The new United States Senate Majority Leader laid out his priorities, including a new farm bill, as the 119th Congress got underway.
Republican Senator John Thune says he understands rural America because he grew up in a small South Dakota town.
“The town of Murdo, population today, roughly around 500 people. We didn’t even have a traffic light, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Life in Murdo had a beautiful simplicity. Sure, it had one or two drawbacks. With a population that small, we Thune kids could be sure that our parents would have heard all about any of our misdemeanors before we even made it home.”
Thune says that rural upbringing led him to value the land, agriculture and the importance of community, values that stuck with him as he rose through the ranks in the U.S. House and then the Senate. He says many parts of his aggressive agenda to begin this session of Congress are important to producers and rural areas.
“Extending the tax relief Republicans delivered during the first Trump Administration, lifting burdensome and expensive government regulations to help American businesses and families flourish, bringing appropriations bills to the floor for serious deliberation so that we make the best possible use of taxpayer dollars, and an overdue farm bill to update farm programs for farmers and ranchers to reflect current agricultural needs.”
Thune sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee and remains a strong advocate for farm programs and opening new markets for farm exports. His rise to the top Senate leadership post could make him a catalyst for speedy farm bill action, though any farm bill will still need bipartisan support to pass.
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