WASHINGTON, June 25 -- The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet issued the following statement by Chairman John Thune, R-South Dakota, at a hearing entitled "Optimizing for Engagement: Understanding the Use of Persuasive Technology on Internet Platforms": "Good morning. I want to thank everyone for being here today to examine the use of persuasive technologies on internet platforms. "Each of our witnesses today has   more

WASHINGTON, June 25 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), both members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today led a bipartisan group of Senators urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update an outdated environmental analysis on ethanol in order to improve foreign sales opportunities. Peer-reviewed science conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture   more

WASHINGTON, June 28 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the Coast Guard's management of the Great Lakes Pilotage Program. The report (GAO-19-493) is titled "Coast Guard: Stakeholders' Views on Issues and Options for Managing the Great Lakes Pilotage Program". The report was sent to Sen. Roger F. Wicker, R-Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, Sen. Gary C. Peters  more

WASHINGTON, June 27 -- Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chairman of the Cybersecurity Subcommittee, secured a number of provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, which passed the Senate earlier today. On May 22, 2019, the NDAA was approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee with Rounds' support. "While Mike is supporting Jean this wee  more

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following statement after the Senate passed a bill to provide $4.59 billion in funding to address the humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border: "The humanitarian crisis at the border is unlike anything our immigration system has ever had to deal with before. Shelters are overloaded with a record number of migrants who have streamed across the U.S. southern border. "Resources are being stretched to a breaking point -- makin  more

WASHINGTON, June 27 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following statement regarding Senate passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1790) to fund and strengthen the military: "Ensuring our military is properly funded is essential in our current political and foreign relations climate. "As we continue to monitor the malign behavior of Iran in the Middle East and negotiate with other countries like China and North Korea, our military must continue to represent the stren  more

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) this week discussed the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) decision to allow haying and grazing of cover crops on prevent plant acres without reducing a producer's crop insurance indemnity. The decision from USDA came just one week after Thune convened a meeting with USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky and USDA Undersecretary Bill Northey during which Thune relayed Sout  more

WASHINGTON, June 28 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following op-ed: As we celebrate this Independence Day, I'm reminded of our Founding Fathers who put together the greatest statement of self-government the world has ever seen: the Declaration of Independence. They proclaimed that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of   more

WASHINGTON, June 25 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today led a hearing entitled, "Optimizing for Engagement: Understanding the Use of Persuasive Technology on Internet Platforms." The hearing examined how algorithmic decision-making and machine learning on internet platforms influences the public. During the hearin  more

WASHINGTON, June 24 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) today reintroduced the Chronic Disease Management Act, bipartisan legislation that would ensure high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) that are used with health savings accounts (HSAs) can opt to cover care related to chronic disease management prior to a beneficiary reaching their plan deductible. Thune and Carper also applauded the Trump administratio  more