WASHINGTON, April 4 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following commentary: * * * Fixing Biden's Broken Broadband Program More than three years ago, Congress created the $42.5 billion BEAD program to bring broadband service to unserved parts of the country. It was the single largest federal investment in broadband expansion ever made. But to date, it has not connected a single household to the internet. The reason? The Biden administration chose to load up this program with a s  more

WASHINGTON, March 31 -- Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: * * * ICYMI: Rounds Introduces South Dakota Nominee at Armed Services Committee Hearing WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), recently introduced Dr. Troy Meink at his SASC nomination hearing. A native of Lemmon, South Dakota and a graduate of South Dakota State University, Dr. Meink was nominated by President Trump to serve as the next  more

WASHINGTON, April 1 -- Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: * * * Johnson, Thune, Baldwin Reintroduce Legislation to Protect U.S. Dairy Producers Washington, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and led a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers in reintroducing the Safeguarding American Food and Export Trade Yields (SAFETY) Act, legislation (link is external) to protect Ame  more

WASHINGTON, April 4 -- Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: * * * Johnson: "We Must Do Better for Tribes" Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) urged Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Department of Government Efficiency Chair Elon Musk to examine the waste, fraud, and abuse of funds for Indian country. Many healthcare, education, and law enforcement facilities in Indian country are not receiving the necessary funds for u  more

WASHINGTON, April 3 -- Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: * * * Rounds Introduces Legislation to Prevent Rural Hospital Closures WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today introduced legislation to help rural hospitals that are at risk of being closed. The Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act would codify an existing pilot program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical as  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following floor remarks on March 31, 2025: * * * Mr. President, work on the President's nominations continues apace. Last week, we confirmed nine members of the President's administration, including the Secretary of the Navy, an Assistant Attorney General, and Deputy Secretaries of Treasury, State, and Veterans Affairs. The President's Cabinet Secretaries, of course, are all in place. And tonight, we will be voting to invoke c  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: * * * Thune Statement on the Budget Resolution WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today released the following statement: "Republicans in the Senate and the House are committed to working with President Trump to stop Democrats from imposing an automatic $4 trillion tax hike on the American people at the end of this year," said Thune. "Democrats' knee-jerk opposition to Presi  more

WASHINGTON, April 1 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: * * * Thune, Baldwin, Johnson Reintroduce Legislation to Protect U.S. Dairy Producers WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today led a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers in reintroducing the Safeguarding American Food and Export Trade Yields (SAFETY) Act, legislation to protect American food products from unfair trade practice  more

WASHINGTON, April 3 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: * * * Thune, Durbin Ask Trump to Permit the Nationwide, Year-Round Sale of E15 Fuel WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) today led a bipartisan group of their colleagues in asking President Trump to permitthe year-round sale of E15 fuel through the summer of 2025 in order to enhance America's energy security and lower fuel costs for consumers while leveraging American ag  more

WASHINGTON, April 1 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: * * * Thune: Democrats Want to Raise Taxes... And That's No Joke Click here to watch the video. WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke at a press conference with Senate Republican leadership: Thune's remarks below (as delivered): "Good afternoon, everybody. "Republicans continue to have very productive conversations on how to achieve our agenda, and working wit  more

WASHINGTON, March 31 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: * * * Thune: Senate Committed to Delivering on President Trump's Agenda Click here to watch the video. WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor: Thune's remarks below (as delivered): "Mr. President, work on the president's nominations continues apace. "Last week, we confirmed nine members of the president's administr  more

WASHINGTON, April 3 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: * * * Thune: Senate Moves to Make Trump Tax Cuts Permanent Click here to watch the video. WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor: Thune's remarks below (as delivered): "Mr. President, as early as today, we expect to take up a budget resolution that will lay the groundwork for delivering on the Republican agenda. "Th  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: * * * Thune: Senate Republicans Work to End the Lawlessness at Our Borders Click here to watch the video. WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor: Thune's remarks below (as delivered): "Mr. President, just over two weeks ago the Senate passed the HALT Fentanyl Act with bipartisan support. "As I said at the time, this  more