WASHINGTON, June 21 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: 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 Oglala Sioux Tribe President Julian Bear Runner's request for a major disaster declaration for the Pine Ridge Reservation following severe winter storms and flooding that occurred March 13 through March 26, 2019. "I'm grateful that the administration listene  more

WASHINGTON, June 20 -- Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) announcement which would adjust the November 1st harvest date for cover crop on prevent plant acres to September 1st. "I'm thrilled USDA acknowledged concerns from producers, recognized the need for flexibility on prevent plant acres, and acted swiftly," said Johnson. "This simple change will provide  more

WASHINGTON, June 19 -- Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: Today Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) spoke on the House Floor to emphasize the need to move up the November 1st prevent plant date through an administrative fix, if not through legislation. Last week, Johnson introduced the bipartisan Feed Emergency Enhancement During Disasters (FEEDD) Act, which would create an emergency waiver authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow pr  more

WASHINGTON, June 20 -- Reps. K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, ranking Republican member of the House Agriculture Committee, and Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, ranking Republican member of the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight and Department Operations, issued the following remarks: Today, the House Agriculture Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations Subcommittee held a hearing on the impacts of eliminating an administrative abuse of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) ca  more

WASHINGTON, June 19 -- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release: Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota), Mike Braun (R-Indiana), and John Cornyn (R-Texas) sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to utilize the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act, imposing additional sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran. The full text of the   more

WASHINGTON, June 18 -- Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, issued the following statement regarding news that his wife, Jean, will begin cancer treatment: "Many families have successfully dealt with this and we are no different. Jean is resilient and strong, we have the support of friends and family, and Jean will receive treatment from a highly-qualified team of doctors. "However, prayer has the power a human hand does not. To the countless South Dakotans who have generously asked how they can  more

WASHINGTON, June 21 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following statement, which was published in the Congressional Record on June 18, on agriculture: Our economy is thriving. Republican economic policies, particularly the historic tax reform legislation that we passed at the end of 2017, have helped to produce economic growth, higher wages, and better opportunities for workers. Unfortunately, our Nation's agriculture economy is trailing behind the economy as a whole. A combinatio  more

WASHINGTON, June 21 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following op-ed: It's not every day that I say this, but common sense recently prevailed in Washington, D.C. Yes, you read that correctly. After two months of encouraging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to adjust its arbitrary and administratively mandated date for haying and grazing cover crops on prevent plant acres, the department recently announced that it would move up the date to September 1, for the 2019 plantin  more

WASHINGTON, June 18 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed what he has been doing to help the struggling agriculture economy. From pressing USDA officials on prevent plant and conservation issues to calling on Congress to support the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, Thune is working to help get the farm economy thriving again. Full text of the speech below (as prepared for delivery): "Mr. President,  more

WASHINGTON, June 18 -- Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, Mark R. Warner, D-Virginia, Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, and Doug Jones, D-Alabama, issued the following op-ed on cracking down on shell companies and money laundering, which was submitted to CNBC: The United States has become one of the go-to destinations for the creation of anonymous shell companies, allowing human traffickers, terrorists, money launderers, sanctions evaders, kleptocrats, and other criminals to promote criminal activities h  more

WASHINGTON, June 18 -- 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, will convene a hearing titled, "Optimizing for Engagement: Understanding the Use of Persuasive Technology on Internet Platforms," at 10:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, June 25, 2019. The hearing will examine how algorithmic decision-making and machine learning on internet pl  more

WASHINGTON, June 20 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) decision to move up its administratively mandated November 1 date for haying and grazing cover crops on prevent plant acres to September 1, which will not result in a reduction in producers' prevent plant indemnity payments. USDA's decision comes one week aft  more