An amendment introduced this week by U.S. Sen. John Thune would have put resources and tax incentives into the hands of small business owners, a proposal he said could “put stimulus money where it should have been in the first place.”

The South Dakota Republican said the president's proposal is still too expensive and the provisions for paying for it will never be put into place.

Thune said the president is offering to sprinkle a few Republican ideas into a proposal that remains "a massive expansion of health care entitlements."

With the Obama administration promoting efforts to unionize workplaces, Sen. John Thune warned business leaders Tuesday that they should be ready to mobilize against congressional efforts to help labor groups organize employees.

In the battle of ideas over the best ways to stimulate the still lagging U.S. economy, South Dakota Sen. John Thune is attempting to get to the head of the pack by proposing a series of tax incentives to help small business.

As part of the current Senate debate over the so-called "tax extenders bill," Thune has proposed a series of incentives designed to help small business invest in new capital and hire more workers.

Today, Congressional Democrats and Republicans — at the invitation of President Barack Obama — will come together for what has been billed as a bipartisan health care summit. The American people expect that this will be an opportunity for their elected representatives to sit at the same table and find a way forward, together, to address a top national concern — all televised live on C-SPAN. The president himself said that participants would discuss “all the best ideas” to develop a health care reform plan.

Thune and Romney drove home a theme of restoring conservative principles of limited spending and using the private sector to create jobs, and Romney echoed Thune's claim that the Troubled Asset Relief Program should not be treated as a revolving loan fund or a slush fund for lawmakers' pet projects.

A former Presidential candidate was in Sioux Falls Friday night trying to help South Dakota's Senator win re-election. Currently Republican Senator John Thune is the only one running for the Senate seat, and the deadline for a Democrat to file is March 31st. Even so, Thune is getting some big-name support from former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Less than ten months away from the 2010 election, Senator John Thune is still without an opponent. Although November's election is shaping up to be a less stressful race than 2004, the Senator is quick to point out, you don't take chances in politics.

John Thune says, "You can't take anything for granted, and we're not gonna do that. We're gonna work as hard as we can to go out and earn the support of the people of South Dakota."

The last time John Thune ran for the Senate, he fought a pitched battle in one of the nation's most watched races, and his victory over Tom Daschle made him a darling of the Republican party.

This time around, to say the least, his bid for the Senate lacks the same drama as Democrats struggle to find even token opposition to run against him.

North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven was in Sioux Falls on Wednesday for his first out-of-state fundraiser since announcing his run for the U.S. Senate last month.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a longtime friend of Hoeven's, hosted the event for the popular North Dakota governor. For Hoeven, it was a natural location for his first fundraiser outside North Dakota. Thune had been nudging him for months to run for Senate, and the two states share business alliances and common interests in Washington.

The watchdog charged with monitoring the government's $700 billion bailout unleashed one of his harshest criticisms of the program to date, questioning its overall effectiveness.

In his latest quarterly report to Congress, special inspector general Neil Barofsky said that the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, has failed to boost bank lending as well as halt the spread of foreclosures -- two key aims of the sprawling program.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., was one of five senators recognized as a recipient of an agricultural award by the National Association of Wheat Growers on Tuesday. The award recognizes members of Congress who have demonstrated consistent and strong support for the wheat industry.

Dear President Obama:

Our country continues to grapple with pressing economic challenges. The exploding national debt will mean higher interest rates and inflation, diminished private-sector investment and job-crushing tax hikes. Unless addressed, each of these threats could significantly impede a recovery and jeopardize our nation’s long-term growth prospects.