Sen. John Thune

Senator from South Dakota

Republican

Senior Senator

Elected Positions

Dates	Title	State / District
2005-2016	Senator	South Dakota
1997-2002	Representative	South Dakota's At-Large District

Track Him

2014 Report Card

Read our 2014 Report Card for Thune »

Sponsorship Analysis

Our unique analysis of the bills Thune has sponsored and cosponsored provides insight into his position in the Senate.

Each dot in the chart below is a member of the Senate. The dots are positioned horizontally according to our progressive—conservative ideology score and vertically according to our leadership score (leaders toward the top). Thune is shown as a purple triangle. (analysis methodology)

Committee Membership

John Thune sits on the following committees:

Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
- Member, Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management and Trade
- Member, Subcommittee on Livestock, Marketing and Agriculture Security
- Member, Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy
Senate Committee on Finance
- Member, Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
- Member, Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
- Member, Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight

Bills Sponsored

Some of Thune’s most recently sponsored bills include...

View All » (including bills from previous years)

Voting Record

From Jan 2005 to Mar 2015, Thune missed 41 of 3,209 roll call votes, which is 1.3%. This is better than the median of 1.6% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

Show the numbers...

Time Period	Votes Elligible	Missed Votes	Percent	Percentile
2005 Jan-Mar	81	0	0.0%	0^th
2005 Apr-Jun	89	6	6.7%	94^th
2005 Jul-Sep	76	8	10.5%	91^st
2005 Oct-Dec	120	0	0.0%	0^th
2006 Jan-Mar	83	0	0.0%	0^th
2006 Apr-Jun	107	3	2.8%	69^th
2006 Jul-Sep	73	0	0.0%	0^th
2006 Nov-Dec	16	0	0.0%	0^th
2007 Jan-Mar	126	0	0.0%	0^th
2007 Apr-Jun	112	0	0.0%	0^th
2007 Jul-Sep	119	2	1.7%	56^th
2007 Oct-Dec	85	0	0.0%	0^th
2008 Jan-Mar	85	1	1.2%	48^th
2008 Apr-Jun	77	0	0.0%	0^th
2008 Jul-Sep	47	1	2.1%	39^th
2008 Oct-Dec	6	0	0.0%	0^th
2009 Jan-Mar	118	0	0.0%	0^th
2009 Apr-Jun	96	0	0.0%	0^th
2009 Jul-Sep	89	0	0.0%	0^th
2009 Oct-Dec	94	0	0.0%	0^th
2010 Jan-Mar	108	2	1.9%	61^st
2010 Apr-Jun	96	2	2.1%	61^st
2010 Jul-Sep	44	1	2.3%	59^th
2010 Nov-Dec	51	0	0.0%	0^th
2011 Jan-Mar	46	0	0.0%	0^th
2011 Apr-Jun	58	0	0.0%	0^th
2011 Jul-Sep	49	0	0.0%	0^th
2011 Oct-Dec	82	2	2.4%	59^th
2012 Jan-Mar	63	8	12.7%	96^th
2012 Apr-Jun	109	1	0.9%	45^th
2012 Jul-Sep	28	0	0.0%	0^th
2012 Nov-Dec	50	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Jan-Jan	1	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Jan-Mar	92	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Apr-Jun	76	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Jul-Sep	43	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Oct-Dec	80	0	0.0%	0^th
2014 Jan-Mar	93	2	2.2%	72^nd
2014 Apr-Jun	123	1	0.8%	25^th
2014 Jul-Sep	54	0	0.0%	0^th
2014 Nov-Dec	96	1	1.0%	49^th
2015 Jan-Mar	68	0	0.0%	0^th

Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:

The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
Congressional Biographical Directory for elected positions
GPO Member Guide for the photo
THOMAS, for sponsored bills

Recent Legislative Activity

Vote

S. 1: Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act

Veto Sustained 62/37

Sen. Thune [R-SD]: Yea

Mar 4, 2015 2:20 p.m.

Vote

S.J.Res. 8: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the ...

Joint Resolution Passed 53/46

Sen. Thune [R-SD]: Yea

Mar 4, 2015 11:38 a.m.

Introduced

S. 658: A bill to reauthorize the impact aid program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Sponsor: Sen. John Thune [R-SD]

This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions which will consider it before sending it to the Senate floor for consideration.

Mar 4, 2015

Introduced

S. 655: A bill to prohibit the use of funds by the Secretary of the Interior to make a final determination on the listing of the northern long-eared bat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Sponsor: Sen. John Thune [R-SD]

This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works which will consider it before sending it to the Senate floor for consideration.

Mar 4, 2015

Vote

Motion to Proceed on S.J.Res. 8: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the ...

Motion to Proceed Agreed to 53/45

Sen. Thune [R-SD]: Yea

Mar 3, 2015 2:18 p.m.