Press Releases
Following Rounds Request, Administration Declares Meat Processing Plants as Critical Infrastructure by Invoking the Defense Production Act
PIERRE-U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement after President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to declare meat processing plants as critical infrastructure. Under the Executive Order issued tonight, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is directed to make certain America's meat and poultry processors continue operations uninterrupted to the maximum extent possible. "Yesterday, I wrote to President Trump to underscore the need to invoke the Defe… Continue Reading
04.27.20
Rounds Urges Administration to Take Additional Steps to Address Food Production Crisis
PIERRE-U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today wrote to President Trump to urge the administration to take additional steps to address the food production crisis. Yesterday, Rounds sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence calling for the administration to develop a plan that simultaneously protects food workers and public health, as well as addresses the nation's on-farm and on-ranch livestock emergency. In his letter today, Rounds urged the administration to invoke the Defense Production Act, wh… Continue Reading
04.26.20
Rounds Urges Administration to Take Steps to Address Food Production Crisis
PIERRE-U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today wrote to Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the coronavirus task force, to emphasize the need to take immediate steps to address the nation's food production crisis. The letter calls for the administration to develop a plan that simultaneously protects food workers and public health, as well as addresses the nation's on-farm and on-ranch livestock emergency. Excerpts of the letter: "Production of food is critical to the nation, to citizens… Continue Reading
04.24.20
Following Rounds Request, SBA Modifies Rules to Allow All Gaming Facilities to be Eligible for Small Business Relief Program
PIERRE-U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement after the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that all gaming facilities with 500 or fewer employees will be eligible to participate in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). "Like every other sector of South Dakota's economy right now, our gaming facilities, such as tribally-owned casinos and gaming operations in Deadwood, need relief. We raised concerns about initial guidance from the SBA that prevented cert… Continue Reading
04.21.20
Rounds, Klobuchar Urge Administration to Make Sure Veterans Receive the Care they Deserve During Coronavirus Pandemic
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) wrote a letter calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to take additional measures to make certain that at-risk veterans - including those exposed to burns pits and other toxic substances - receive the care they need during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. "Servicemembers who have been exposed to burn pits suffer from higher rates of asthma, emphysema, and rare lung disorders - making them particularly at ri… Continue Reading
04.16.20
Rounds Joins Members of Congress Urging USDA to Provide Assistance to Pork Producers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today joined a bipartisan, bicameral letter urging U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to take immediate action to assist pork producers and maintain the pork food supply chain. The letter follows the closure of the Smithfield processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Smithfield also recently announced the closure of its plant in Martin City, Missouri, which receives raw materials from the Sioux Falls plant. "We hope t… Continue Reading
04.15.20
Rounds, Senators Urge Trump to Keep Pro-Life Protections for Coronavirus Research
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined 34 of his Senate colleagues in a letter to President Donald Trump to ask the administration to maintain pro-life protections during the search for treatments and cures for COVID-19. The letter refutes a request by 15 pro-abortion state attorneys general requesting waivers to prohibitions on the use of fetal tissue for coronavirus research. "These attempts to exploit the current crisis faced by our nation undermine your leadership and the pro… Continue Reading
04.08.20
Rounds Joins Bipartisan Group of Former Governors Calling for Flexibility in State Stabilization Funding
PIERRE -U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Angus King (I-Maine) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) - who all formerly worked as governors - today called on Vice President Mike Pence to work with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to issue guidance to states on how they can use funding from the CARES Act to address budget shortfalls. The CARES Act that Congress passed into law includes $150 billion in stabilization funding for state and local governments, and the Trump administratio… Continue Reading
04.07.20
Rounds, Thune Join Bipartisan Group of Senators in Calling on USDA to Allocate Additional Funds for Biofuel Industry During COVID-19 Crisis
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) today joined Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and ten of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting additional funds be allocated to the biofuel industry through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) during the unprecedented economic circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. "Farm income and prices for corn and oth… Continue Reading
04.06.20
Rounds, Colleagues Urge VA to Expand Telemental Health Services for Veterans During COVID-19
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined Senate Veterans' Affairs Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and members of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee to send a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie urging the VA to use the authority granted in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to expand telemental health services to veterans during COVID-19. A provision was included in the CARES Act that would permit the VA to form agreem… Continue Reading
04.06.20
Rounds, Colleagues Urge Administration to Protect Continuity of Food Supply by Supporting Farmers During Coronavirus Pandemic
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined a bipartisan group of his Senate colleagues in a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue urging the administration to protect the continuity of our country's food supply and to support rural areas during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by providing needed relief to farmers. "Americans always depend on our nation's farmers to grow the food, fuel, and fiber that we all need, but that reliance becomes much more pronou… Continue Reading
04.04.20
Rounds: Gaming Facilities Impacted by the Effects of COVID-19 Should Be Eligible for Small Business Relief Program
PIERRE-U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today urged the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury Department to allow gaming operations to participate in the newly-created Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP was part of the recently-passed CARES Act, which seeks to provide immediate, direct relief to all businesses and families impacted by the effects of COVID-19. Currently, the SBA is not accepting PPP applications from gaming facilities, such as tribally-owned casinos and gamin… Continue Reading
04.02.20
COVID-19 Relief Available for South Dakota Families and Businesses
PIERRE-U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) has created an online hub where South Dakotans can access information about COVID-19 relief available to them through the CARES Act, which was signed into law last week. The webpage can be found by visiting www.rounds.senate.gov/covid19. Up-to-date information about COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is also available on Rounds' website. "South Dakotans have many questions about the type of federal assistance they can get to make i… Continue Reading
04.01.20
Rounds Joins Thune, Johnson and More than 140 Members of Congress in Letter Urging USDA to Provide Immediate Assistance to Cattle Producers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today joined U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and U.S. Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), as well as more than 140 other members of Congress, today to send a bipartisan, bicameral letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue requesting that he provide immediate assistance to cattle producers by using the resources provided in the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief,… Continue Reading
03.27.20
Rounds USPHS Legislation Included in COVID-19 Relief Bill
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today praised the inclusion of his legislation, The United States Public Health Service Modernization Act, into the COVID-19 relief bill. This bipartisan legislation establishes a Ready Reserve Corps within the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps to make certain vital health care jobs are adequately staffed when disasters, such as the current coronavirus crisis, strike the U.S. "The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need t… Continue Reading
03.26.20
Delegation-Supported Provisions to Help South Dakota Farmers and Ranchers Included in Latest Coronavirus Relief Bill
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) applauded passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which includes provisions the delegation helped secure to support South Dakota farmers and ranchers. Specifically, the CARES Act includes $14 billion to replenish the U.S. Department of Agriculture Commodity Credit Corporation. This legislation would also provide a $9.5 billion emergency appropriation to sup… Continue Reading
03.25.20
Rounds Supports COVID-19 Relief Legislation
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement after voting in favor of emergency COVID-19 relief legislation. It now must be passed by the House of Representatives, before being sent to President Trump for signature. As a nation, we're all feeling the effects of this unprecedented crisis. I'm glad we were able to come together to provide immediate, direct relief to South Dakota families and businesses, while at the same time taking steps to stabilize our econom… Continue Reading
03.20.20
Delegation Applauds SBA Approval of Economic Injury Disaster Loan Funding for South Dakota
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today applauded the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) for granting South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's request to activate the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this week in response to the governor's request, the delegation sent a letter urging SBA to activate the EIDL program for South Dakota's small businesses. … Continue Reading
03.19.20
Rounds Unveils Three-Pronged Approach to Address Cattle Market Crisis
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today announced a number of steps he is taking to address the ongoing cattle market crisis, which has been magnified during the recent outbreak of COVID-19 and could lead to producer bankruptcies. "In recent years, cattle producers have suffered from an undervalued product and low market prices-despite a consistent and growing demand for U.S. beef," said Rounds. "This has only intensified in recent months following a fire at a meatpacking facility, … Continue Reading
03.19.20
Delegation Urges SBA to Grant South Dakota’s Economic Loan Request
WASHINGTON--U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today urged the United States Small Business Administration to grant South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's request to activate the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "The State of South Dakota has taken strong, pro-active steps to mitigate the effects of this pandemic," the delegation wrote. "Governor Noem declared a State of Emergency for … Continue Reading
