John Thune
Senator for South Dakota · Republican · United States
“Around this time last year, during Democrats' record-long government shutdown, Senate Democrats were working to end this program. I am curious if the Democrat leader would like to claw back the $212 million that rural healthcare providers in New York are going to receive from this program this year.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Well, perhaps the Democrat leader should check in with his State's Governor, who said of a recent $76 million investment from this program: These investments will bring rural hospitals, health centers and community providers together to strengthen regional health care networks and make it easier for New Yorkers to get the care they need c…”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“This funding will help expand crisis services and build out our State's workforce in behavioral healthcare, and it comes after another announcement in August of funding to modernize technology and strengthen cyber security at rural healthcare providers in South Dakota, an initiative that will not only modernize care in my State but also s…”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, we are coming to the end of the first year of the Rural Health Transformation Program. This multiyear initiative created in Republicans' Working Families Tax Cut legislation will invest $50 billion in all 50 States to put rural healthcare providers on a more sustainable footing for the future.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“In the words of South Dakota Secretary of Health Melissa Magstadt, ``the initiatives that we've developed came strictly from the assessments we had, the expert input we garnered, and what citizens themselves said they needed in the community.'' That is exactly how the Rural Health Transformation Program is supposed to work, and it is not…”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following resolutions, which are at the desk: S. Res. 922, S. Res. 923, S. Res. 924, S. Res. 925, S. Res. 926, S. Res. 927, and S. Res. 928. There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolutions en bloc. Mr.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
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“Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 8:16 p.m., adjourned until Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at 10:15 a.m. ____________________”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10:15 a.m.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“10159) to authorize the Secretary of the Army to convey to the State of North Carolina a certain parcel of real property located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on which the State shall construct a veterans' State home, and for other purposes. There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the Senate proceeded to consider the bill. Mr. THUNE. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the Senate proceeded to consider the bill. Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“662) honoring the life and service of United States Marine Corps veteran Nicholas Douglas Quets, expressing condolences to his family, and condemning cartel violence. There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution. Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following resolutions, which are at the desk: S. Res. 922, S. Res. 923, S. Res. 924, S. Res. 925, S. Res. 926, S. Res. 927, and S. Res. 928. There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolutions en bloc. Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Without objection, it is so ordered. The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read the third time. Mr. THUNE. I know of no further debate on the bill.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the Senate proceeded to consider the bill. Mr. THUNE. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the Senate proceeded to consider the bill. Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Cortez Masto substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Peters substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. THUNE. I now ask for a second reading, and I object to my own request, all en bloc.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Around this time last year, during Democrats' record-long government shutdown, Senate Democrats were working to end this program. I am curious if the Democrat leader would like to claw back the $212 million that rural healthcare providers in New York are going to receive from this program this year. Should already-strapped rural hospitals not spend this money because Democrats are going to take it back the next time they have the power to do so? Let's hope it never comes to that. The Rural Health Transformation Program is helping Americans in rural areas across this country. It is helping South Dakota, Ohio, Idaho, Kansas, Rhode Island, Alaska, and everywhere in between. And I am proud that Republicans are delivering for rural Americans. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Well, perhaps the Democrat leader should check in with his State's Governor, who said of a recent $76 million investment from this program: These investments will bring rural hospitals, health centers and community providers together to strengthen regional health care networks and make it easier for New Yorkers to get the care they need closer to home. That is from New York's Governor. Let me repeat that: . . . and make it easier for New Yorkers to get the care they need closer to home. Well, that doesn't sound like fraud to me. But whether this would help the people in rural parts of their States didn't seem to matter to Washington Democrats. In fact, Senate Democrats voted more than half a dozen times, last year, to repeal--repeal--the Rural Health Transformation Program. That is right.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“All 50 States are receiving funding from this program, red States and blue States alike, which makes Senate Democrats' opposition to this program particularly baffling. Our Democrat colleagues have made their opposition to the Rural Health Transformation Program very clear, with the Democrat leader going so far as to say this last year: This little fund to help reimburse rural hospitals is just a fraud. Let me repeat that. This little fund to help reimburse rural hospitals is just a fraud. That is from the Democrat leader.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“In the words of South Dakota Secretary of Health Melissa Magstadt, ``the initiatives that we've developed came strictly from the assessments we had, the expert input we garnered, and what citizens themselves said they needed in the community.'' That is exactly how the Rural Health Transformation Program is supposed to work, and it is not just working in South Dakota. As I mentioned, all 50 States are taking advantage of this transformative program. Ohio is putting $3 million toward expanding offerings at pharmacies in rural communities. A nearly $5 million award will help a hospital in central Maine update its electric medical records system to integrate it with the wider health system it is part of.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“This funding will help expand crisis services and build out our State's workforce in behavioral healthcare, and it comes after another announcement in August of funding to modernize technology and strengthen cyber security at rural healthcare providers in South Dakota, an initiative that will not only modernize care in my State but also support future innovation to address the unique needs of rural South Dakota. When Republicans created the Rural Health Transformation Program, last summer, we didn't take a top-down, Washington-Senate approach. Instead, we designed it to give States the resources and freedom to find solutions to their particular challenges, and I am proud to see South Dakota taking the same approach when it comes to distributing the funding that it will receive.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, we are coming to the end of the first year of the Rural Health Transformation Program. This multiyear initiative created in Republicans' Working Families Tax Cut legislation will invest $50 billion in all 50 States to put rural healthcare providers on a more sustainable footing for the future. Beyond helping to ensure that Americans in rural areas can access healthcare, it will also ensure that providers are able to leverage technology and innovation to address the challenges unique to rural States. One year in, this program is off to a promising start, and that is certainly the case in my home State of South Dakota. Just last week, CMS announced a $13 million investment in behavioral and mental health care in South Dakota.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 684, H.R. 9340.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 912.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 684, H.R. 9340.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“THUNE. Mr. President, I withdraw the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 548, H.R. 7008.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 548, H.R. 7008.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“This Republican majority has worked hard to put more money in American families' pockets, in many cases by getting government out of the way. We have delivered permanent--permanent--tax relief. We rescinded a number of Biden-era regulations that would have reduced choice and raised prices for Americans. We passed a housing bill that eliminated a lot of redtape that has driven up the cost of home ownership and implemented new measures to drive down prices at the pharmacy counter. Republicans are working to put more money in hard-working Americans' pockets and help America's small businesses grow. We are setting the conditions for a brighter future and keeping the American dream alive and strong for future generations. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“A rancher in Montana said: Without the estate tax reforms . . . ranches like ours would have likely had to decide whether to sell off cattle or land just to cover the tax bill when it was time to pass it on. Now we have a fair shot at keeping the whole ranch together for the next generation. Thanks to this bill, family farms and ranches and family businesses have a fair shot at staying in the family for generations to come. These are just some of the results of the Working Families Tax Cuts, and I can't overstate how significant this bill is. The owners of a small business in Arizona wrote in their local paper last year that if Congress had not passed the Working Families Tax Cuts, they ``would have had to raise prices and cut costs, and over time, the pressure would have only increased.'' They are not alone.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“But because that doesn't matter when it comes to the death tax, many families have had to sell off all or part of their operation just to pay the tax bill when a family member dies. Eliminating this fundamentally unfair tax has long been a priority of mine, and I am proud that the Working Families Tax Cuts permanently raised the exemption threshold on the death tax, which means that a lot more families will be protected from losing their livelihood when they lose a loved one. This was an important priority for Republicans last year, and it is encouraging to see farmers and ranchers breathing a sigh of relief with the burden of this tax off of their shoulders. One farmer in Iowa said: One of my goals when I started farming was to be able to pass this farm on to the next generation, and I'm doing that. I feel very good about that.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“And provisions in this legislation support employer efforts to offer childcare and help repay their employees' student loans. I said that the Working Families Tax Cuts provides tax relief that will help small businesses and family farms and ranches for years to come. And on that point, perhaps no policy is as significant as the death tax relief we provided in this bill. For a lot of family businesses, especially ag families, the death tax has cast a dark shadow over their dream. It is a cause for anxiety, especially among farmers and ranchers, businesses that might look well- off on paper but are actually cash poor. Their wealth is tied up in land, tractors, combines, and livestock.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“That is the result of lower tax rates across the board, the permanent 199A small business deduction, immediate expensing for new equipment and for factory construction, and the permanent research and development tax credit. These tax policies are helping small businesses across an array of industries as well as family farms and ranches across America. That is certainly true in my home State of South Dakota. An agricultural co-op in my State says the 199A small business deduction, which Republicans first implemented with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act back in 2017, has allowed them to pass $140 million in tax savings back to South Dakota farmers over the last decade. A car dealership in Sioux Falls was able to put an addition on and hire 10 new employees thanks to the bonus depreciation provision.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Madam President, so far this year, 4.3 million Americans have filed to start their own business. That is a 13-percent increase over the same time last year. As these entrepreneurs get underway, their businesses will be able to take advantage of the pro-growth tax reform the Republicans enacted last year in the Working Families Tax Cuts. Because we delivered permanent tax reform, an entire generation of American small business owners, entrepreneurs, and innovators will have a better environment in which to pursue their American dream. Small businesses are already benefiting from this landmark law. This year, 12 million small business owners saw a lower tax bill, a $7,000 average tax cut.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, I move to table the committee-reported substitute amendment.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“Given the Democrats' obsession with opposing President Trump and their demonstrated opposition to bipartisan cooperation, I think it is safe to say that hard-working Americans would undoubtedly take a back seat in a Democrat-led Congress. And the American people, they deserve better than the party of ``no.'' I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“Perhaps the most spectacular example of the party of ``no'' came last fall when Democrats shut down the government for 43 days--the longest full government shutdown in history--over a clean, temporary, and nonpartisan spending bill. That is right. It was clear that Congress would need more time to get the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills finished, so Republicans proposed a clean, short-term funding measure free from poison pills or partisan policies. Let's just fund the government so we can continue the conversation about how we are going to fund it for the full year. Democrats, well, they just said: No, not going to do it. It didn't matter to them that the bill was nonpartisan. It didn't matter to them that it would only be in effect, actually, for a few weeks.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“They couldn't take yes for an answer. So the only conclusion one can draw is that the Democrats have concluded that it is good politics for them not to allow the Republicans to ``get a victory'' or the President to ``get a victory'' in the middle of a political season. That is really the only conclusion you can draw, after literally months and months and months of bipartisan negotiations in which the very last offer put on the table was one made by Democrats and accepted by the White House and Senate Republicans. That is where we are. That is what it is. Let's call it what it is. It is blatant politics. So my Democrat colleagues may talk a good game about working families, but the truth is that hard-working Americans take a distant back seat to Democrats' political priorities.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“Let's see if we can sit down and hammer out a compromise that incorporates the concerns, the issues, that both sides bring to the table. And that has been going on for months. I have been watching it, getting regular readouts, talking to Members on both sides--Democrats and Republicans--on both committees of jurisdiction and others who are interested in this issue. And we get to a point where Democrats flat can't take yes for an answer. So why is that? Well, if you agree on the substance, if you come to an agreement on the policy, which they had--I mean, everybody in these negotiations, in the discussions, have basically said: OK. This is the deal. Here is the counteroffer; counteroffer back; counteroffer back. The last counteroffer from the Democrats was agreed to by the White House, by our Senate Republicans.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“The White House has been engaged in these conversations and discussions for the past several weeks and essentially gave the Democrats the things they were asking for. Democrats can't take yes for an answer. It is like they caught the car and they don't know what to do. They said ``we want to work on this'' because permitting reform affects not just energy projects but projects in every sector of the economy. Energy projects--of course, obviously, both conventional energy and renewable energy projects are being affected by the delays and the bureaucracy and the redtape and the excessive litigation that comes with trying to do anything in this country of major consequence. So both sides had agreed this was a worthwhile objective: Let's work together.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“Because while they may acknowledge the need for permitting reform, what they really care about is denying Republicans another legislative win. This is an example of, again, just blatant partisanship. Republicans and Democrats have been working for months on a bipartisan basis with two committees of jurisdiction: the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the two committees that have jurisdiction over all of the elements related to permitting reform. And I have had Democrats come up to me on the floor countless times and say: We really want to get this done. We are working together. The White House will work with us on this or that. So we communicated with the White House.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“But in the Senate, Senate Democrats objected to passing the bill, and so it failed. Presumably, Democrats wanted to deny Republicans the legislative success in the lead-up to the elections, even though hard-working Americans are the ones that are going to pay the price. The same thing happened yesterday. Republicans and the White House have been negotiating for the better part of a year with Democrats over permitting reform legislation--a long-overdue priority that would help lower energy bills for American families by streamlining Federal regulations for energy projects. And we closed a deal with them that we could bring to the floor that incorporated essentially all of the Democrats' demands. But when it began to look like we could consider the bill this work period, Democrats changed their tune.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“And just in case you thought Democrat opposition was a matter of high-minded principle, since Republicans passed the Working Families Tax Cuts, a number of Democrats have tried to associate themselves with some of the tax relief in the bill despite universally opposing the legislation in Congress. And the partisanship continues. Last week, the Senate attempted to take up legislation on an issue of great importance to working families; namely, energy prices. The legislation we tried to take up, the Ratepayer Protection Act, would have protected hard-working Americans from the increased energy costs associated with data centers. The bill was so obviously commonsense that it passed the House overwhelmingly, with almost every Democrat as well as Republican supporting it.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“Democrats chose to slow down every single nomination, no matter how uncontroversial, for the majority of the 119th Congress. But slow- walking nominations was just the beginning. At the top of our priority list for this Congress was preventing the massive tax hike that was set to hit hard-working Americans. And for a party that claims to be the party of working men and women, you would think the Democrats would have been eager to work with us. They weren't. Not only were they not interested in working with us, but every single Democrat in both Houses of Congress voted against tax relief for the American people. They voted against preventing a massive tax hike, and they voted against all the new tax relief Republicans implemented--from no tax on overtime to a new bonus deduction for seniors.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, if there is one thing that quickly became clear at the start of the 119th Congress, it was that anything we were going to accomplish for hard-working Americans we were going to have to accomplish alone. There is always some partisanship in Congress--and healthy disagreement--but it became clear very quickly that Democrats were going to be taking partisanship to a new and rarefied level in the 119th Congress. That started with Presidential nominations. It has long been standard practice in the Senate to expedite uncontroversial nominations to allow a President to get his team in place. But from the very beginning of the 119th Congress, Democrats made clear that the history of bipartisan cooperation was over.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.”
Senate24 September 2026Source ↗
“And just in case you think that has nothing to do with the Democratic Socialists of America, think again. The Wall Street Journal reports that several members of the Democratic Socialists' National Political Committee are ``dedicated Marxists and communists.'' One of the organization's national cochairs, in fact, is a member of the Democratic Socialists' Red Star Caucus whose goal is not merely socialism but communism. Communism--the hallmark of some of the world's most repressive regimes. So I ask again, why are Democratic Socialists finding a home in the Democrat Party? I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
“``[W]e know complete victory will require building a new society from the ground up'' the authors of the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America write. And that is exactly what they propose to do: eliminate the American system and build another in its place. And this is the political organization that is currently finding a home in the Democrat Party. Democrats are giving a home to an organization that is not merely dedicated to the radical expansion of government but to the actual elimination of our system of government. Why? Well, at its worst, socialism moves into full-blown communism-- the economic system that characterized the Soviet Union and oversaw not merely the exploitation of workers and ordinary people but the complete loss of freedom for millions and the death of millions more.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
“Everything I have discussed so far would remake our country on a massive scale to the point of its being unrecognizable as the free, secure, and prosperous Nation that we have known over the past 250 years. But Democratic Socialists would take it even further. Their platform calls for officially changing our system of government, for eliminating the Senate and replacing ``the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.'' Those aren't tweaks around the margin; that is a full abolishment of the American system. That is the elimination of the checks and balances that define our government and help prevent any one branch from exceeding its lawful authority, and it is the elimination of real protection for minority rights.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
“Swept up in their utopian fantasies, they believe that by implementing the right system--socialism--they can somehow do away with human evil and remove the need for police or prisons--or armies, for that matter. But, of course, no system is going to be able to fully eliminate evil. No matter how many social programs you put in place or how much education the government provides, there are always going to be men and women who choose to harm others for their own ends. And the idea that we would eliminate the men and women who protect society from these people-- well, again, I don't think I need to explain to anyone just how quickly the peace and safety that we take for granted would evaporate, on both the local and national scale. And the Democratic Socialist platform doesn't end there.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
“The official platform--the official platform of the Democratic Socialists states that their goal is to ``demilitarize police departments, disempower police unions, and redirect funding to public services as steps towards fully abolishing the police and prison system.'' Think about that: ``as steps towards fully abolishing the police and prison system''--the official platform of the Democratic Socialists of America. I don't think I need to explain to anyone just how unhinged that is. If anyone thinks we can keep our communities safe while fully abolishing the police and prison system, I have some oceanfront property in South Dakota to sell them. The problem is that Democratic Socialists do believe this.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
“Americans place a high value on choice and freedom, but freedom and choice do not last very long when government takes over, and under democratic socialism, government would be truly taking over. I could dedicate a whole speech to what happens when government takes control of the economy and the means of production and of healthcare and education and energy. But there is more to the Democratic Socialist platform that I want to talk about. I guess I have to hand it to Democratic Socialists. Despite their plan for government takeover of most aspects of American life, they do have a couple of cuts on the table. But the nature of those cuts is a big problem. Democratic Socialists would like to defund the Pentagon; they would like to abolish immigration enforcement; and they would like to eliminate the police. That is right.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
“Healthcare, business, housing, education, energy-- all of these sectors would come under government control in a democratic socialist state. And when I say ``government control,'' I don't just mean they would be hit with a lot of regulations; I mean government control. Government would become the ultimate decisionmaker for American families in most aspects of their life. Take healthcare, for example. We often talk about the doctor-patient relationship in medicine. Well, under democratic socialism, that would be a lot more like the government-patient relationship. It is the government that would decide what healthcare Americans are eligible for, what medications they can take, and when and where they are able to access care.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗