It's been one year since John Thune unseated Tom Daschle from the Senate. Here are some of the major things Thune has accomplished in his first year as Senator.
1) ELLSWORTH: Thune's work to save Ellsworth Air Force Base was a huge victory for South Dakota.
2) TRANSPORATION BILL: The transportation bill alloted a record number of funding to South Dakota: $255 million dollars. Furthermore, South Dakota has Senate protection over the formula for funding, which guarantees that our state's funding will not decrease over the next five years. At the current rate, South Dakota will receive about $1.3 billion over the next five years.
3) ETHANOL BILL: On March 16, 2005, Thune's Ethanol Bill passed the Senate. Previous attempts to pass this bill stalled in the Senate under Daschle, who did nothing to prevent other Dems from blocking its passage. It established a renewable fuels mandate that required refineries to blend 6 billion gallons of ethanol into gasoline by 2012. This increases the use of biofuels produced from agricultural commodities.
4) NATIVE AMERICANS: A number of items have gone through for Native Americans. The Tribal Parity Act bill was introduced on February 14, 2005, and provides compensation to the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Sioux Tribes for damage to tribal land caused by Pick-Sloan projects along the Missouri River Two grants, totaling $1,194,911, went to the Pine Ridge Reservation and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe for educational funding. Additional grants for healthcare, housing, rural development, environmental, and educational programs have also been awarded.
5) 2006 DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL: This bill provided South Dakota with over $30 million to various defense-related projects in South Dakota, with another $26 million in upgrade or development for the B1-B and Airborne Laser System that ultimately benefits Ellsworth.
6) JUDGES: Justice John Roberts was approved of with ease. The six federal court of appeals judges that were blocked under Daschle have also been approved.
7) GUN LAWSUITS: Another bill that was once blocked by Daschle. This bill was great news for South Dakota gun companies since it exempted them from frivolous law suits.
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