. According to the American Enterprise Institute, every H-2B worker is estimated to create and sustain 4.64 American jobs. In a strong economy with record-low unemployment, the H-2B program’s congressionally mandated cap of 66,000 visas is inadequate to meet the labor needs of seasonal businesses. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) continues to report that the number of job openings actually exceeds the labor pool. Meaningful cap relief is needed to allow our seasonal businesses to supplement their workforce in the growing number of instances when Americans are not available to fill temporary positions. For context, the FY 2019 first-half cap of 33,000 H-2B workers was met on December 11, 2018. The 33,000 second-half cap was met on February 22, 2019. During Fiscal 2019, DOL certified the need for 150,465 H-2B workers. DOL only issues final labor certifications when it concludes that: There are not sufficient U.S. workers who are qualified and who will be available to perform the temporary services or labor for which an employer desires to hire foreign workers; and The employment of H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. On May 8, DHS, in consultation with DOL, released an additional 30,000 visas for returning workers under the discretionary authority provided to it by the Fiscal 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act. In order to apply for these visas, employers needed to attest to the “irreparable harm,” or permanent and severe financial losses, that would occur without H-2B workers. While many employers were able to apply for additional H-2B workers under these supplemental visas, they still suffered harmful consequences due to the fact that these workers were needed April 1st and did not arrive well into their peak seasons. Some businesses were not able to access the total number of workers needed due to DHS’ requirement that these supplemental visas be limited to returning H-2B workers. Based on current DOL processing statistics we expect the need for seasonal H-2B workers to be the same or greater than Fiscal 2019. We must ensure that businesses that play by the rules are able to access the workforce they need, while also maintaining standards for wages and working conditions. For the H-2B program to be successful, there must be robust enforcement of regulations governing the program so that only those seasonal American businesses that follow the rules have access to the program. We stand ready to work together on important permanent changes to the program going forward, and we urge you to include much-needed cap relief and a returning-worker provision in the FY 2020 DHS Appropriations bill, a continuing resolution or other spending bill. We thank you for your immediate attention to this issue. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=8EEAFACF-127D-4BAD-B07A-80AFF65F90BF,"Wicker, Thune Introduce 5G Spectrum Act",2019-11-18,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON Today, U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,and John Thune, R-S.D., chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, introduced the 5G Spectrum Act. This legislation would ensure mid-band spectrum is quickly available in the market by requiring a transparent and competitive public auctioning process. The bill specifically would require that at least 50 percent of the value of auction revenues be reserved for the American people. After years of delay, this legislation would get crucial mid-band spectrum into the market to benefit the American people and secure our position as the leaders in the race to 5G, said Wicker. Senator Thune and I have been working together for over a year to come up with the best way to expand access to 5G, especially in rural areas, andsecure value for all Americans.I look forward tocontinuing to workwith him as we get this legislation over the finish line. This legislation, which is a win-win for taxpayers, would quickly free up much-needed spectrum the airwaves over which digital information flows and, as a result, put more money back in the U.S. Treasury, said Thune. I have long supported efforts to make additional mid-band spectrum available for commercial 5G use so we can lead the world in the 5G revolution. More spectrum means more opportunities for American entrepreneurs and consumers, especially those in rural America, to innovate and access better and more efficient information and technology. The 5G Spectrum Act would: Provide the coverage and capacity essential for deployment in America's rural communities. Require the FCC to conduct a public auction of C band spectrum. Require the auction to start no later than December 31, 2020. Require the FCC to make availableat least280 MHz of spectrum. Require the FCC to capture for the taxpayerat least50 percent of the fair market value of the spectrum. To read the full bill, click here.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=E64AD361-D4D7-45F6-85C5-09F1A52D844F,Delegation Applauds Administrations Decision to Grant Disaster Declaration For Southeast South Dakota Following September Flooding and Tornadoes,2019-11-18,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today applauded the Trump administration for approving a major disaster declaration for several South Dakota counties, including Aurora, Brookings, Brule, Charles Mix, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hanson, Hutchinson, Kingsbury, Lake, Lincoln, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Sanborn, Turner, Union, and Yankton, and the Yankton Indian Reservation and Flandreau Santee Indian Reservation following severe flooding and tornadoes from September 9-26. On October 30, 2019, the delegation wrote to the president in support of Gov. Kristi Noem's (R-S.D.) request. This is the fourth disaster declaration the president has approved for South Dakota this year alone. South Dakota has been hit with far more than its share of severe weather and flooding this year, said Thune. I'm glad the administration has been supportive of our state through these important disaster requests so communities across our state can quickly begin rebuilding and regain peace of mind. Mother nature has taken its toll on our state this year, said Rounds. Ithank President Trump for once again recognizing the need to provide disaster assistance to South Dakota communities impacted by recent storms. This will help communities and families across the state rebuild critical infrastructure, homes and businesses that were severely damaged. South Dakotans have been hit with tough weather over and over again, said Johnson. I appreciate Governor Noem and the administration's swift efforts to provide disaster relief to our communities hit the hardest. This disaster declaration will provide much needed relief ahead of the holidays.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/delegation-applauds-administration-s-decision-grant-disaster-declaration,Delegation Applauds Administrations Decision to Grant Disaster Declaration For Southeast South Dakota Following September Flooding and Tornadoes,2019-11-18,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,Dusty Johnson,J000301,dustyjohnson.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today applauded the Trump administration for approving a major disaster declaration for several South Dakota counties, including Aurora, Brookings, Brule, Charles Mix, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hanson, Hutchinson, Kingsbury, Lake, Lincoln, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Sanborn, Turner, Union, and Yankton, and the Yankton Indian Reservation and Flandreau Santee Indian Reservation following severe flooding and tornadoes from September 9-26. On October 30, 2019, the delegation wrote to the president in support of Gov. Kristi Noem's (R-S.D.) request. This is the fourth disaster declaration the president has approved for South Dakota this year alone. South Dakota has been hit with far more than its share of severe weather and flooding this year, said Thune. I'm glad the administration has been supportive of our state through these important disaster requests so communities across our state can quickly begin rebuilding and regain peace of mind. Mother nature has taken its toll on our state this year, said Rounds. Ithank President Trump for once again recognizing the need to provide disaster assistance to South Dakota communities impacted by recent storms. This will help communities and families across the state rebuild critical infrastructure, homes and businesses that were severely damaged. South Dakotans have been hit with tough weather over and over again, said Johnson. I appreciate Governor Noem and the administration's swift efforts to provide disaster relief to our communities hit the hardest. This disaster declaration will provide much needed relief ahead of the holidays.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-murphy-and-roe-introduce-worker-s-choice-act,"Johnson, Murphy, and Roe Introduce Workers Choice Act",2019-11-18,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,Dusty Johnson,J000301,dustyjohnson.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), and Dr. Phil Roe (R-TN) today introduced the Worker's Choice Act, which would amend the National Labor Relations Act to empower employees in a unionized workplace to independently negotiate their employment terms with their employer. In Right-to-Work states like South Dakota, North Carolina, and Tennessee, an employee who opts-out of union participation is still subject to the collectively bargained employment terms negotiated by the union. The National Labor Relations Act provides unions with exclusive bargaining power, but under the Worker's Choice Act, workers will not be forced to have unions represent their interests and dictate employment terms. The Worker's Choice Act is supported by Heritage Action, FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, Institute for the American Worker, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Center for Worker Freedom, Americans for Tax Reform, and Club for Growth. Employees deserve their own negotiating power, said Johnson. The Worker's Choice Act allows American workers in union shops to set their own terms with their boss, the employer. Ending exclusive representation would be a huge victory for workers' freedom. Jobs today are more unique, and many workers want more flexibility and opportunity than rigid union-negotiated contracts provide, said Murphy. Ending this relic of the past would free unions from having to represent non-dues paying members and it would free workers to choose their own method of negotiationsincluding one that does not force them into employment contracts that don't represent what they want and need. With the rapid growth of the U.S.economy, and more job openings than job seekers, workers are benefiting like never before,said Congressman Roe. I am proud to join my friend and colleague Congressman Dusty Johnson in supporting this commonsense piece of legislation to help empower workers to choose their workplace representation and to earn higher wages. Heritage Action: The Worker's Choice Act would finally allow workers the freedom to negotiate their own contracts, salaries, and working conditions. For too long, union bosses have held a monopoly over negotiations on the behalf of workers, even in states where workers are free to leave their union contracts. Heritage Action applauds Rep. Johnson for working to empower workers with more choice and more freedom in the workplace. Americans for Prosperity - SD State Director Don Haggar: Workers should have power over their paychecks and be free to choose who speaks for them in the workplace. We applaud Representative Dusty Johnson for taking on this important issue by introducing the Worker's Choice Act, legislation that would end the restrictive practice of exclusive representation, and in doing so, expand worker freedom. By allowing workers to opt out of monopoly union representation, even unions benefit by no longer having to commit resources towards those who don't want their representation in the first place. With Workers Choice, workers can stand up for themselves. Americans for Tax Reform: Today, American workers in the private sector who choose not to join and support a union are still represented by that union. This gives the unions tremendous power over these non-union member workers, effectively forcing many workers to join a union. Congressman Dusty Johnson's Worker's Choice Act would allow these private sector workers the opportunity to represent themselves, giving workers the true freedom to decide whether or not to join and support a union. Americans for Tax Reform strongly supports this legislation. FreedomWorks: Freedom of association is one of the cornerstonesof American liberty. This is no exception in the workplace. Rep. Johnson's bill would free workers to negotiate independently of unions and ensure they don't have to pay union dues. On the other hand, unions would no longer be forced to negotiate terms for workers who don't contribute to them. It is a win-win for those involved, and we appreciate the innovative problem solving that the Worker's Choice Act employs. Center for Worker Freedom: The Center for Worker Freedom strongly supports Representative Dusty Johnson's Worker's Choice Act because the legislation would restore the First Amendment rights of private sector workers. American workers should have the choice of whether to accept union representation or not. Competitive Enterprise Institute: The Worker's Choice Act is a commonsense bill that Democrats and Republicans should both embrace. Workers should not be forced to have a union speak on their behalf or work under a union contract against their will. The bill fixes this injustice by allowing workers to represent themselves and negotiate their own work terms directly with their employer. It is time to stop forcing union representation on workers and instead give individuals the freedom to choose how they are represented at the workplace. F. Vincent Vernuccio, Senior Fellow at the Mackinac Center and President of Institute for the American Worker: Representative Johnson's bill creates a fairer system for everyone. Worker's Choice gives employees the ability to say no thanks to unwanted representation and unions the ability to say goodbye to workers that do not want to pay dues. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/delegation-applauds-administrations-decision-to-grant-disaster-declaration-for-southeast-south-dakota-following-september-flooding-and-tornadoes,Delegation Applauds Administration’s Decision to Grant Disaster Declaration For Southeast South Dakota Following September Flooding and Tornadoes,2019-11-18,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today applauded the Trump administration for approving a major disaster declaration for several South Dakota counties, including Aurora, Brookings, Brule, Charles Mix, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hanson, Hutchinson, Kingsbury, Lake, Lincoln, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Sanborn, Turner, Union, and Yankton, and the Yankton Indian Reservation and Flandreau Santee Indian Reservation following severe flooding and tornadoes from September 9-26. On October 30, 2019, the delegation wrote to the president in support of Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R-S.D.) request. This is the fourth disaster declaration the president has approved for South Dakota this year alone. “Mother nature has taken its toll on our state this year,” said Rounds. “I thank President Trump for once again recognizing the need to provide disaster assistance to South Dakota communities impacted by recent storms. This will help communities and families across the state rebuild critical infrastructure, homes and businesses that were severely damaged.” “South Dakota has been hit with far more than its share of severe weather and flooding this year,” said Thune. “I’m glad the administration has been supportive of our state through these important disaster requests so communities across our state can quickly begin rebuilding and regain peace of mind.” “South Dakotans have been hit with tough weather over and over again,” said Johnson. “I appreciate Governor Noem and the administration’s swift efforts to provide disaster relief to our communities hit the hardest. This disaster declaration will provide much needed relief ahead of the holidays.”",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=EA96DFFF-D82D-45C3-9271-F3AD9E81C074,The Work Goes On,2019-11-15,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"When I served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, we had a four-year track record of bipartisanship and a reputation for getting things done. I'm proud of what we accomplished, including helping to lay the groundwork for the 5G mobile broadband revolution, enhancing Ellsworth Air Force Base's strategic value, combatting human trafficking, improving weather forecasting, and working toward ending those illegal and abusive robocalls we all hate receiving. While I now serve as chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, I'm still the senior Republican member on the full committee, and I'm glad our members have not only maintained the panel's productive workload under the new chairman, but we have also continued to make progress on many of the issues we started working on years ago. For example, at our most recent committee markup, which is a formal committee process to consider legislation and presidential appointments, we sent more than two dozen bills and nominees to the Senate floor. Many of the bills we recently considered were bipartisan, and all of them were approved by voice vote, which means there was strong enough support for each of the measures to move without a single roll call vote something that only happens when there's little or no disagreement among senators. Three of the bills heading to the full Senate have my name attached to them, including my Learning Excellence and Good Examples from New Developers (LEGEND) Act, which I introduced in October with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). This legislation essentially recognizes that there are a lot of smart and talented people who work at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and we should make their innovative weather models available to other smart and talented people who don't work for the government so we can make NOAA's good ideas even better. Accurate weather forecasting is important for a lot of reasons, from safety to knowing when to put seeds in the ground. We should make these tools as efficient as possible, which is why I believe in my bill's collaborative approach that builds off my previous work toward improving weather forecasting in South Dakota and throughout the United States. The Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement Act, which, among other things, would help ensure Americans are receiving important emergency alerts on mobile phones and other devices, and the Harvesting American Cybersecurity Knowledge through Education Act, which would build on the important work being done by South Dakota universities to strengthen America's cybersecurity workforce, were also overwhelmingly approved. I'm proud to cosponsor these bipartisan bills, and I look forward to sending them and the LEGEND Act to the president without delay. With today's 24-hour news cycle, a lot of the good work being done in Senate committees and by the Senate as a whole is unlikely to make the top of the evening news or the front page of the daily newspaper. It can be frustrating at times, especially when we've got good things to show for our work, but count me as one who is undeterred. The work goes on, and I'm committed to seeing it through, as always.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=15F07626-0CFC-419A-BE72-BEB5F10D26AB,Midwest Senators Renew RFS Recommendations to President Trump,2019-11-15,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) today renewed their recommendations to President Trump with respect to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) supplemental rule. The letter, which enclosed their initial comments to EPA, urges the administration to take corrective action in its RFS rulemaking to uphold the agreement reached between President Trump and Midwest senators on September 12, 2019. This supplemental rulemaking is an opportunity to definitively restore integrity to the RFS, provide certainty for American agriculture, and further bolster our energy independence, the senators wrote.We are confident that reverting to the agreed upon framework to account for actual waived gallons will deliver on your agenda to support thousands of agriculture jobs throughout the Midwest and nation. Full text of the letter is below: Dear President Trump: We write to thank you for your continued commitment to America's farmers and resolve to see that integrity is restored to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).Your work to finalize the year-round sale of E15 was a milestone victory for American consumers and agriculture stakeholders alike.However, as you well know, this progress will be erased unless the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) begins to account for small refinery waivers (SREs) when setting future blending obligations. The September 12, 2019, meeting you convened in the Oval Office resulted in a restorative framework for EPA to incorporate in a supplemental rule.Your meeting, which was attended by Vice President Pence, Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler participating by phone, arrived at a multi-point roadmap for getting the RFS back on track.The reforms were built on a foundation of ensuring that at least 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuel are blended, accounting for waivers by using a three-year rolling average of actual volumes waived by SREs. The framework would also reduce barriers to market, such as burdensome labeling requirements and fuel pump limitations, as well as coordinate infrastructure investment. Unfortunately, as you can see in our enclosed comments responding to the proposed supplemental rule, we interpret EPA's action to fall far short of what was agreed to in the Oval Office.This assessment is shared by ethanol, biodiesel, and other agriculture stakeholders across the heartland and is confirmed by leading market indicators. EPA's proposal would only account for gallons waived per the recommendation of the Department of Energy (DOE).Under the previous leadership of former Administrator Scott Pruitt and continued by Administrator Wheeler, EPA has issued SREs far beyond the annual recommendations of DOE.If this waiver regime is continued and the supplemental rule is not changed to reflect the agreement made around the Resolute Desk on September 12, not all SREs will be accounted for, meaning our stakeholders and rural communities will continue to suffer compounded economic harm, biofuel plant closure, and lost commodity demand.We urge the administration to take the corrective action necessary to produce a final supplemental rule that will account for all SREs. This supplemental rulemaking is an opportunity to definitively restore integrity to the RFS, provide certainty for American agriculture, and further bolster our energy independence.We are confident that reverting to the agreed upon framework to account for actual waived gallons will deliver on your agenda to support thousands of agriculture jobs throughout the Midwest and nation. Thank you for your continued attention to this matter and determination to resolve these longstanding obstacles for American agriculture. Sincerely,",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=181E4FC0-ABFE-46CB-ABDA-74A6D9A9C167,Thune Recognizes Angels in Adoption Award Winners From Sioux Falls,2019-11-15,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today acknowledged National Adoption Month and discussed the important role adoption plays in the United States. Thune also recognized the Mike and Kim Adams family, Sioux Falls residents whom he nominated earlier this year for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute's Angels in Adoption Award. Thune met with the Adams family earlier today in Washington, D.C. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, November is National Adoption Month, and later this morning I'll be spending time with the family I nominated to receive an Angels in Adoption award this year. The Angels in Adoption Program is designed to bring recognition to individuals and organizations who are, in the words of the program, making extraordinary contributions to adoption, permanency, and child welfare. Angels in Adoption is a program of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, and each year members of Congress are invited to nominate an individual or family to receive an Angels in Adoption award. I've been making these nominations for more than a decade now. And it has been a privilege and an inspiration to meet South Dakota families who have opened their hearts and homes to children in need. This year, I nominated Mike and Kim Adams, fellow residents of Sioux Falls. Mike and Kim have a tremendous heart for children. They have five biological children, but as they learned more about the plight of children in poverty, they were drawn to adoption. God put the country of Ethiopia on their hearts in a particular way, and in 2008, they adopted a daughter from Ethiopia, Eva. Within a few years, they had adopted three more children Selena and Amanuel, from Ethiopia, and Shakira, from Uganda making them a family of 11. But the story doesn't end there. Seeing the poorest of the poor in Ethiopia deeply moved them, and in addition to adoption they sought ways to help communities stuck in poverty. The needs of children were particularly close to their hearts, and in 2013 Mike and Kim agreed to take over two schools in Ethiopia when the agency running them was forced to pull out of the country. The Adams formed the Adams Thermal Foundation to support the schools. Today the foundation supports more than 1,000 students in two schools in Ethiopia. The schools' mission is to serve children most in need, those who might otherwise miss out on the opportunity for an education. In addition to academic instruction, the schools provide other resources in an effort to alleviate some of the effects of poverty and make it easier for the children to stay in school. To name one example, at the end of last year the foundation completed a project to provide a permanent source of clean water to its school in Ottoro, Ethiopia, as well as to seven local villages. In addition to providing essential health and sanitation benefits, the new pipeline also frees children from the hours-long task of fetching water for their families, meaning that more children can attend school. Mr. President, in learning Mike and Kim's story I was struck by how love multiplies and expands. Mike and Kim's willingness to open their hearts has led not only to four children finding a forever home, but to hope and opportunity for hundreds more. I feel privileged to have learned their story and to be able to nominate them for an Angels in Adoption Award this year. Mr. President, National Adoption Month is a chance to honor all those who, like the Adams, have chosen to welcome a child in need of a home. Sadly, not every child is born into a safe and loving home. Some are born to parents who are unable to take care of them. Some lose their parents to war, or accident, or illness. And tragically, some are born to parents who refuse to take care of them or actively seek to damage the great gift in their care. But thankfully, there are parents out there eager to receive these children. Across our country, there are countless parents whose homes and hearts are already prepared to welcome a child in need. They may not yet know the names of their future sons or daughters, but they're ready and waiting to meet them. National Adoption Month is a good time to rededicate ourselves to caring for children in need and helping them find loving families to receive them. Mr. President, in the gospel of Mark, Jesus says, Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. There are few actions more worthy of admiration than a decision to welcome a child in need and create for that child a secure and loving home. I am so grateful for all the generous families around this country who have opened their hearts and found sons and daughters through adoption. I am also thankful for all of the birth mothers who have chosen adoption for their children to give them a better life in a loving family. And I'm honored to be able to recognize the Adams family today for their embrace of their own adopted children as well as everything they've done to make life better for children in Ethiopia.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=D21E5933-C79C-49EE-B5C2-D74DD3E3D841,House & Senate Announce Agreement on Anti-Robocall Bill,2019-11-15,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. Today, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet Chairman John Thune (R-SD), Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR), Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA), and Ranking Member Bob Latta (R-OH) announced that they have come to an agreement in principle on legislation, the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act, to combat the robocall epidemic: Today, we are proud to announce that we have come to an agreement in principle on legislation, the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act, to combat the robocall epidemic that we believe can be signed into law by the President, the six House and Senate leaders said. It's time to put Americans back in charge of their phones. Our agreement will require telephone carriers to verify calls and allow robocalls to be blocked in a consistent and transparent way, all at no extra charge to consumers. The agreement also gives the FCC and law enforcement the ability to quickly go after scammers. We look forward to finalizing the bill text in the coming days. In May, the Senate passed the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act by a vote of 97-1. In July, the House of Representatives passed the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act by a vote of 429-3. The bills will be merged and reconciled as part of the agreement in principle.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/midwest-senators-renew-rfs-recommendations-to-president-trump-,Midwest Senators Renew RFS Recommendations to President Trump,2019-11-15,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) today renewed their recommendations to President Trump with respect to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) supplemental rule. The letter, which enclosed their initial comments to EPA, urges the administration to take corrective action in its RFS rulemaking to uphold the agreement reached between President Trump and Midwest senators on September 12, 2019. “This supplemental rulemaking is an opportunity to definitively restore integrity to the RFS, provide certainty for American agriculture and further bolster our energy independence,” the senators wrote. “We are confident that reverting to the agreed upon framework to account for actual waived gallons will deliver on your agenda to support thousands of agriculture jobs throughout the Midwest and nation.” Full text of the letter is below: Dear President Trump: We write to thank you for your continued commitment to America’s farmers and resolve to see that integrity is restored to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Your work to finalize the year-round sale of E15 was a milestone victory for American consumers and agriculture stakeholders alike. However, as you well know, this progress will be erased unless the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) begins to account for small refinery waivers (SREs) when setting future blending obligations. The September 12, 2019, meeting you convened in the Oval Office resulted in a restorative framework for EPA to incorporate in a supplemental rule. Your meeting, which was attended by Vice President Pence, Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler participating by phone, arrived at a multi-point roadmap for getting the RFS back on track. The reforms were built on a foundation of ensuring that at least 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuel are blended, accounting for waivers by using a three-year rolling average of actual volumes waived by SREs. The framework would also reduce barriers to market, such as burdensome labeling requirements and fuel pump limitations, as well as coordinate infrastructure investment. Unfortunately, as you can see in our enclosed comments responding to the proposed supplemental rule, we interpret EPA’s action to fall far short of what was agreed to in the Oval Office. This assessment is shared by ethanol, biodiesel, and other agriculture stakeholders across the heartland and is confirmed by leading market indicators. EPA’s proposal would only account for gallons waived per the recommendation of the Department of Energy (DOE). Under the previous leadership of former Administrator Scott Pruitt and continued by Administrator Wheeler, EPA has issued SREs far beyond the annual recommendations of DOE. If this waiver regime is continued and the supplemental rule is not changed to reflect the agreement made around the Resolute Desk on September 12, not all SREs will be accounted for, meaning our stakeholders and rural communities will continue to suffer compounded economic harm, biofuel plant closure, and lost commodity demand. We urge the administration to take the corrective action necessary to produce a final supplemental rule that will account for all SREs. This supplemental rulemaking is an opportunity to definitively restore integrity to the RFS, provide certainty for American agriculture, and further bolster our energy independence. We are confident that reverting to the agreed upon framework to account for actual waived gallons will deliver on your agenda to support thousands of agriculture jobs throughout the Midwest and nation. Thank you for your continued attention to this matter and determination to resolve these longstanding obstacles for American agriculture. Sincerely,",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/weekly-column/south-dakota-families-honored-during-national-adoption-month,South Dakota Families Honored During National Adoption Month,2019-11-15,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"The month of November is recognized as National Adoption Month, a time to raise awareness of children in need of a permanent, loving home. Opening one’s home to a child in need of a loving family and secure environment is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give. And as many adoptive families have told me, they too feel blessed to have their kids. The countless South Dakota families who have chosen adoption continue to be an inspiration to us all. Take the O’Connor family from Rapid City for example. Earlier this year, I nominated Sean and Caresa O’Connor for the Angels in Adoption award presented by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. This award shines a light on loving families who have welcomed children in need of a permanent home. Sean and Caresa adopted two children, RJ and Winnie. They and their three other children, Libby, Maggie and Finn, have made a home for these two new members of the family. It was an honor to nominate the O’Connors for the Angels in Adoption award this year. If you’re a regular reader of our weekly columns, you may remember that we featured the O’Connor family in an August column after I nominated them for the award. Caresa and Sean first looked into adoption when their daughter Libby, who was then in high school, suggested to her mom that there was another child out there who was meant to be in their family. After contacting an adoption attorney, the O’Connors were notified three weeks later that they’d be able to adopt their daughter Winnie. A short time later, they decided to adopt RJ, so Winnie could have a sibling closer to her age. As Caresa told us at the time, God matches you with the child who is meant to join your family. The entire O’Connor family recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to be recognized for receiving the Angels in Adoption award. While I was with Jean during her most recent round of cancer treatment, staff met with the O’Connors in my Washington office to hear their story firsthand and celebrate their unwavering bond. They were also joined by Mike and Kim Adams, and their children Malia, Mason, Josiah, Amanuel, Eva, Selena and Shakira, who were nominated for the award by Sen. John Thune. More than 100,000 children and teens are awaiting adoption in the United States. Having the stability of a permanent family can make a big impact on the lives of young people. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, teens who age out of foster care without permanent family connections are at a higher risk for homelessness and human trafficking. All children deserve a family, and I encourage anyone considering adoption to talk to others who have gone through the adoption process. If you’d like to speak with someone about adoption, Bethany Christian Services has offices in Rapid City and Sioux Falls. Additionally, the Administration for Children and Families can provide some resources for adoptive and foster parents. Contact information can be found on their website, www.acf.hhs.gov. I’m inspired by all those who choose to create their families or add to their families through adoption. This National Adoption Month, I thank adoptive parents and foster parents for providing a safe, welcoming place for kids to grow up. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=55A86A4E-C659-46A4-9075-F07F33DF44D9,Several Thune-Supported Bills Head to Full Senate,2019-11-13,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today applauded the committee's passage of the Learning Excellence and Good Examples from New Developers (LEGEND) Act, Harvesting American Cybersecurity Knowledge through Education (HACKED) Act, and the Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement (READI) Act, all bills he's either sponsored orcosponsored. These bipartisan bills now head to the Senate floor for consideration. Today's executive session proves that my colleagues in the Senate can continue to get work done for the American people in a bipartisan manner, said Thune. My LEGEND Act will improve forecasting capabilities and will benefit farmers and producers, not only in my home state, but across the country, and the READI Act will make necessary improvements to the nation's emergency alert system. I'm thankful for Sen. Schatz's partnership on these important bills, both of which unanimously passed the committee today. I'd also like to thank both Sens. Wicker and Klobuchar for their help in strengthening the HACKED Act, legislation that would ensure we have the necessary cybersecurity workforce to combat any potential threats in today's internet and digital economy. Thune introduced the LEGEND Act last month with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). This legislation would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to make certain operational models publicly available and utilize any innovations to improve the models that are developed as a result of public collaboration. The READI Act, which Thune cosponsored with Schatz last month, would ensure more people receive relevant emergency alerts on their mobile phones, televisions, and radios, explore new ways of alerting the public through online video and audio streaming services, track and study false alerts when they occur, and improve the way states plan for emergency alerts. Thune joined Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) in introducing the HACKED Act last week. This legislation would build on the important work being done by South Dakota universities to strengthen America's cybersecurity workforce by bolstering existing science education and cybersecurity programs within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of Transportation. The HACKED Act includes Thune's amendment to establish a cybersecurity exchange program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, incorporating one aspect of Thune's and Sen. Amy Klobuchar's (D-Minn.) Cyber Security Exchange Act.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=B3657962-9692-40EB-BCCB-5C17D35F8D4D,Thune: Americans Have Waited Long Enough for USMCA,2019-11-13,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today called on House Democrats to bring up and pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). It has been 13 months since the administration concluded USMCA negotiations, but instead of passing this legislation that would bring real relief to American workers, Democrats are prioritizing partisan politics. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, it's now been 13 months since the administration concluded negotiations on the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. 13 months of uncertainty for U.S. farmers and ranchers, manufacturers, small businesses, digital firms, financial institutions, and many others. 13 months of wondering what the rules of the road on trade are going to look like going forward. Mr. President, we should have passed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement months ago. Republicans in the Senate have been ready to take up this agreement for a long time. But trade agreements have to be considered by the House of Representatives first. And the House of Representatives is controlled by the Democrat Party, which is far more interested in partisan pursuits than in actually doing any meaningful legislating. While House Democrats are happy to consider far-left messaging bills that have no chance of going anywhere, they have no interest in working with Republicans to actually get something signed into law. Why? Democrats have convinced themselves that partisan posturing is more important than securing a bipartisan legislative victory, like a strong new trade deal that will benefit the American economy. And so they're currently opposing a trade agreement that would benefit millions of American workers. Mr. President, let's be very clear Democrats' decision to prioritize partisan politics is having real consequences for the American people. Right now, the members of our military are unable to fund new priorities because Senate Democrats are blocking consideration of defense appropriations. Farmers and ranchers in my home state of South Dakota and around the country are struggling, but House Democrats refuse to move forward on a trade deal the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that would bring them relief. Mr. President, thanks to low commodity and livestock prices, natural disasters, and protracted trade disputes, farmers and ranchers have had a tough few years. And one of the biggest things we can do to help them is to take action on trade. Our nation's farmers and ranchers depend on trade. When I talk to farmers and ranchers at home in South Dakota, they emphasize that the most important thing Washington can do to boost our agriculture economy is to take action on trade agreements. Farmers and ranchers need access to new and expanded markets for their products. And just as importantly, they need certainty about what international markets are going to look like going forward. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement would help meet those needs. It would preserve and expand farmers' access to two critical export markets, and it would give farmers certainty about what these markets will look like long-term. I'm particularly pleased with the improvements the agreement makes for U.S. dairy producers. South Dakota has experienced a major dairy expansion over the past few years, and this agreement will benefit U.S. dairy producers by substantially expanding market access in Canada, where U.S. dairy sales have been restricted. The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that the agreement will boost U.S. dairy exports by more than $277 million. The agreement will also expand market access for U.S. poultry and egg producers. And it will make it easier for U.S. producers to export wheat to Canada. And of course, the benefits for the agriculture industry are just one part of this agreement. Virtually every sector of our economy will benefit from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement from manufacturing to digital services to the automotive industry. USMCA breaks new ground by including a chapter specifically focused on small and medium-sized businesses the first time a U.S. trade agreement has ever included a dedicated chapter on this topic. Roughly 120,000 small and medium-sized businesses around our country export goods and services to Mexico and Canada. USMCA will make it easier for these businesses to successfully export their products. Mr. President, it would be nice if House Democrats woke up tomorrow and decided that 13 months was long enough to make America's farmers and ranchers and manufacturers and small businessmen wait for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. But my hopes of seeing action from the House grow dimmer each day. Mr. President, Democrats in the House should be addressing the American people's priorities. American workers shouldn't be sacrificed for Democrats' partisan political goals. I hope enough of my Democrat colleagues in the House will urge House leadership to bring up the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in the very near future. Americans have waited long enough.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=0002AE13-E42B-4523-9F60-49FC67EE9903,Bursting the Internet Filter Bubble,2019-11-08,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Imagine walking into a local hardware store for its grand opening. As the door closes behind you, you look around and realize that almost all of the products in the store seem uncannily familiar. Those that aren't, they pique your interest. As the store manager greets you, it's as if he knew you were going shopping that day, and he directs you to the products and services you didn't know you needed or wanted. In fact, you were surprised to learn that he knew your dishwasher needed to be repaired, and you didn't even know it was broken. You come to find out that the store was designed for you the only customer and its entire inventory was assembled based on statistically driven predictions about the stores you've visited, the items you've purchased, the magazines you've subscribed to, and the conversations you've had with friends and family. But you didn't realize anyone was even paying attention. While the hardware store example seems relatively innocuous, the reality is that something like this is happening in the vast majority of Americans' online experiences, from simply trying to catch up on the news to socializing with friends. As technology has evolved and made life easier for the American people, so too have consumers' concerns over privacy and how their data is being collected, shared, and used by third parties. That's where my hardware store analogy might start to make a little more sense. As you use your smartphone, smart speaker, or computer to click, share, surf, download, purchase, post, or watch online, internet platforms are learning about you, and as they do, they use artificial intelligence to gorge on your data and create an engineered, just-for-you experience based on statistical predictions about what these platforms think you'll want to see or do next. When we're on our smartphone or on the internet, we're constantly being measured, receiving engineered feedback to keep us engaged on the platform. As internet platforms deliver this customized online experience, users can become ensnared in what one person in the technology industry coined a filter bubble the online version of the hardware store that was constructed just for you. These filter bubbles can be created on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, search engines like Google and Yahoo, or even entertainment platforms like Netflix and Hulu. Now don't get me wrong, a personalized experience on these platforms isn't necessarily a bad thing. For example, I like when Netflix suggests which program I might like to watch next. If I haven't checked Twitter in a while, it can be helpful to see the top tweets I've missed, which are curated based on the content with which I'm most likely to engage. Other times, though, I might want to opt out of that filter bubble and experience the platform without viewing content that has been selected based on my personal data and behavior. Think of this opt-out experience as a competing hardware store that's been built for the entire community, where a wide range of products and services exist, not just the ones that were strategically selected and placed in front of you. For example, Twitter currently allows its users to toggle between a customized newsfeed based on what it thinks you'll like to see and another newsfeed that's a chronological view of content as it's being posted. Another example, in a filter bubble experience, if you and I each searched the same term shopping, for example we're likely to be delivered vastly different results. In a filter bubble-free experience, we should be delivered the same results, no matter who we are. Like a customer who might enter one of my imaginary hardware stores, I think consumers should have the option to choose between a personalized, filtered view of content and a view that is filter-free. Or, at the very least, consumers should know which store or experience they're about to enter. That's why I recently introduced the bipartisan Filter Bubble Transparency Act in the Senate, which would give consumers more control over their digital experience and provide them with more transparency about what they're seeing online. My bill is pretty simple and straightforward. It would require large-scale internet platforms to let consumers know when they're being given a personalized user experience designed by artificial intelligence (filter bubble transparency), and it would give users the option to escape the filter bubble and consume information that has not been engineered specifically for the user to see (consumer control). That's it. I strongly support a light-touch approach to internet regulation that allows the free market to flourish. The internet would not have grown the way it has if it had been weighed down with heavy-handed government regulations. But in order for free markets to work effectively, consumers need as much information as possible including a better understanding of how internet platforms use artificial intelligence and complex filters to shape the information users receive, and that's exactly what my bill aims to achieve. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=962BC0FA-BC9C-42D8-B7A1-E6F289221ED2,Thune Statement on POW/MIA Flag Act Being Signed Into Law,2019-11-08,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement after the National POW/MIA Flag Act was signed in law. Thune cosponsored this bipartisan legislation, which will require the POW/MIA Flag to be displayed whenever the American flag is displayed on prominent federal properties to honor the more than 82,000 Americans who are listed as Prisoners of War (POW), Missing in Action (MIA), or otherwise unaccounted for from our nation's past wars and conflicts. Today and throughout the history of our country, our men and women in uniform have valiantly chosen to serve in defense of freedom and the security of the United States, said Thune. I'm glad this legislation is now law. Displaying a POW/MIA flag to honor those who have not returned home is the least we can do to recognize these heroes and the sacrifice of their families. The National POW/MIA Flag Act will ensure that the POW/MIA Flag is displayed whenever the U.S. flag is displayed, effectively ensuring that both flags are displayed concurrently and every day at federal locations already designated under existing law. Those locations include the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, every national cemetery, the buildings containing the official offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the office of the Director of the Selective Service System, each major military installation (as designated by the Secretary of Defense), each Department of Veterans Affairs medical center, and each United States Postal Service post office. Before the lawmakers' bill became law, the POW/MIA Flag was required to be displayed by the federal government on certain prominent federal properties only six days per year: Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Veterans Day. The legislation was sponsored by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). In addition to Thune, the legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Jack Reed (D-R.I.).",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-jones-propose-wounded-warriors-fellowship-in-the-senate,"Rounds, Jones Propose Wounded Warriors Fellowship in the Senate",2019-11-08,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"PIERRE — U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Doug Jones (D-Ala.) have introduced a resolution to establish a fellowship for wounded American veterans to hold two-year fellowships in the United States Senate. The program, called the McCain-Mansfield Fellowship, would offer each Senate office a fellowship, which would each last two years. The positions could be in a senator’s state or Washington, D.C., office. “America’s veterans have gained valuable insight and expertise throughout their service to our nation,” said Senator Rounds. “Our legislation would establish a program that can help veterans use those skills to help constituents and shape important policy that impacts the heroes who wear the uniform of the United States of America. It also creates future employment opportunities for veterans once their fellowship is over and makes sure that the perspectives and concerns of veterans are continually added to the Senate workforce. We have a number of veterans working in my Senate office, and I appreciate the unique perspective they bring to the job.” “We owe a great deal to the men and women who have courageously served our county,” said Senator Jones, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The McCain-Mansfield Fellowship program is just one of the ways we can continue to lift up our veterans and ensure they have access to the resources and support needed to be successful in their civilian lives.” Each year, nearly 200,000 service members transition from the military back to civilian life. This transition is widely recognized as a challenging and stressful process not only for the service members, but also for their families and, in some cases, caregivers. The McCain-Mansfield Fellowship would offer veterans with a service-connected disability the experience and exposure needed to broaden their career opportunities and contribute to a successful transition. There is already a Wounded Warriors Fellowship program in the House of Representatives, but the McCain-Mansfield Fellowship will be the first of its kind in the Senate.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/weekly-column/supporting-veterans-every-day,Supporting Veterans Every Day,2019-11-08,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"In South Dakota, we support our veterans every day of the year, not just on Veterans Day. Veterans actually make up 10 percent of our state’s population! Nearly all of us have a friend or family member who served, or you’re a veteran yourself. The men and women whose sacrifice and bravery allows us to live freely are among the best of the best. We owe it to them to make sure they receive the benefits they were promised when they signed up to serve. I have the privilege of serving on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, where we work to make sure the federal government is living up to its promises to our veterans. The legislation we consider seeks to improve the lives of veterans in all stages of life, including the transition from military service to civilian life. We work to make sure that transition is as easy and seamless as possible. We’re also working to give them better access to their benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which too often means cutting through layers of bureaucracy and red-tape. If any veteran or beneficiary has trouble accessing benefits, our office can act as a liaison between the veteran and the VA. I encourage veterans and their families to contact any of my South Dakota offices if you need help. I have a number of veterans in both my Washington and South Dakota offices who help me with military and veterans issues we come across in the Senate. Phone numbers and addresses are listed on my website, www.rounds.senate.gov. This year, I’ve introduced a number of bills – all bipartisan – that will help veterans as they re-enter civilian life. For some, that may mean starting or finishing their education. For others, it may mean finding a job that fits with the skillsets they acquired during their service. I joined Sen. Jon Tester of Montana to introduce a bill that would cut down on delays for student veterans trying to access the extra funds they’ve earned through the VA Work-Study Allowance Program. I also introduced a bill that would change the Small Business Act to waive up-front guarantee fees for veterans and their spouses who are participating in the Small Business Administration’s export promotion loan programs. This will help veterans who are looking to start or grow a small business. I also recently introduced a bill that would establish a wounded warrior fellowship program in the Senate, similar to an existing program in the House. It would allow each Senate office to hire a veteran to work on important armed services and veterans affairs-related policy for a period of up to two years. This program can help veterans use the skills, knowledge and experience they gained through their service to help constituents and shape important policy that impacts the heroes who wear the uniform of the United States of America. It also creates future employment opportunities for veterans once their fellowship is over and makes sure that the perspectives and concerns of veterans are continually added to the Senate workforce. Whenever I travel around the state, I always appreciate the opportunity to meet with veterans to hear directly from them about the issues they’re facing. We seem to always have a discussion about healthcare benefits and quality of care. We also continue to hear that the VA employees in South Dakota are doing a good job, but the VA in Washington keeps causing problems. Cleaning up the VA remains a priority for me and the other members of our committee. We are so grateful to each and every veteran. On Veterans Day, we honor all of the men and women who have sacrificed so much to protect our freedom. Thank you. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=11C5C7C3-59CF-4D13-99D4-F4AF5A0F3A90,"Thune, Rounds Join Corn-State Senators in Submitting Comments on EPAs Supplemental Rule on RFS Deal",2019-11-07,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today joined a group of corn-state senators who submitted comments to the Federal Register regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) supplemental rule on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In individual letters to EPA Administrator Wheeler, the senators expressed concerns about the way the agency plans to calculate the reallocation of biofuel gallons lost due to exemptions for oil refineries. While I appreciate the administration's commitment to restore integrity to the RFS and provide that at least 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuels are blended into the fuel supply, the proposed supplemental rule unfortunately lacks safeguards that will assure its intent, said Thune. As you know, resolution of this matter is of critical importance to agriculture stakeholders in South Dakota and across the country, and I urge EPA to reconsider the incorporation of language to make certain that all gallons waived by SREs will be accounted for in final RVOs. Read his letter here. We're grateful to President Trump for his commitment to assuring 15 billion gallons of ethanol is blended into our fuel supply annually, said Rounds. However, the EPA's proposed rule fails to honor the agreement which the president directed them to formalize. Taking steps to fully restore the integrity of the RFS will honor the agreement as Congress intended. Read his letter here. Just this week, the CEO of a major oil refinery bragged that small refinery exemptions were a real cash flow that [they] get every year,' said Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.). This is at the expense of farmers and biofuel producers. The EPA's proposed rule fails to ensure that 15 billion gallons of conventional ethanol are actually blended into our nation's fuel supply. In my letter, I called on Administrator Wheeler to fulfill the president's commitment and provide certainty for rural America. Read her letter here. As the number one producer of corn, ethanol, biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol, the renewable fuels industry is an important sector of Iowa's economy, said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). It generates nearly $5 billion of Iowa's GDP, over $2.4 billion in household incomes and supports 47,000 jobs across Iowa. President Trump made a commitment to Iowa and other biofuels producing states, and I look forward to seeing this promise fulfilled. The EPA shouldn't undercut President Trump's support of the Renewable Fuels Standard. I urge EPA to adjust the proposed supplemental rule to account for actual waived gallons using hard data from past practice to provide certainty to the marketplace. Read his letter here. Plain and simple, if the market for biofuels does not trust EPA to implement the proposal President Trump negotiated, the market will not make investments in biofuels a dangerous spiral for Iowa farmers and producers which will only lead to more plants closed and jobs lost in the heartland, said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). It is time again for EPA to get this policy right, respect the President's intent, and uphold the law as it was written. This means providing certainty that EPA will ensure that 15 billion gallons of ethanol will be blended each year. Read her letter here. Missouri farm families have faced a number of challenges over the past year, from catastrophic flooding to market uncertainty and now the EPA's failure to uphold its commitments to the biofuels industry, said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). Renewable energy policies like the RFS have helped diversify our nation's fuel supply while creating and sustaining jobs, strengthening local economies, and lowering gas prices. I urge the administration to produce a final rule that addresses the concerns my colleagues and I have raised and supports America's biofuels producers. Read his letter here. The state of Indiana is the fifth largest ethanol producing state in the country, said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.).I urge the EPA to implement the agreement in a way that provides certainty to Hoosier farmers and refiners.Read his letter here. On November 4th, over 60 corn, soybean, and biofuel groups wrote a letter stating that the EPA's supplemental rule would not accurately account for small refinery exemptions and would hurt farm economies and biofuel plants in rural America. To read their letter, click here. To submit a comment to the Federal Register, click here.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=59D3FC54-7098-4E93-A339-41557338DC28,Thune: Funding Our Military Should Be Congresss First Priority,2019-11-07,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today called on Democrats, who are blocking the ordinarily bipartisan defense funding bill, to abandon their partisan politics and fund our military. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, on Tuesday morning I visited with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. We talked about the military's needs and national security priorities. And we talked about the fact that more than a month into the new fiscal year, Congress still hasn't funded the military for fiscal year 2020. We shouldn't have needed to talk about that, Mr. President. We should have passed the defense appropriations bill for 2020 weeks ago. But Democrats won't let us. Last week, Democrats blocked consideration of the 2020 defense appropriations bill for the second time. And apparently they have every intention of continuing to block military funding. Mr. President, this is politics at its worst. And make no mistake, this is politics. A couple of months ago, Democrats and Republicans got together and agreed on defense and non-defense funding levels for 2020 and 2021. The idea was to pave the way for the passage of appropriations bills in a timely fashion. It seemed for a moment that despite Democrats' fixation on partisan politics and impeachment, we could actually go about the business of funding the government and the military in a somewhat bipartisan fashion. But apparently that was too much to ask of the Democratic Party. Senate Democrats are currently running from the agreement, attempting to derail the defense funding bill with poison pills that would prevent the bill from ever being enacted into law. Mr. President, funding our military should be the first priority of every member of Congress. The safety of our country depends on the strength of our military. If we don't get national security right, well, the rest is just conversation. And getting national security right means making sure that our military is adequately funded making sure that we're funding the current needs of the military and preparing for future priorities. And it should go without saying that an essential part of this responsibility is getting that funding passed in a timely fashion. Right now, since we haven't passed the 2020 funding bill, the military is operating under a continuing resolution that maintains funding levels from last year. There are multiple problems with that. In the first place, of course, the military is operating without all the funding it needs. For example, the Pentagon can't fully support the pay increase military members should be getting. But in addition, a continuing resolution prevents the military from starting key projects that will help ensure our men and women in uniform are prepared to meet the threats of the future. The Pentagon can't start new procurement projects. New research and development initiatives that keep us a step ahead of our adversaries are put on hold. All told, under a continuing resolution, the military's purchasing power is reduced by roughly $5 billion each quarter. To put that in perspective, that's the equivalent of losing out on about 56 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter planes, depending on the variant, every three months. Or nearly two complete Virginia Class Attack Submarines, like the recently commissioned USS South Dakota. Or about 5,000 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles like those used to clean up the site of the Baghdadi raid or strike Syrian chemical weapons facilities in 2018. That $5 billion isn't spare change. It's funding for critical military priorities. Mr. President, in November 2018, the bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission released a report warning that our readiness had eroded to the point where we might struggle to win a war against a major power like Russia or China. That's a dangerous situation for our country to be in, and we need to keep working to rebuild our military. And that starts with making sure that our military is fully funded in a timely fashion. Mr. President, on the floor last week I noted that Democrats would like us to believe that they're serious about legislating, and that their years-long obsession with impeaching the president isn't distracting them from doing their job. Well, after Democrats' defense filibuster last week, it's become abundantly clear that Democrats are incapable of putting anything ahead of partisan politics including the safety of our country and the wellbeing of our military. It's particularly ironic that Democrats are blocking this defense funding bill, which would provide $250 million in assistance to Ukraine, at the same time that they are trying to impeach the president for allegedly delaying Ukraine funding. Mr. President, it's hard to know what to say to my Democrat colleagues. It should not be this hard to convince them that funding our military is more important than scoring points against the president. I hope the leader will continue to bring up the defense funding bill and that enough of my Democrat colleagues will decide to join us in getting this funding to our military. It's the very least we can do for the men and women who spend every day working to keep us safe. Mr. President, Veterans Day is coming up on Monday. And our nation will pause to remember all those who have served in our military. I'll be calling up my dad, a World War II vet who flew Hellcats in the Pacific, to thank him again for his service. Mr. President, as a U.S. senator, I've had the privilege of meeting many veterans men and women who decided that they were willing to lay down their lives if necessary to ensure that their families, their communities, their fellow countrymen, could enjoy the blessings of freedom. Members of the military give up a lot for us. They forgo physical comforts and embrace sacrifice. They accept long deployments. Days of duty that start before dawn or stretch long into the night. They accept that they will miss Thanksgivings and birthdays and Christmases. First steps and first days of kindergarten. Date nights and Little League games and family reunions. They shoulder the burden of facing evil head on, so that the rest of us will never have to. And many of them bear the scars. Physical wounds. And the invisible wounds that war can also leave. Mr. President, we enjoy tremendous blessings. And we're used to them. We're used to waking up in safety. We're used to going about our days in safety. We're used to voting in safety, attending church in safety, reading the newspaper in safety, expressing political opinions in safety. And it can be too easy to forget that we enjoy these tremendous blessings because men and women have been willing to go out and put their lives on the line for them. Veterans Day is a chance to remind ourselves. To remember that we live in peace and freedom every day because men and women were willing to answer the call to serve our country. We owe our veterans a debt we can never repay. But we can make sure that we never forget what they've done for us. And we can resolve to lead the kind of lives that will make us worthy of their sacrifice.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-during-meeting-at-white-house-today-president-trump-re-confirms-his-commitment-to-blending-15-billion-gallons-of-ethanol-annually,"Rounds: During Meeting at White House Today, President Trump Re-Confirms his Commitment to Blending 15 Billion Gallons of Ethanol Annually",2019-11-07,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined President Trump and a number of his Senate colleagues for lunch at the White House. During the meeting, President Trump re-confirmed his commitment to assuring 15 billion gallons of conventional ethanol is blended into our nation’s fuel supply annually. Following a Sept. 12, 2019, meeting at the White House with Rounds and others, Trump requested that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revise its practice to guarantee that any small refinery exemptions (SRE) would not reduce the 15 billion gallon requirement for conventional ethanol. The agreement, as directed by President Trump, would require the EPA to, prospectively, account for SREs by utilizing a three-year rolling average of exemptions granted by the EPA. However, the EPA’s supplemental proposed rule does not achieve the 15 billion gallon requirement. Earlier today, Rounds sent a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler detailing his criticisms of the proposed supplemental rule and requesting the final rule be changed. During their meeting today, Rounds and Trump discussed the proposed rule’s shortcomings, leading the president to re-commit to working with the EPA to assure 15 billion gallons of ethanol is blended annually. “President Trump gets it – 15 billion gallons means 15 billion gallons,” said Rounds. “I’m grateful for his leadership and commitment to restoring the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and look forward to the EPA’s revision of the proposed rule to make certain it allows for 15 billion gallons of ethanol blended into our fuel supply annually.” ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-makes-good-on-dakota-marker-game-wager_brings-sdsu-dairy-bar-ice-cream-to-washington-dc,"Rounds Makes Good on ‘Dakota Marker’ Game Wager, Brings SDSU Dairy Bar Ice Cream to Washington, D.C.",2019-11-07,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Mike Rounds made good on his friendly wager with North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) on the October 26, 2019, ‘Dakota Marker’ football game between South Dakota State University (SDSU) and North Dakota State University (NDSU). The senators bet ice cream from their respective states, SDSU Dairy Bar ice cream and Cass Clay Creamery ice cream from North Dakota. SDSU lost to NDSU 16-23. Today, Rounds hosted an ice cream social for Senator Cramer and his staff. “The SDSU – NDSU rivalry is a time-honored tradition, and we always look forward to the Dakota Marker. This year, with the added excitement of having College Gameday in Brookings, Senator Cramer and I upped the ante with a friendly wager. While the game didn’t turn out like we hoped, we’re proud of the tough fight the Jacks put up, and we’re happy to showcase SDSU ice cream to our colleagues in Washington. The Dairy Bar has some of the best ice cream in the country – no doubt about it. “We’ll get you in the playoffs – go Jacks!” SDSU Dairy Bar flavors at the ice cream social today were: Cookies and Cream, Barry Berry, Butter Brickle, Hobo Crunch, Butter Pecan and Chocolate Pecan. In addition, Sen. Cramer brought in Cass Clay Creamery limited edition ice cream, Dynasty Delight.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-submits-letter-to-epa-on-rfs-supplemental-rule,Rounds Submits Letter to EPA on RFS Supplemental Rule,2019-11-07,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,Help with a Federal Agency,1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=3D088147-0395-40DB-BE8C-AE09411C26F9,Thune: America Can Lead the World in the 5G Revolution,2019-11-06,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today discussed the effort to make 5G a reality in the United States. Last Friday, Thune was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to unveil the city's first 5G cells. Thune has been a leader in the race to make 5G a reality, authoring the MOBILE NOW Act, which was signed into law in 2018, and the bipartisan STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act,legislation he reintroduced in June. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, last Friday was an exciting day. I was home in Sioux Falls to mark a huge milestone for the city and for South Dakota the unveiling of Sioux Falls' first 5G small cells. By the end of this month, Sioux Falls will have a working, albeit limited, 5G network one of the first cities in the entire country to have one. Mr. President, most people take internet access for granted these days. We assume that anywhere we go, we'll be able to access our GPS, check Facebook, or send a text message. But the truth is that there are still areas of the United States where it can be difficult to get reliable internet access. Some of those areas are in South Dakota. That's why expanding access to broadband internet in rural communities has been a priority of mine since I came to the Senate. While it can be nice to turn off our phones and take a break, in this day and age Americans need reliable internet access. More and more of the business of daily life is being conducted over the internet, from scheduling appointments to figuring out the shortest way from point A to point B. The internet has also become an integral part of commerce. Small businesses and farms in areas without dependable internet access miss out on a lot of opportunities that most businesses take for granted. Both as chairman and as a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, I've had the chance to draw attention to the state of broadband access in rural communities. I've conducted numerous hearings with testimony from rural broadband providers, farmers, tribal representatives, and federal officials both here in Washington and in my home state of South Dakota. Over the past several years, we've seen the number of Americans lacking access to broadband decrease significantly. But there's more work to be done. And with the advent of 5G technology, we now have to expand our efforts to make deploying 5G technology to rural communities a priority. Mr. President, most of us think today's internet is pretty fast. We get traffic updates that are basically in real time, receive emails seconds after they've been sent, and stream our favorite shows at home or on the go. But 5G will make 4G look like dial-up. It will deliver lightning-fast speeds up to 100 times faster than what today's technology delivers. That's hard to imagine. After all, as I said, today's technology seems pretty fast. But 5G will enable near-instant responsiveness from our phones and other devices. However, 5G is about a lot more than streaming more shows on more devices, or receiving emails instantly. In addition to being up to 100 times faster than current speeds, 5G will be vastly more responsive than 4G technology and will be able to connect 100 times the number of devices that can be connected with 4G. Because of this, 5G will enable massive breakthroughs in health care, transportation, agriculture, and other key industries. And it will bring new opportunities and benefits to rural communities in particular. 5G will pave the way for the widespread adoption of precision agriculture, which uses tools like robotics and remote monitoring to help farmers manage their fields and boost their crop yields. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that precision agriculture will reduce farmers' operational costs by up to $25 per acre and increase farmers' yields by up to 70 percent by 2050. 5G will also make it easier for residents of rural communities to access business and educational opportunities and long-distance health care. Mr. President, the technology for 5G is already here and is actually being implemented, as Friday's event in Sioux Falls demonstrates. But there's more work to do before 5G is a reality across the United States. In order to deploy 5G, wireless providers need access to sufficient spectrum, and they need to be able to deploy the infrastructure needed to support the technology in a reasonable and timely manner. Last year, the president signed into law my bipartisan MOBILE NOW Act, legislation I introduced to help secure adequate spectrum for 5G technology. And earlier this year, Senator Schatz and I reintroduced the STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act to address the other part of the 5G equation infrastructure. 5G technology will require not just traditional cell phone towers, but small antennas called small cells that can often be attached to existing infrastructure like utility poles or buildings. While the Federal Communications Commission under Chairman Pai has modernized its regulations on small cell siting, there's more work to be done. That's where my bill, the STREAMLINE Act, comes in. The STREAMLINE Act will expedite the deployment of small cells while respecting the role of state and local governments in making deployment decisions. And importantly, it will make it more affordable to bring 5G to rural areas by addressing the costs of small cell deployment. 5G has tremendous promise for rural areas, but it will only deliver on that promise if we ensure that 5G cells are actually deployed in these areas. I'm proud that we've made a good start in South Dakota. Sioux Falls' mayor Paul TenHaken has worked aggressively to remove barriers to telecommunications investment in Sioux Falls. Nationally, we urgently need to take action to remove the final barriers to large-scale 5G deployment. While we've made good progress on securing low- and high-band spectrum, China and South Korea are far ahead of us in opening up mid-band spectrum for 5G. If we don't want China and South Korea to win the race to 5G and seize the economic benefits 5G will bring we need to substantially increase the amount of mid-band spectrum available to U.S. companies quickly. We also need to take action on legislation like my STREAMLINE Act to pave the way for the widespread deployment of 5G infrastructure. Mr. President, America can lead the world in the 5G revolution. The technology, as I said, is here. We just need to take the final steps to bring 5G into our communities. I look forward to continuing to work to support the nationwide deployment of 5G.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=87C20FC7-3F27-4FA2-A932-5DC2F1A733B5,"With Delegation Support, Brookings Receives Critical Infrastructure Grant",2019-11-06,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT's) decision to award the City of Brookings $18.7 million in critical infrastructure funding under the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program. Today's announcement follows requests from the delegation to DOT Secretary Elaine Chao for the project's funding. With the help of the infrastructure funding awarded by DOT, the City of Brookings will be able to move forward with this important project, which will relieve congestion, improve safety, and spur economic growth, said Thune. I want to congratulate the Brookings community and its leaders for advocating for this funding, and I'd like to thank Secretary Chao for recognizing how important projects like these are to South Dakota communities. Thanks to Secretary Chao for her commitment to investing in infrastructure projects in South Dakota,said Rounds.This BUILD grant will help relieve congestion along an important intersection in the city of Brookings, allowing for easier traffic flow in the area. We're grateful for all state and local officials who workto make sure our roads and highways are maintained so we can get where we need to go safely and efficiently. Brookings and the surrounding communities have seen tremendous growth over the last several years, said Johnson. This BUILD Grant will allow Brookings to continue on a path of economic success and foster opportunity for the I-29 corridor. The City of Brookings plans to use the BUILD funding to construct an interchange at the intersection of Interstate 29 and 20th Street. This project would allow for an additional arterial road to provide proper traffic flow between the residential and commercial sectors of the city, taking pressure off of the 6th Street interchange, which has become increasingly congested. It will also provide more convenient access to I-29 for southern Brookings as the area continues to grow.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/delegation-support-brookings-receives-critical-infrastructure-grant,"With Delegation Support, Brookings Receives Critical Infrastructure Grant",2019-11-06,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,Dusty Johnson,J000301,dustyjohnson.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT's) decision to award the City of Brookings $18.7 million in critical infrastructure funding under the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program. Today's announcement follows requests from the delegation to DOT Secretary Elaine Chao for the project's funding. With the help of the infrastructure funding awarded by DOT, the City of Brookings will be able to move forward with this important project, which will relieve congestion, improve safety, and spur economic growth, said Thune. I want to congratulate the Brookings community and its leaders for advocating for this funding, and I'd like to thank Secretary Chao for recognizing how important projects like these are to South Dakota communities. Thanks to Secretary Chao for her commitment to investing in infrastructure projects in South Dakota,said Rounds.This BUILD grant will help relieve congestion along an important intersection in the city of Brookings, allowing for easier traffic flow in the area. We're grateful for all state and local officials who workto make sure our roads and highways are maintained so we can get where we need to go safely and efficiently. Brookings and the surrounding communities have seen tremendous growth over the last several years, said Johnson. This BUILD Grant will allow Brookings to continue on a path of economic success and foster opportunity for the I-29 corridor. The City of Brookings plans to use the BUILD funding to construct an interchange at the intersection of Interstate 29 and 20th Street. This project would allow for an additional arterial road to provide proper traffic flow between the residential and commercial sectors of the city, taking pressure off of the 6th Street interchange, which has become increasingly congested. It will also provide more convenient access to I-29 for southern Brookings as the area continues to grow. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/with-delegation-support-brookings-receives-critical-infrastructure-grant,"With Delegation Support, Brookings Receives Critical Infrastructure Grant",2019-11-06,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) decision to award the City of Brookings $18.7 million in critical infrastructure funding under the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program. Today’s announcement follows requests from the delegation to DOT Secretary Elaine Chao for the project’s funding. “Thanks to Secretary Chao for her commitment to investing in infrastructure projects in South Dakota,” said Rounds. “This BUILD grant will help relieve congestion along an important intersection in the city of Brookings, allowing for easier traffic flow in the area. We’re grateful for all state and local officials who work to make sure our roads and highways are maintained so we can get where we need to go safely and efficiently.” The City of Brookings plans to use the BUILD funding to construct an interchange at the intersection of Interstate 29 and 20th Street. This project would allow for an additional arterial road to provide proper traffic flow between the residential and commercial sectors of the city, taking pressure off of the 6th Street interchange, which has become increasingly congested. It will also provide more convenient access to I-29 for southern Brookings as the area continues to grow.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=34C74692-BB2A-4EBA-8D6F-27A2A53D41D3,South Dakota Leading the Way on 5G,2019-11-05,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Closing the digital divide in rural America has long been a priority for me, not only because it's urgently needed and long overdue, but because I've experienced the divide firsthand here in South Dakota. My guess is that you probably have, too. But for some of my Senate colleagues who represent more urban areas of the country, it's often hard for them to conceptualize the idea that there are still parts of America that lack basic connectivity. I don't just mean connecting your phone or computer to the internet, a hurdle in many areas of the country, including South Dakota, to be sure. I'm also talking about the pockets of dead zones that still exist, preventing people from even making a phone call. It's 2019, and people can communicate with one another as they fly above the Atlantic Ocean. If that can happen at 30,000 feet, the least we can expect is the ability to make a simple phone call here on the ground. While we all can likely agree that being in a dead zone might seem like a luxury where phone calls, social media, and emails can't distract us it's easy to see why the advantages of having access to mobile broadband and basic cell service far outweigh the disadvantages. For example, what if you get a flat tire late at night in the middle of a dark country road? Or worse, maybe you're involved in an accident and need medical attention. Having one bar of service or fewer just isn't going to cut it. So, if we looked at this issue purely from a safety perspective, it's enough of a reason alone to ensure that everyone who wants to be fully connected can achieve that goal and realize its full potential (and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with it). The same general principle could be applied to business, education, agriculture, telehealth or other parts of our everyday lives. Folks are far more likely to succeed if they have access to mobile broadband technology and the opportunities it can create. And we all know those opportunities can mean the difference between success and failure, high yields and low yields, or e-meeting your doctor in your living room and traveling hours to see her in person. Connectivity, or lack thereof, can be the difference-maker. When I was chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, I committed to having South Dakota help lead the way in the 5G mobile broadband revolution, and I meant what I said. My MOBILE NOW Act, which is now the law of the land, laid important groundwork that has made it easier to deploy 5G in a timely manner in rural America and around the country. I've worked closely with the Federal Communications Commission and have even brought several commissioners to South Dakota to showcase our state and everything it has to offer. I've hosted committee hearings in South Dakota and in Washington, and I've invited South Dakotans who are on the front line of this effort to testify and share their work with the nation. I've reintroduced bipartisan legislation that will help improve 5G infrastructure, and I've partnered with the City of Sioux Falls and its forward-looking leaders, like Mayor Paul TenHaken, to make it one of the first, and one of the most rural, 5G-enabled cities in the country. Given the years of work that have gone into this effort, it was humbling to be in Sioux Falls when Verizon recently flipped the switch on the first 5G cells in the state. Faster speeds and easier access to information is great, but there's more to offer. 5G also means jobs and economic growth. In the Sioux Falls area alone, 5G is expected to create an additional 1,500 new jobs and give the city's economy a big shot in the arm. By the end of the year, nearly a dozen 5G-enabled small cells will be active along Phillips Avenue in Sioux Falls. It's a major milestone in this technological revolution, but this marks a new beginning in a lot of ways, too. There's a lot more work ahead of us, but when they write the history book on 5G, Sioux Falls will be among the first few chapters, and that's something our state can be proud of having accomplished together. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=F0D3EA8C-D573-4A7F-89BB-027ABE2781F2,Thune: Bipartisan Filter Bubble Bill Would Give Consumers More Control Over What They View Online,2019-11-05,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Clickhereto watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today discussed hisFilter Bubble Transparency Act, bipartisan legislation he introduced last week that would require large-scale internet platforms to provide greater transparency to users and give more control to consumers over what they choose to view on online platforms. Thune also discussed the urgent need for Democrats to stop blocking the defense appropriations bill, which funds the military and our men and women in uniform. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, the internet has brought Americans a host of benefits a wealth of information at our fingertips, unparalleled convenience, new opportunities for education and commerce, and innumerable new methods of communication. But I don't need to tell anyone that along with the countless benefits of the internet have come a number of concerns. One thing that's on the mind of many consumers is privacy. As the internet gradually permeates every area of our lives, internet companies become the repository for an ever-increasing amount of our personal data from what we ate for dinner last night to the temperature we like to keep our house. As chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, I spend a lot of time focused on data privacy issues. This past June, I convened a hearing entitled Optimizing for Engagement: Understanding the Use of Persuasive Technology on Internet Platforms, where we heard from a variety of experts about the ways companies use consumers' personal data to determine what individuals see online. As I said at the time, one reason I decided to hold the hearing was to inform legislation I was developing that would require internet platforms to give consumers the option to engage without having the experience shaped by algorithms driven by user-specific data. And last Thursday I introduced that legislation, the Filter Bubble Transparency Act, here in the Senate. I'm proud to have a number of bipartisan co-sponsors on this bill. Senator Blumenthal, Senator Moran, Senator Blackburn, and Senator Warner have all co-sponsored this legislation, and I'm grateful for their support. Mr. President, the Filter Bubble Transparency Act is designed to address one aspect of the data privacy problem the issues that arise from internet companies' use of consumers' personal data to shape what consumers see on their platforms. Many people are unaware that much of the content they see on internet platforms is determined by sophisticated algorithms and artificial intelligence that draw on data about each consumer's online activity. For example, a recent Pew Research Center study found that 53 percent of U.S. adults don't understand how Facebook's News Feed works. Many of us know that Netflix is curating recommendations specifically for us based on the movies and shows we've watched. And a lot of us are aware that Amazon is delivering product recommendations based on our purchase history. But the reality is that internet companies have moved far beyond just recommending TV shows. Increasingly, every aspect of our online experience is personalized based on the vast amount of information companies collect about us from our age and occupation to how many times we visit certain websites. The data used by these companies to make predictions about us comes from a wide range of sources from smart devices like Alexa, Google Assistant, Ring doorbells, and Nest devices; to scanned emails and documents; to data acquired from third parties like banks, credit card processors, and health data services, among many other sources. This data is used to make statistical predictions about how we'll behave. And this statistical prediction-making is happening on a massive scale. For example, Facebook has stated that the artificial intelligence it uses for its News Feed can make 6 million predictions per second. Billions of people are being fed content on internet platforms that is basically selected for them by algorithms trying to make predictions about what will keep each user engaged on the platform. And clearly, the powerful mechanisms behind these platforms meant to enhance engagement also have the ability or at least the potential to influence the thoughts and behaviors of literally billions of people. That is why there is widespread unease about the power of these platforms, and why it is important for the public to better understand how these platforms use the information they collect to make predictions about our behavior. As I've said, a significant cause for concern is that most people are not always aware that the information they see is being filtered. We're trapped in what one observer has termed the filter bubble our own private world of filtered search results and tailored content without even knowing that we're there. There are real concerns that the ever-increasing use of filters to shape our internet experience contributes to political polarization, social isolation, and addiction, as well as permitting companies to manipulate user behavior. My bill, the Filter Bubble Transparency Act, takes aim at these concerns by requiring major internet platforms to notify consumers that the information they're seeing has been selected for them using filters based on their personal data. It would also require these sites to give consumers the option of seeing unfiltered results. Twitter provides a good example of what the Filter Bubble Transparency Act would do. Twitter gives consumers an option to view an unfiltered timeline through the use of a prominently displayed icon that's easy to access throughout a user's time on the platform. Consumers have the option of viewing the timeline that Twitter has curated for them which pushes the posts Twitter thinks they want to see to the top of their feed or viewing an unfiltered timeline that features all posts in chronological order. That's the kind of option that my bill would give to consumers. Consumers would be able to choose whether to see an unfiltered social media feed or search results, or whether to view the curated or personalized content that the site chooses for them. And they'd be able to easily switch back and forth between the two options whenever they wanted. After all, consumers may want to see filter-driven content sometimes. I certainly prefer to see Netflix recommendations that are tailored to my viewing history. And if you have 1,000 tweets to read, it can be useful to see the ones you're most likely to be interested in at the top of your feed. But consumers should also have the option to escape from the filter bubble to see information that has not been selected specifically for them. I strongly support a light-touch approach to internet regulation that allows the free market to flourish. The internet would not have grown the way it has if it had been weighed down with heavy-handed government regulations. But in order for free markets to work effectively, consumers need as much information as possible including a better understanding of how internet platforms use artificial intelligence and complex filters to shape the information users receive. My bill would provide transparency and consumer control without jeopardizing the opportunity and innovation we've come to expect from the tech industry. Mr. President, as internet companies collect and make use of more and more of our personal information, it's important that consumers know how their data is being used. And at an even more basic level, it's important for consumers to know that their data is being usedto curate the content they see. And that is exactly what the Filter Bubble Transparency Act would do. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this legislation and continue the Senate's broader debate on data privacy. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=F286E1D1-2DB7-4373-AB9E-CCBF876A7831,Thune Joins Colleagues in Introducing the HACKED Act,2019-11-05,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today joined a bipartisan group of senators in introducing the Harvesting American Cybersecurity Knowledge through Education (HACKED) Act. This legislation would build on the important work being done by South Dakota universities to strengthen America's cybersecurity workforce by bolstering existing science education and cybersecurity programs within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of Transportation. In a world dominated by the internet and digital technology, a robust network of cybersecurity professionals is critical to America's national security and economic prosperity,said Thune.The HACKED Act would bolster partnerships between local employers and universities on cybersecurity education and workforce needs and require greater coordination between federal agencies on cybersecurity training and workforce development.This legislation would build upon the important work being done by universities across the nation including in South Dakota to prepare and sustain a strong, talented, and much-needed national cybersecurity workforce. Cybersecurity risks are constant in the growing digital world. It is critical that the United States stay ahead of malicious cyber activity with a workforce that can safeguard our innovation, research, and work environments,said Wicker, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the bill's lead sponsor.This legislation is an important first step to expand the cybersecurity workforce and provide tools to support necessary education and training. In addition to Thune and Wicker, the bill is also cosponsored by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) The HACKED Act would: Incentivize recruitment of cybersecurity educators. Align education and training with the cybersecurity workforce needs. Design clear paths in the cybersecurity workforce for cybersecurity professionals to advance their careers. Improve cybersecurity awareness guidelines for federal agencies. Increase coordination in federal cybersecurity workforce programs through a new Office of Science and Technology Policy working group. Clickhereto see the full bill. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-supports-real-meat-bill-fight-imitation-meat-labeling,Johnson Supports Real MEAT Bill to Fight Imitation Meat Labeling,2019-11-05,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,Dusty Johnson,J000301,dustyjohnson.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) cosponsored the Real Marketing Edible Artificial Truthfully (MEAT) Act of 2019, to address imitation meat and to establish a federal definition of beef that applies to food labels. A plant-based creation isn't the same as South Dakota beef, said Rep. Johnson. It's to the benefit of consumers and producers alike when folks have a better understanding of where their food comes fromthe Real MEAT Act would provide the transparency Americans deserve. The Real MEAT Act would bolster misbranding provisions to prevent consumer confusion and provide tools to better enforce the law. This legislation was introduced by Rep. Marshall (R-KS) and Rep. Brindisi (D-NY). ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-receives-us-chamber-of-commerce-spirit-of-enterprise-award,Rounds Receives U.S. Chamber of Commerce ‘Spirit of Enterprise’ Award,2019-11-04,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) was awarded the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Spirit of Enterprise’ Award for his support of pro-growth economic policies during the second session of the 115th Congress. Rounds was one of only 16 members of Congress who received a 100 percent score. “I’m honored to receive the Spirit of Enterprise Award from the Chamber of Commerce,” said Rounds. “South Dakota is a great place to start and grow a business. With low taxes and limited red tape, our state provides a friendly environment for entrepreneurs. I’ll keep working to bring that same South Dakota common sense to Washington.” The Chamber’s prestigious Spirit of Enterprise Award is given annually to members of Congress based on their votes on critical legislation that invites business growth and opportunity. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=E1595915-69A3-456B-8CBA-0237F28AB4A3,"Thune, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase Internet Platform Transparency and Provide Consumers With Greater Control Over Digital Content",2019-11-01,2019,2019-11,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which has jurisdiction over the internet and consumer protection, and Mark Warner (D-Va.) today introduced the Filter Bubble Transparency Act. The bill would require large-scale internet platforms that collect data from more than 1 million users and gross more than $50 million per year to provide greater transparency to consumers and allow users to view content that has not been curated as a result of a secret algorithm. The Filter Bubble Transparency Act would make it easier for internet platform users to understand the potential manipulation that exists with secret algorithms and require large-scale platforms to allow those users to consume information outside of that potential manipulation zone or filter bubble. This legislation is about transparency and consumer control, said Thune, chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet.For free markets to work as effectively and as efficiently as possible, consumers need as much information as possible, including a better understanding of how internet platforms use artificial intelligence and opaque algorithms to make inferences from the reams of personal data at their fingertips that can be used to affect behavior and influence outcomes.That's why I believe consumers should have the option to either view a platform's opaque algorithm-generated content or its filter bubble-free content, and, at the very least, they deserve to know how large-scale internet platforms are delivering information to their users. Consumers deserve to control their own online experiences instead of being manipulated by Big Tech's algorithms and analytics, said Blumenthal. So much of what we do online is increasingly being shaped without our knowledge or consent by the companies that own those platforms, which use our personal data to choose what information consumers see or don't see. Our bipartisan bill will allow consumers to regain some control over their online experience by letting them simply opt out of the filter bubble. Throughout recent efforts to identify meaningful consumer protections in an increasingly complex and innovative tech economy, a concept that has been consistently identified as a key component has been the request for increased consumer education and awareness of how personal information is being collected, processed and repurposed, said Moran, chairman of the Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection. This legislation not only seeks to increase consumer awareness, but also requires companies to offer certain products and services to consumers free of manipulation.I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues on providing appropriate consumer protections without disproportionately harming innovation. When individuals log onto a website, they are not expecting the platform to have chosen for them what information is most important, said Blackburn. Algorithms directly influence what content users see first, in turn shaping their worldview. This legislation would give consumers the choice to decide whether they want to use the algorithm or view content in the order it was posted. As we've seen over and over, consumers have limited understanding of how their data is being used and how platforms operate, said Warner. This bill helps reduce the power of opaque algorithms on our discourse and put greater control in the hands of consumers. Online algorithms shape what we get to see online, but they're hard to understand because they're invisible it's difficult to tell how your feed differs from that of your friends or neighbors, said Eli Pariser, chief executive of Upworthy and author of The Filter Bubble: How the New Personalized Web Is Changing What We Read and How We Think. The Filter Bubble Transparency Act is a big step toward making these algorithms more visible helping consumers understand how they work, how significant these editorial choices really are, and giving people the choice to see the world in a less filtered way. We need common ground and a common sense of the truth now more than ever, and I'm glad this bipartisan group of senators is taking up that important charge. Filter bubbles divide and conquer, said Shoshana Zuboff, professor emerita at Harvard Business School and author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. We are trapped unaware inside these bubbles, without the rights to know, escape, or resist, even as we now understand the dangerous political and social consequences of thesecommercial systems. The Filter Bubble Transparency Act begins the work of breaking this manipulative and divisive cycle. The bipartisan sponsorship of this Senate bill reflects a new era of lawmaking determined to shape a digital future that is good for people, good for shared prosperity, and good for democracy. The Filter Bubble Transparency Act would require large-scale internet platforms, as defined by the legislation, to: Clearly notify its users that their platform creates a filter bubble that uses secret algorithms (computer-generated filters) to determine the order or manner in which information is delivered to users; and Provide its users with the option of a filter bubble-free view of the information they provide. The bill would enable users to transition between a customized, filter bubble-generated version of information and a non-filter bubble version (for example, the sparkle icon option that is currently offered by Twitter that allows users to toggle between a personalized timeline and a purely chronological timeline). The Filter Bubble Transparency Act would make it unlawful for any person to operate a covered internet platform that uses a secret algorithm unless the platform complies with the two above requirements. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the legislation's requirements, and it would be authorized to seek civil penalties for knowing violations. In June 2019, Thune led a hearing entitled, Optimizing for Engagement: Understanding the Use of Persuasive Technology on Internet Platforms, in which he pressed technology experts, including current and former Google employees, on how algorithmic decision-making and machine learning on internet platforms influences the public. Thune, Blumenthal, and Moran have been actively engaged with other Commerce Committee members as they work toward finding consensus on a bipartisan national data privacy bill, and they, including Blackburn and Warner, believe the Filter Bubble Transparency Act could be an important part of this broader discussion.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/weekly-column/only-us-beef-should-be-labeled-as-a-product-of-the-usa-,Only U.S. Beef Should be Labeled as a “Product of the U.S.A.”,2019-11-01,2019,2019-11,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"South Dakota and American cattle producers raise the best beef in the world. Many families specifically seek out these high-quality products when choosing what beef to purchase at the grocery store. However, some families may not realize that not all meat labeled “Product of the U.S.A.” is actually beef from cattle raised within the United States. Current federal regulations include a loophole that allows beef from livestock born, raised and slaughtered in foreign countries to be labeled “Product of the U.S.A.” as long as the beef undergoes additional processing at a plant in the U.S. This is wrong. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) and I recently introduced legislation to address this issue. The U.S. Beef Integrity Act would make certain that the “Product of the U.S.A.” label only goes on beef and beef products exclusively derived from one or more animals born, raised and slaughtered here in the United States. We also wrote a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue in support of administrative changes that would prevent beef from cattle born, raised and slaughtered in foreign countries from being labeled as a “Product of the U.S.A.” This change would be a win for both consumers and our hardworking cattle ranchers here in the U.S. Consumers deserve transparency when they’re purchasing beef. When South Dakota families purchase beef labeled “Product of the U.S.A.,” they should know with certainty that it is coming from one of our top-quality producers. This does not mean we should close the door to other options as well – far from it. I’m glad we have a vast array of choices when we do our grocery shopping. Our bill simply closes the misleading labeling loophole so you’ll never be unsure where your beef came from when you’re at the grocery store meat counter. When consumers have greater choice, it results in more innovation in the market and fairer prices. Earlier this year, I introduced legislation that would open up new markets for South Dakota producers. Our bill would allow meat and poultry products inspected by state Meat and Poultry Inspection (MPI) programs to be sold across state lines. Right now, 27 states have state inspection programs that meet or exceed federal inspection standards. However, under current law, products processed at these facilities can’t be sold across state lines. Producers have to take extra steps if they want to expand their market reach. Our farmers and ranchers work hard to deliver the best and safest food products in the world. When I purchase beef at the store, I want to know with certainty that it is an American product. Our beef labeling bill and our meat inspection bill will provide consumers with greater transparency and choice when they’re at the grocery store. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:43:09Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A8411465-FEBF-49F7-AEEE-3AD664156C03,Thune Statement on Democrats Blocking Military Funding,2019-10-31,2019,2019-10,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement after the Senate Democrats blocked passage of a bill that would provide essential funding for our troops. As members of Congress, it is our duty to ensure our men and women in uniform have the tools they need to keep our nation safe. By blocking this year's defense appropriations bill, Democrats are failing to fulfill that fundamental responsibility. The stakes are too high when it comes to our national defense. Not only are Democrats putting politics before the safety of our nation, but they are also blocking funding for a well-deserved pay raise for our troops. If Democrats are actually serious about legislating, then they need to put aside the political games and work with Republicans to get our military funded. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=D9E1371C-7D94-4D9B-BB5B-39533C541E5D,Thune: Senate Democrats Are Jeopardizing Military Funding,2019-10-31,2019,2019-10,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Clickhereto watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the importance of ensuring that U.S. troops have the funding they need to do their jobs and come home safely. Thune also urged Senate Democrats to abandon their partisan games by moving forward with the defense appropriations bill to give our military the resources it needs. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, last weekend I had the privilege of attending the welcome-home ceremony for 112 members of the South Dakota National Guard. These men and women, who serve in the 147th Forward Support Company or in Bravo Battery of the 1-147th Field Artillery Battalion, were deployed to Europe as part of Atlantic Resolve a partnership with our allies in Eastern and Central Europe developed in response to Russia's invasion of the Crimea in 2014. Atlantic Resolve allows U.S. and allied forces to build strong working relationships and hone their ability to conduct joint operations. Members of Bravo Battery and the 147th Forward Support Company spent most of the year in Europe working with partner forces. They participated in two multinational exercises and brought artillery to Germany and Hungary. These soldiers finally got home last weekend, but they didn't leave Atlantic Resolve without South Dakota support. Other members of the 147th Forward Support Company and Alpha Battery of the 1-147th Field Artillery Battalion headed for Europe in September. Other South Dakota-based military members airmen from Ellsworth Air Force Base also deployed abroad recently. Four B-1 bombers from the 34th and 37th Bomb Squadrons at Ellsworth made a flying trip to Saudi Arabia late this month to support the U.S. military presence there. The bombers flew directly from South Dakota to Saudi Arabia, refueling six times in mid-air, once again demonstrating the incredible capability of this aircraft and of our Ellsworth airmen. Mr. President, Atlantic Resolve, the B-1 mission, the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a raid conducted by U.S. troops they're all a reminder of the vital work our military members are doing. A lot of military missions don't make a big splash in the news. We don't hear a lot about everything our men and women in uniform are doing every day. We don't hear details of all the operations, the joint exercises with our allies, the countless training evolutions, the never-ending aircraft and vehicle maintenance, the hours watching radar systems for contacts, the endless logistical work to support troops in the field, the painstaking weeks and months of intelligence gathering for a single mission. But every hour of every day, members of the United States military are on duty, working to keep the peace and ensure the security of our nation. As members of Congress, we have no greater obligation than to ensure that our troops have the resources they need. We owe it to the men and women who get up each day willing to lay down their lives for us. And we owe it to every man, woman, and child we represent, because the safety of our country depends on the strength of our military. Mr. President, ensuring that our troops have the resources they need obviously means ensuring that they have adequate funding. But it also means getting that funding to them in a timely fashion. It means passing regular-order appropriations bills, instead of forcing our military to rely on temporary funding measures that leave the military in doubt about funding levels and unable to start important new projects. Getting military funding approved in a timely manner is a priority for me and for a lot of my colleagues here in the Senate. Chairman Shelby worked hard this year to ensure that we could bring the defense appropriations bill to the floor in a timely fashion. But Senate Democrats have so far blocked Senate consideration of this legislation. Their refusal to allow the Senate to move forward on funding has left the military in limbo, unable to fully fund 2020 priorities and move ahead on key projects for the future. Later today, Democrats will have another chance to move forward with the defense appropriations bill and get our military the resources it needs. I'm hoping they will have a change of heart and decide that funding our military is more important than the partisan games they've been playing. Our military members are waiting on that funding. Their ability to do their jobs is being jeopardized by Democrats' continued blockade of defense appropriations. Mr. President, we live in peace and safety every day because of the men and women of the United States military. It's not a new sentiment, but it bears repeating. Because it's too easy to forget that we would not be enjoying the freedoms and benefits we enjoy without the constant vigilance of our men and women in uniform. The least the very least we can do in return is make sure that they have every resource they need to do their jobs and come home safely. I strongly urge my Democrat colleagues to vote yes on moving forward with the defense appropriations bill. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-votes-against-impeachment-inquiry,Johnson Votes Against Impeachment Inquiry,2019-10-31,2019,2019-10,Republican,House,SD,Dusty Johnson,J000301,dustyjohnson.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. Today U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) issued the following statement following the U.S. House of Representatives formal vote on the impeachment inquiry: I voted against the impeachment resolution, said Johnson. The process it establishes doesn't provide the transparency and fairness we need. It concentrates power in the hands of Adam Schiff, who is given a veto over Republican efforts to call witnesses and subpoena records. A tainted impeachment process does not better us as a nation. This formal impeachment vote comes thirty-seven days after the Speaker of the House launched impeachment proceedings. There have been seventy-two hours of testimony the majority of Congress and the American people has been denied access to. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-joins-colleagues-to-introduce-down-syndrome-discrimination-by-abortion-prohibition-act,Rounds Joins Colleagues to Introduce Down Syndrome Discrimination by Abortion Prohibition Act,2019-10-31,2019,2019-10,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined a number of his colleagues in introducing the Down Syndrome Discrimination by Abortion Prohibition Act, which would prohibit abortion based on an unborn child having Down syndrome. “Life is a precious gift from God that should be treated with respect and dignity, from the very beginning to the very end,” said Rounds. “Unborn children have a right to life, regardless of a Down Syndrome diagnosis, which is why I’m pleased to join Sen. Inhofe to introduce this legislation.” As prenatal screenings increase in availability and accessibility, more and more people learn whether or not their baby has Down syndrome prior to the baby’s birth. Sadly, many of these lives are aborted following a diagnosis—over two-thirds of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted in the U.S., and Iceland has virtually eradicated Down syndrome altogether. The Down Syndrome Discrimination by Abortion Prohibition Act would enact a federal ban on the performance of an abortion with the knowledge that a pregnant woman is seeking an abortion, in whole or in part, on the basis of a belief that her unborn child has Down syndrome. This legislation would not penalize the expectant mother in any way. Eight states (Indiana, Ohio, North Dakota, Louisiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Utah) have enacted legislation to prohibit abortion on the basis of Down syndrome. Courts have enjoined the law in several of the states. Several additional states have introduced similar legislation. While the Supreme Court recently declined to take up Indiana’s Down syndrome abortion ban, Justice Thomas made it clear that the Supreme Court has not “decide[d] whether the Constitution requires States to allow eugenic abortions.” The bill, led by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), is sponsored by Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), James Risch (R-I.D.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Congressman Ron Estes (KS-04) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Bill Overview Makes it illegal for a doctor to knowingly perform an abortion being sought because the baby has or may have Down syndrome, or, if the doctor does not know whether Down syndrome is a contributing factor, requires the doctor to first ask the mother if she is aware of any test results indicating that the child has Down syndrome and to inform her of prohibitions put in place by the law. Prohibits anyone from forcing a woman to have an abortion because the baby has Down syndrome. Imposes a fine and/or imprisonment of up to five years on those who violate the law, and pulls federal funds under existing federal disability anti-discrimination laws from associated abortion clinics. Protects the mother by barring her from being prosecuted or held liable for any violation of the bill and puts in place guardrails to protect her privacy in all court proceedings. To read full text of the bill, click here.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:39:44Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=0C410F79-F1E5-451D-BAA4-CAA41AF73491,Thune: Democrats Should Support our Military and Vote for Defense Funding,2019-10-30,2019,2019-10,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Clickhereto watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the responsibility of Congress to provide adequate funding to our troops, helping to ensure that our men and women in uniform are prepared to meet any threat. Thune urged Democrats to put aside partisan politics and work with Republicans to pass the defense appropriations bill. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, ISIS took a big hit over the weekend when U.S. forces raided ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's compound in Syria. Al-Baghdadi died in the raid after he detonated a suicide vest in a final act of cowardice, killing three children with him. His second in command was confirmed killed in a second military strike hours later, leaving the organization temporarily leaderless. Mr. President, over the past few years, ISIS has spilled a river of blood across the Middle East. Its brutality has set it apart even among other terrorist organizations. Torture, rape, enslavement, crucifixions, beheadings, the deliberate targeting of whole populations based on their religious beliefs the list of crimes is long and often nearly unspeakable. The world is a safer place today because of al-Baghdadi's death. But this impact will only be temporary unless we dedicate ourselves to ensuring that ISIS is permanently defeated. Mr. President,the successful raid on al-Baghdadi's compound is a reminder of the fact that our military may be called on at a moment's notice to head halfway around the world to fight evil. The men and women of the United States military stand on guard 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, ready to put themselves between us and danger. This past weekend I had the honor of helping to welcome home 112 South Dakota Army National Guard soldiers of the 147th Forward Support Company and Bravo Battery of the 1-147th Field Artillery Battalion. These citizen soldiers were in Europe for nearly a year, working with our NATO allies and increasing unit readiness. As members of Congress, we have no more fundamental responsibility than ensuring that our men and women in uniform are prepared to meet any threat. And we do that by providing timely and adequate funding for the current and future needs of our armed forces. That means funding the military through regular-order appropriations bills not through temporary funding measures that leave the military in doubt about funding levels and unable to start essential new projects. Unfortunately, our efforts to fund the military in a timely fashion have been stymied by Democrats, who blocked the Senate from passing the defense appropriations bill in September before the end of the fiscal year. We're now a month into the new fiscal year, and Democrats are still indicating that they intend to block this year's defense appropriations bill. Let me briefly review what Democrats are blocking. They're blocking funding to support a pay increase for our military men and women. They're blocking funding for weapons and equipment that our troops need right now. They're blocking investment in the equipment and technology that our military will need to defeat the threats of the future. They're blocking funding for missile defense. For research and development. For ships, planes, and combat vehicles to update our aging fleets. And they're blocking funding for our allies, including $250 million in military assistance for Ukraine. Let me just repeat that last point, Mr. President: Democrats, who are currently trying to impeach the president for allegedly delaying Ukraine funding, are currently blocking $250 million in assistance for Ukraine. I'm pretty sure that's the definition of both irony and hypocrisy. Mr. President, toward the end of the summer, it looked like Democrats might actually be willing to work with Republicans to pass this year's appropriations bills. Both Democrats and Republicans agreed to a bipartisan deal laying out funding levels for both defense and non-defense spending. But apparently that was as far as Senate Democrats were prepared to go. Now that it's come time to honor the spirit of that agreement and get this year's defense appropriations bill done, Senate Democrats are balking. Mr. President, Democrats would like us to believe that they're serious about legislating that their years-long obsession with impeaching the president isn't distracting them from doing their job. Well, Mr. President, they're going to have a chance to prove that in the near future. If Democrats are actually serious about legislating, if they're serious about meeting their responsibilities, then they will work with Republicans to move forward on the defense appropriations bill and get this legislation to the president as soon as possible. I hope that's what they'll choose to do. As Chairman Shelby noted on the floor last week, Congress' failure to do its job and fund our military is making the military's job more difficult. And that, as Chairman Shelby noted, is unacceptable. It's time to get our men and women in uniform the funding they need and the pay increase they deserve. It's time to get this year's defense appropriations bill done. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=3CF1B686-DB68-41FE-BE75-AABA0BEE9D15,Delegation Urges Administration to Quickly Approve South Dakota Disaster Declaration,2019-10-30,2019,2019-10,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. JohnThune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) todaysent a letter to President Trump in support of Gov. Kristi Noem's (R-S.D.) request for a major disaster declaration for the state of South Dakota as a result of severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that began on September 9, 2019.The delegation has strongly supported South Dakota's previousdisaster requests, including those from late-winter storms that caused significant damage to infrastructure, livestock, homes, and bridges throughout the state. South Dakota has been hit with disastrous storm after storm this year, and the devastation has been catastrophic,wrote Thune, Rounds, and Johnson. We are determined to help South Dakota recover by supporting the local communities and the state of South Dakota as we continue to rebuild areas affected by these major weather events. Full text of theletteris below: The Honorable Donald Trump President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Trump: We write in full support of Governor Kristi Noem's request for a major disaster declaration for the state of South Dakota as a result of severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that began on September 9, 2019. As Governor Noem's disaster declaration request indicates, the severe weather last month caused extensive damage to homes and businesses, agriculture, and public infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, highways, railroads, parks, and electrical systems across southeastern South Dakota.Many residents had to be evacuated from flood waters or buildings that had been damaged from tornadoes.Thousands of acres of farmland cannot be planted due to severe flooding, which will have a financial impact on individual farming operations and the rural communities in which farmers live. South Dakota has been hit with disastrous storm after storm this year, and the devastation has been catastrophic. We are determined to help South Dakota recover by supporting the local communities and the state of South Dakota as we continue to rebuild areas affected by these major weather events. Thank you for your consideration of this request.Please do not hesitate to contact us should you need further assistance in this effort. Sincerely, ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/delegation-urges-administration-quickly-approve-south-dakota-disaster,Delegation Urges Administration to Quickly Approve South Dakota Disaster Declaration,2019-10-30,2019,2019-10,Republican,House,SD,Dusty Johnson,J000301,dustyjohnson.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today sent a letter to President Trump in support of Gov. Kristi Noem's (R-S.D.) request for a major disaster declaration for the state of South Dakota as a result of severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that began on September 9, 2019.The delegation has strongly supported South Dakota's previous disaster requests, including those from late-winter storms that caused significant damage to infrastructure, livestock, homes, and bridges throughout the state. South Dakota has been hit with disastrous storm after storm this year, and the devastation has been catastrophic, wrote Thune, Rounds, and Johnson. We are determined to help South Dakota recover by supporting the local communities and the state of South Dakota as we continue to rebuild areas affected by these major weather events. Full text of the letter is below: The Honorable Donald Trump President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Trump: We write in full support of Governor Kristi Noem's request for a major disaster declaration for the state of South Dakota as a result of severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that began on September 9, 2019. As Governor Noem's disaster declaration request indicates, the severe weather last month caused extensive damage to homes and businesses, agriculture, and public infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, highways, railroads, parks, and electrical systems across southeastern South Dakota.Many residents had to be evacuated from flood waters or buildings that had been damaged from tornadoes.Thousands of acres of farmland cannot be planted due to severe flooding, which will have a financial impact on individual farming operations and the rural communities in which farmers live. South Dakota has been hit with disastrous storm after storm this year, and the devastation has been catastrophic. We are determined to help South Dakota recover by supporting the local communities and the state of South Dakota as we continue to rebuild areas affected by these major weather events. Thank you for your consideration of this request.Please do not hesitate to contact us should you need further assistance in this effort. Sincerely, ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/delegation-urges-administration-to-quickly-approve-south-dakota-disaster-declaration-,Delegation Urges Administration to Quickly Approve South Dakota Disaster Declaration,2019-10-30,2019,2019-10,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today sent a letter to President Trump in support of Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R-S.D.) request for a major disaster declaration for the state of South Dakota as a result of severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that began on September 9, 2019. The delegation has strongly supported South Dakota’s previous disaster requests, including those from late-winter storms that caused significant damage to infrastructure, livestock, homes, and bridges throughout the state. “South Dakota has been hit with disastrous storm after storm this year, and the devastation has been catastrophic,” wrote Thune, Rounds, and Johnson. “We are determined to help South Dakota recover by supporting the local communities and the state of South Dakota as we continue to rebuild areas affected by these major weather events.” Full text of the letter is below: The Honorable Donald Trump President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Trump: We write in full support of Governor Kristi Noem’s request for a major disaster declaration for the state of South Dakota as a result of severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that began on September 9, 2019. As Governor Noem’s disaster declaration request indicates, the severe weather last month caused extensive damage to homes and businesses, agriculture, and public infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, highways, railroads, parks, and electrical systems across southeastern South Dakota. Many residents had to be evacuated from flood waters or buildings that had been damaged from tornadoes. Thousands of acres of farmland cannot be planted due to severe flooding, which will have a financial impact on individual farming operations and the rural communities in which farmers live. South Dakota has been hit with disastrous storm after storm this year, and the devastation has been catastrophic. We are determined to help South Dakota recover by supporting the local communities and the state of South Dakota as we continue to rebuild areas affected by these major weather events. Thank you for your consideration of this request. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you need further assistance in this effort. Sincerely,",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:39:44Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-thune-push-to-keep-foreign-beef-from-receiving-product-of-the-usa-label,"Rounds, Thune Push to Keep Foreign Beef from Receiving “Product of the U.S.A.” Label",2019-10-30,2019,2019-10,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) today took steps to keep beef born, raised and slaughtered in foreign countries from receiving a “Product of the U.S.A.” label. The U.S. Beef Integrity Act would make certain that the “Product of the U.S.A.” label only goes to beef and beef products exclusively derived from one or more animals born, raised and slaughtered in the United States. Currently, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) does not require that beef be born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. in order to carry a “Product of the U.S.A.” label. This loophole allows beef from livestock born and raised in foreign countries to be labeled “Product of the U.S.A.” as long as the beef undergoes additional processing at a processing plant in the U.S. Additionally, Thune and Rounds wrote to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to offer support for administrative changes to the FSIS beef labeling requirements. “Our cattle producers offer some of the highest-quality beef in the world,” said Rounds. “Consumers deserve to know where their food is coming from. When South Dakota families purchase beef labeled ‘Product of the U.S.A.,’ they should know with certainty that it is coming from one of our top-quality producers. Today’s beef labeling rules are misleading and allow beef and beef products from cattle born, raised and slaughtered outside of the U.S. to be labeled as U.S. beef. This must be fixed for both consumers and our hardworking producers.” “For South Dakota ranchers, ‘Product of the U.S.A’ is far more than a label. It’s a sense of pride, and it represents a way of life,” said Thune. “This legislation is straightforward and common sense, two qualities that are often lacking in Washington and are made up for by South Dakotans and their hardworking spirit. It’s with our ranchers and agriculture community in mind that I’m proud to support this bill to give consumers more accurate information about what’s on the grocery store shelf and help showcase America’s beef products – the best in the world – as clearly and as proudly as possible.” Full Text of Letter: Dear Secretary Perdue: We write to express our support for the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association’s petition requesting the establishment of certain beef labeling requirements. As you may know, concerns have been raised around the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the qualifications for labeling beef as a “Product of the U.S.A.” Specifically, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) does not currently require that beef be born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States in order to carry a “Product of the U.S.A.” label. As a result, beef from cattle that are born, raised, and slaughtered in another country can be labeled “Product of the U.S.A.” so long as the beef undergoes additional processing in a USDA-inspected plant. Our farmers and ranchers work hard to deliver the highest-quality and safest food products in the world. Americans recognize this, and they want to know where their food is coming from. Unfortunately, without clear parameters, the current “Product of the U.S.A.” label can be misleading to consumers and can result in imported beef being labeled as though it is of U.S. origin. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to your response. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:39:44Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=DB2B9B7C-79C5-47B3-9F39-5B2EFC3F38C0,Thune: Democrats Want to Maximize Washington Control of Americans Health Care,2019-10-29,2019,2019-10,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Clickhereor on the picture above to watch Thune's speech. WASHINGTON Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the Democrats' latest political messaging bill, which would repeal guidance that the administration issued to give states more flexibility to design health insurance plans that meet the needs of their residents. Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery): Mr. President, before I begin, I want to say that I was saddened to hear of the death of former Senator Kay Hagan yesterday. She was a dedicated public servant. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. Mr. President, later this week we will vote on a Democrat resolution to repeal guidance the president issued to give states more flexibility to design insurance plans that meet the needs of their residents. Democrats have tried to portray this resolution as a move to protect people with preexisting conditions. That is just a smokescreen. Democrats know very well that Republicans are committed to protecting those with preexisting conditions. In reality this is just another political messaging bill. It's also another attempt by Democrats to maximize Washington control of Americans' health care. In keeping with their push toward socialism, Democrats want to make very sure that states don't have the chance to escape from any of Obamacare's bureaucracy. But let me back up for a minute and talk about the waivers and the guidance from the president that Democrats are attacking. Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act the law that Democrats enacted on a completely partisan basis allows states to apply for waivers from certain Obamacare requirements. The requirements that can and cannot be waived are the same today as they were the day Obamacare passed. Let me repeat that. The Obamacare requirements that can or cannot be waived are the same today as they were the day Obamacare passed. The 2018 guidance from the White House did not changeanythingabout what requirements can and cannot be waived under Section 1332. Let me be very clear: 1332 waivers DO NOT allow states to waive Obamacare's preexisting condition protections. They do not allow health plans to utilize preexisting condition coverage exclusions. They do not allow health plans to refuse coverage for people with preexisting conditions. And they do not allow plans to charge individuals more based on a preexisting health condition. So what do the 1332 waivers do? The waivers give states the opportunity to take action to stabilize insurance markets and try out new ways of providing coverage to individuals who might not otherwise be able to afford insurance. My colleagues across the aisle would have the American public believe that these waivers will, quote, allow states to greenlight substandard, junk insurance plans. Let me remind my colleagues that these plans they deride as junk plans are the very same short-term limited duration plans that were permitted in seven out of the eight years of the Obama administration. Another refrain we will hear from my Democrat colleagues is that the administration's guidance will permit states to waive essential health benefits, or EHBs. I want to remind them that the Affordable Care Act itself permits the waiving of EHBs by states. The Trump administration guidance does not change this. So again, while Democrats would have people believe that Republicans are destroying EHBs, states can already choose to waive them, and have not to date. Most of the states who have applied for waivers have wanted to use them for reinsurance programs to drive down premiums. Again, waivers give states some relief from Obamacare's one-size-fits-all requirements, allowing them to try out new ways to drive down prices and help individuals afford care. It's about choice, and empowering Americans to decide what type of coverage meets their needs. Mr. President, we might not be having this conversation today if Obamacare had lived up to the rosy promises that were made when it was passed. But I don't have to tell anyone that it didn't come anywhere close to living up to those promises. Obamacare was supposed to give Americans without health insurance access to affordable care, while preserving the health insurance of the millions of Americans who were satisfied with their plans. As everyone knows, what actually happened was quite different. Millions of Americans lost their plans; health insurance premiums went up, not down; and premiums and out-of-pocket costs on the exchanges were unaffordable for many from day one. The average monthly premium for a family plan on the exchanges has increased by $742 over the past four years. $742. That's close to the average mortgage payment in my home state of South Dakota. So it's not surprising that states would be looking for ways to help families afford care through 1332 waivers. And waivers are in fact helping to lower premiums. Seven states that received waivers saw average premiums for a benchmark silver plan drop by 7.5 percent from 2018 to 2019. States are using 1332 waivers to make health care more affordable and Obamacare premiums less burdensome. They are NOT using the waivers to do anything to undermine protections for people with preexisting conditions something they couldn't legally do anyway. It's worth noting that more than one state with a Democrat governor has applied for a 1332 waiver this year. Are Democrat senators suggesting that these governors want to undermine protections for people with preexisting conditions? Mr. President, numerous Americans are struggling to afford their Obamacare premiums, and many others have been priced out of the Obamacare market altogether. It only makes sense to give states as much flexibility as possible to address Obamacare's problems and expand insurance access for their residents. But Democrats are so set on maximizing Washington control of Americans' health care that they're determined to oppose any Obamacare flexibility even if that flexibility is resulting in lower premiums for Americans. Today's resolution is just another example of Democrats' prioritizing their political ideology over the welfare of the American people.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-smith-lead-bipartisan-effort-to-improve-native-american-lending-services-at-hud-help-more-native-families-become-homeowners,"Rounds, Smith Lead Bipartisan Effort to Improve Native American Lending Services at HUD, Help More Native Families Become Homeowners",2019-10-29,2019,2019-10,Republican,Senate,SD,Mike Rounds,R000605,www.rounds.senate.gov,rounds,https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON—U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today introduced the Native American Housing Affordability Act of 2019. The bipartisan legislation reforms the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program, which provides mortgage loans to Native Americans and Alaska Natives, by speeding up the loan processing time. Additional original cosponsors include U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), John Tester (D-Mont.), Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.). “Established in 1992, HUD’s Loan Guarantee Program has helped countless Native Americans in South Dakota and across the country realize their dreams of homeownership,” said Rounds. “Our legislation will help even more Native American families become homeowners by removing regulatory hurdles that too often delay loan processing. I thank my colleagues for joining me in this effort and look forward to working together to advance this legislation in the Senate.” “When you don’t have a home, it’s nearly impossible for other parts of your life to work. But right now, Native Americans who want to be homeowners too often face unnecessary regulatory obstacles,” said Sen. Smith, a member of both the Senate Indian Affairs and Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committees. “Our bipartisan bill to remove red tape that slows down the loan processing time is one step we can take to promote homeownership and create opportunity for Native communities.” “Access to affordable housing is important to families and communities across the nation,” said Thune. “In an effort to facilitate additional affordable homeownership opportunities for Native American families, this legislation would improve the Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program by streamlining the loan guarantee process to encourage more lenders to participate in the program and provide additional mortgage financing opportunities to individuals and families on tribal trust land.” ""Native American veterans made great sacrifices to keep this country safe, and they deserve to have a warm place to sleep when they return from service,” said Tester. “Unfortunately, far too often these folks return home from service without access to safe and affordable housing. This amendment would ensure that Native veterans have better access to stable housing, so that even in difficult times they don’t have to worry about having a place to call home.” “If it takes months, or even years, for a Native American family to buy a home, the process is clearly broken,” said McSally. “Our bill improves HUD’s Loan Guarantee Program and cuts red tape that is stifling the ability for Native families to become homeowners and create more opportunities for their family.” “Buying a home is an important step toward building wealth and security for one’s family. Yet this step is often delayed or denied for Native Americans seeking to purchase homes on Indian trust land,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “This legislation would temporarily bypass a backlog at the Bureau of Indian Affairs that prevents lenders from extending HUD-guaranteed loans to these individuals in a timely manner. I’ll continue working to ensure that families living in tribal communities have the same opportunities as any other family to become homeowners.” “The HUD 184 Loan Guarantee Program has been instrumental in providing Native Americans better access to mortgage loans for over 25 years. However, the Program can still be improved, particularly for homeowners on trust lands. I applaud Senators Rounds and Smith for introducing the Native American Housing Affordability Act and look forward to working with Congress to find ways to improve the HUD 184 Program.” - Gary Cooper, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC) and Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Background: The HUD Section 184 program guarantees mortgage loans for Native American borrowers. As part of the lending process, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) provides title information about ownership of tribal land before HUD issues a certificate of guarantee. However, because it can take the BIA months to produce trailing documents to HUD, many prospective buyers give up and abandon the process. This legislation will speed up that process by allowing HUD to guarantee a loan without waiting for trailing documents from the BIA, as long as the lender indemnifies HUD. It also issues a series of findings about the Section 184 program and requires HUD to report on efforts the government is making to accelerate the processing time for Section 184 lender applications, including why processing times are or are not improving. ###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-06-27T23:39:44Z https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-introduces-bill-require-analysis-added-cftc-regulations,Johnson Introduces Bill to Require Analysis of Added CFTC Regulations,2019-10-28,2019,2019-10,Republican,House,SD,Dusty Johnson,J000301,dustyjohnson.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. Today U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) introduced the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Cost Benefit Improvement Act to formalize the office of the Chief Economist at the CFTC and require the Commission to assess the cost and benefits of any Commission actions or added regulations. The House Agriculture Committee will consider this legislation on Wednesday during the markup of the CFTC reauthorization. A proper cost-benefit analysis will foster a more informed dialogue between regulators at the CFTC and market participants, said Rep. Johnson. Formalizing the office of the Chief Economist will ensure the best economic analysis is taken into account with every decision the Commission makes. In 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order No. 13563, which required non-independent executive branch agencies to conduct cost-benefit analyses to ensure that the benefits of any rulemaking outweigh the costs. The proposed legislation seeks to apply those same standards to the Commission. The CFTC Cost Benefit Improvement Act would raise the legal standard for cost-benefit analysis the Commission is required to perform by requiring the Commission to assess the costs and benefits, both qualitative and quantitative of Commission actions. Furthermore, the legislation would also formalize the Office of the Chief Economist in statute, in a manner consistent with the CFTC's General Counsel's office, to ensure there is a Chief Economist to task with producing the required analysis. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=B35DEDAE-751D-4C39-A42B-D55B7C4C1356,Theres No Place Id Rather Be,2019-10-25,2019,2019-10,Republican,House,SD,John Thune,T000250,www.thune.senate.gov,,,legacy,"There's nothing better than autumn in South Dakota. I always enjoy traveling around the state in the fall. So far this October, I've gotten to visit with South Dakota students, present a Purple Heart medal to a Vietnam vet, talk to the new commander at Ellsworth Air Force Base, attend the groundbreaking for Dakota Wesleyan University's new School of Business Innovation and Leadership, greet a returning Honor Flight, visit some outstanding South Dakota businesses, chat with Sioux Falls' mayor, and a whole lot more. And of course, I got to participate in Hobo Day South Dakota State University's (SDSU's) annual homecoming. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a big sports guy in particular a South Dakota sports guy so I keenly enjoy every visit to the home of the Jacks. And even as a graduate of the University of South Dakota, Hobo Day is a fall highlight. There's a parade, a lot of good food, and a lot of excited sports fans. What's not to love? The best Hobo Days, of course, are when the Jacks win their game, and that's exactly what they did this year, handily defeating Southern Illinois. And speaking of Jacks football, I know there was a lot of excitement on SDSU's campus and throughout the Brookings community when ESPN's College GameDay announced it would cover the annual Dakota Marker matchup, the show's first-ever visit to South Dakota a big deal for any college town! In addition to Hobo Day and Jacks football, one of the things I look forward to the most each fall in South Dakota is the start of pheasant hunting season. I went out with several friends this year, and we had a great day. The weather was gorgeous that blue, blue South Dakota sky and the fall colors were finally showing themselves after a late start to the season. Pheasant hunting's economic importance to South Dakota is one of the many reasons I've worked to support and expand the Conservation Reserve Program. Taking underperforming land out of production is not only good for the environment and for farmers, it's also key to maintaining wildlife habitat, including pheasant habitat. I pushed for an increase in the Conservation Reserve Program acreage cap in the 2018 farm bill, and the final bill raised the acreage cap to 27 million acres. I will continue to work to support and strengthen this program to help farmers, benefit the environment, and provide habitat for wildlife especially the South Dakota pheasant. With several beautiful fall weekends around the corner (before the white stuff arrives for good), I'm looking forward to spending as much time as possible in South Dakota. There's no place in the world I'd rather be.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z