John Thune

Maintaining a transportation infrastructure is just critical to our nation's commerce.

Bio-based products hold an exciting future for agriculture and potentially can help the United States to recapture chemicals and manufacturing jobs.

I think it has dramatically changed and continues to change agriculture in rural America.

As you know, it is an area of dire need and the consequences of waiting are going to be, as I mentioned, pretty profound for the people on the Reservation.

I think this is an important subject given the current fiscal and budget and deficit crisis the nation is facing.

I can't emphasize that enough, Mr. Chairman.

It's going to be difficult for Republicans to support Mr. Bryson's nomination until the Administration submits those free trade agreements.

The Commerce Secretary has got to be a strong advocate for trade and open markets for America's farmers and manufacturers.

Excessive corporate taxes and needless regulations are preventing the creation of jobs and severely limiting economic growth in the country.

Do you believe that the position limits that are being proposed by the CFTC will raise costs for smaller investors who have money in commodity mutual funds?

Should end users who are hedging financial risk be given an exemption?

If there is a farmers co-op out there that poses a systemic risk to the economy, I have not bumped into it yet.

I am in particular concerned about the limited definition the CFTC is looking to instate for the de minimis exemption when defining 'swap dealers.'

Well, I say to my colleague from Oklahoma that I was not aware he said he supports ethanol. I was not aware he supports the RFS. If there is an amendment offered to strike the RFS, which there will be--am I wrong in saying the Senator…

I also ask unanimous consent I be allowed to enter into a colloquy with my colleague from Nebraska, Senator Johanns. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

Well, I would say through the Chair that there may be many efforts, as there typically are here in the Senate, to address some of the issues, and a lot of our Members have different ideas about how best to do that. I happen to believe the…

Point of clarification. My understanding is the Senator from California cannot yield time to another Senator.

The economy should be roaring back by now, but instead it's still struggling, and the unemployment rate is 9.1 percent.

Is Trade Promotion Authority important to the administration's stated goal of doubling exports over the next 5 years?

Ensuring that Korea's beef regulations are based on sound science has been a high priority for Chairman Baucus.

These trade agreements are critical to the economy, they are critical to jobs and export markets.

This proposed change has the potential to cause financial hardship on many farmers in that area and in North Dakota and Minnesota who have not abused prevent planting provisions.

The effective risk management for agriculture producers needs to be one of the highest priorities that all of us, I think, have on this committee as we look to writing the next farm bill.

I also am concerned about the perception that a lot of people have that the entire agriculture budget goes into production agriculture.

It will be cold comfort, Mr. Thune, for the family of a victim of an aircraft accident if it's determined that it was due to controller error and that the controller was fatigued at the time and had been deprived of opportunities for rest.