Western South Dakota News

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) addressed the Senate floor today, criticizing Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's approach to what he termed "political show votes." Thune argued that these votes are consuming valuable time that could be used for critical legislation such as the National Defense Authorization Act and annual appropriations bills.

Thune stated, “Mr. President, it was another installment of Show-Vote Summer in the Senate this week. Really, the Senate is starting to feel like an arm of the DNC.” He described these votes as campaign tactics rather than genuine legislative efforts. “These were future campaign talking points and television commercials,” he added.

According to Thune, important legislation has been sidelined. “The National Defense Authorization Act, for one thing – one of the most important pieces of legislation we consider each year,” he said. He noted that despite significant work by the Appropriations Committee, including passing 11 out of 12 yearly appropriations bills by early August, none have been taken up on the Senate floor.

Thune emphasized that this delay is not due to a lack of effort from committees but rather political maneuvering by Democratic leadership. He cited Senator Collins' recent call for action on appropriations bills and criticized Schumer’s handling of other legislative processes.

“The Commerce Committee’s final release of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill was delayed for months because the Democrat leader objected to an amendment that was likely to pass in committee on a bipartisan basis,” Thune remarked. He also expressed concern over potential bypassing of formal procedures for crucial legislation like the National Defense Authorization Act.

Thune concluded with a call for a more functional Senate where committee work is respected and member input is valued through a robust amendment process. He also defended the importance of preserving the filibuster rule to maintain minority representation in legislative decisions.

“Mr. President, my great hope is to see a properly functioning Senate again... I don’t have much hope that we’ll see this type of Senate if Democrats are reelected and the current Democrat leader continues in his role,” Thune said before yielding the floor.