Press Releases
Rounds Discusses Future of Hot Springs VA During Veterans’ Committee Hearing
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, today at a joint Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing discussed the proposed reconfiguration of the Black Hills Health Care System with American Legion leadership. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is currently holding a public comment period on the environmental impact statement regarding the reconfiguration which will cut health care services at the VA hospital at Hot Springs… Continue Reading
02.23.16
Rounds Statement on Administration Plans to Close GTMO
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today issued the following statement on the Obama administration's plan to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, commonly known as GTMO. Earlier today, the Pentagon submitted to Congress a plan to close GTMO despite President Obama signing into law last year legislation specifically prohibiting its closure. The plan would cost more than $400 million and relo… Continue Reading
02.23.16
Rounds Joins 33 Senators, 171 Representatives to File Amicus Brief, Urging Circuit Court to Block EPA Attempt to Transform the Nation’s Electricity Sector
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today joined U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate EPW Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and House Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), 33 Senators and 171 House Members in filing an amicus brief today in the case of State of West Virginia, et al. v. Environmental… Continue Reading
02.16.16
Rounds Looking for South Dakotans to Join Him in Hosting Community Conversations Across the State
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R- S.D.) today announced his Community Conversations program in which he will travel the state visiting with various communities. Community Conversations will allow Rounds to hear firsthand from local leaders, constituents and business owners to better understand their local interests and concerns. "Strong, prosperous communities are the backbone of South Dakota," said Rounds. "But in order for them to continue to thrive and grow, we must make certain fe… Continue Reading
02.10.16
Rounds Applauds Senate Passage of Legislation to Enhance Sanctions Against North Korea
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today voted to pass the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016. This legislation imposes new sanctions against North Korean officials involved in its nuclear program and proliferation activities. It also improves enforcement of multilateral sanctions, provides an overall strategy to combat North Korean cyber activities and addresses North Korea's history of human rights violations. "In light of last weekend's satellite launch and last month's… Continue Reading
02.10.16
Rounds Stands Up For South Dakota Businesses on Senate Floor
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, commonly called the Customs Conference Report, because it includes Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) language without the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) attached. ITFA would put in place a moratorium to permanently prevent state and local entities from imposing existing sales and use taxes on internet services. Because ITFA takes away important revenue fo… Continue Reading
02.09.16
Rounds Seeks Solutions for Greater State and Local Input for Wildlife Management Decisions
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today during a Fisheries, Water and Wildlife Subcommittee hearing questioned representatives of state fish and wildlife agencies on ways the federal government can do a better job partnering with state and local entities when making wildlife management decisions. Rounds specifically cited the overpopulation of elk in Wind Cave National Park and the inability of the federal governmen… Continue Reading
02.08.16
Rounds Introduces Bill to Help Speed Defense Department Hiring of Cyber Security Professionals
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced S. 2482, the Cyber Command Employment Personnel Training Act of 2016. This bill will improve the Department of Defense's hiring practices for cyber security professionals by making certain specified categories of personnel are trained on new rules for hiring and pay flexibilities for civilian cyber security employees. These rules permit faster hiring and higher pay for these employees than is normally the case for the U.S. civil service. … Continue Reading
02.03.16
Rounds Issues Statement from Hearing on Native American Health Care in the Great Plains
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued a statement in today's Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing, entitled "Reexamining the Substandard Quality of Indian Health Care in the Great Plains." Rounds asked to participate in today's hearing after leading a number of his colleagues in a letter requesting the hearing in light of recent issues at Indian Health Service (IHS) hospitals in the Great Plains Region, including Rosebud and Pine Ridge. Video of Rounds' statement at Sena… Continue Reading
02.02.16
Rounds Participates in Veterans Suicide Prevention Forum
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, today participated in a forum with VA Secretary Robert McDonald entitled, "Preventing Veteran Suicide: A Call to Action." "As a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and a Senator from a state that has more than 72,000 veterans who have honorably served this country, I take great interest in getting our veterans quality, timely and efficient care," said Rounds during his remarks. "While… Continue Reading
02.02.16
Senate Passes Rounds’ Easement Disclosure Amendment to Energy Bill
WASHINGTON--U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today applauded the passage of his easement disclosure amendment to the bipartisan Energy Policy Modernization Act. The amendment would establish a federal education program to make certain landowners are given all of the federal conservation options available to them when choosing to put their land into a conservation easement. Earlier this month, Rounds offered a similar easement… Continue Reading
01.21.16
Rounds Joins Bipartisan Effort to Reinstate Inurnment Rights to Women Airforce Service Pilots at Arlington National Cemetery
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today cosponsored S. 2437, the Women Airforce Service Pilot Arlington Inurnment Restoration Act of 2016, bipartisan legislation to authorize inurnment of Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC). Current law prevents WASPs, who flew domestic missions during World War II, from being inurned there. A 2002 Army policy erroneously authorized them this right, only to be revoked when the Army realized the authorization was… Continue Reading
01.21.16
Rounds Supports New North Korean Sanctions
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) cosponsored legislation to impose new sanctions against North Korean officials involved in nuclear program and proliferation activities, as well as human rights abuses. "While much of our attention has been on conflicts in the Middle East, we must not forget the military aggression from North Korea, as well as their human rights violations," said Rounds. "The North Korean regime continues to threaten the U.S. and our allies with violence, weapons of… Continue Reading
01.20.16
Rounds: Senate Democrats Putting Politics Ahead of National Security
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today voted in favor of H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act. The SAFE Act would have enhanced the procedures for vetting refugees coming to the United States from Syria and Iraq. While this legislation received overwhelming support when it passed the House last November, it failed to receive enough Democrat support to be brought up for debate in the Senate. "The United States has a long tradition of welcoming refugees … Continue Reading
01.20.16
Rounds’ Easement Disclosure Provision Included in Sportsmen’s Package
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today thanked his colleagues for their support after his amendment regarding easements was included in S. 659, the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act. Rounds' amendment would require documentation that landowners have been fully informed of all of their conservation options-both termed and perpetual-when choosing to place their land in conservation easements. S. 659 passed out of the Senate… Continue Reading
01.19.16
Rounds Accepting Summer Internship Applications
WASHINGTON- U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today announced that he is currently accepting internship applications for summer 2016. The deadline to apply for internships in his Washington, D.C., Pierre, Rapid City and Sioux Falls offices is February 15, 2016. Summer internships will run from June to mid-August. College credit is available. Duties in the Washington, D.C., office may include tracking legislation, researching bills, attending committee hearings and briefings, leading tours of the … Continue Reading
01.15.16
Rounds Joins Colleagues in Letter Urging Secretary of State Not to Placate Iran
PIERRE-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, this week joined his colleagues in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry regarding his recent assurances to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif that new Visa Waiver Program (VWP) restrictions would not impact Iranian interests. The letter is critical of Secretary Kerry's attempt to reassure Iran and highlights the fact that U.S. law is not the problem, Iran's continued support for terrorism is. The Se… Continue Reading
01.13.16
Rounds Introduces Spring Semester Interns in D.C. Office
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced three South Dakota college students as spring 2016 interns in his Washington, D.C., office. Jordan Hanson is from Watertown, SD, and is currently majoring in political science at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. She is active in her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, and student government. Josh Jorgensen is from Sioux Falls, SD, and is a senior at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. He is majoring in media and journali… Continue Reading
01.12.16
Rounds: Tonight’s Speech a Missed Opportunity to Reach Across the Aisle
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) tonight made the following statement on President Obama's final State of the Union Address. "An overwhelming majority of South Dakotans - and all Americans - are dissatisfied with the direction of our country, and tonight's speech lacked any serious ideas for working together to renew and reenergize the people's faith in the American dream. The facts are clear: our economy is stagnant, the VA is broken, Obamacare is failing, manufacturing has shrunk,… Continue Reading
01.12.16
Rounds Statement on VA Inspector General
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, today made the following statement after the committee approved the nomination of Michael Missal to be Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): "The VA hasn't had a permanent Inspector General for over two years. During that time, the VA has been plagued with scandal and mismanagement, and our veterans have been paying the price," said Rounds. "They deserve better from their go… Continue Reading
