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Rounds, M Sen 2% Sen

http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/mike-rounds

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Committee on Armed Services also vet affairs?

We appreciate the urgency to conduct this review in an expeditious manner and to make recommendations by October 15, 2024. We also hope this collaborative process includes DoD and DoI providing easy, mutual access to the records each agency receives.

rounds eliz ltr

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SOUTH DAKOTA

WOUNDED KNEE

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This year’s Wounded Knee review panel was given until October 15 to present its findings. By mid-November, Cheyenne River Sioux President Ryman LeBeau reportedthat the panel had voted three-to-two in favor of maintaining all medals awarded.

Semans believes that review was flawed from the start.

“Military historians weren’t used, and it was done over such a short period of time that evidence really couldn’t be put together,” he said.

Senator Warren and South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds asked the Interior and Defense departments to extend the review’s deadline to give stakeholders — including tribes, survivor descendants and historians a chance to weigh in.

"The devil is in the details,” Mears said. “If you don't know what actually happened at Wounded Knee, you might assume that every member of the 7th Cavalry, you know, just stood up and executed Lakota. And that is not what the record supports.”

To date, neither the Pentagon nor the White House has made any statement about the review panel’s findings.

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an 926

'How could he?' GOP senator says red state voters being are 'hurt' by Trump

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Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has been making unprecedented moves to slash federal spending with the blessing of President Donald Trump. As the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (which is not yet an official federal agency authorized by Congress), Musk is exploring major cuts to the Department of Education and plans to shut down USAID — the agency responsible for foreign aid. His team has also been granted access to the Treasury Department’s payments system. But unlike much of the country, some Senate Republicans couldn’t be bothered, NOTUS reported on Tuesday.

One major source of distress among experts is that Musk is rejecting appropriations laws passed by Congress -- in other words, taking authority over funding. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said these actions are indeed unconstitutional, but he is not concerned, saying: “Nobody should bellyache about that."

“That runs afoul of the Constitution in the strictest sense,” Tillis said. But “it’s not uncommon for presidents to flex a little bit on where they can spend and where they can stop spending.”

READ MORE:These 'relatively traditional' Trump Cabinet picks are actually 'spineless cowards': analysis

Other Republicans are glad that Musk is looking at cutting costs.

“He’s doing exactly what he should be doing,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said Monday. “He’s going through every agency and looking at how to make sure the money’s spent right.” And while Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives that job to Congress, Scott argued: “It doesn’t look like Congress is doing their job."

“The actions that have been taken with USAID are long overdue,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) said. “The agency is out of control.”

Unlike Tillis, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said Musk has not violated the Constitution.

“Mr. Musk is acting under the authority of the president of the United States,” he said. “It’s perfectly legal, perfectly constitutional. And the issue, anyway, is not process. The issue is substance. Did they find wasteful spending, or not?”

READ MORE:'Unchecked power': Trump himself ordered firings of prosecutors working criminal cases against him

Still, some Republicans are concerned. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, said she was “very concerned about Mr. Musk or any of his assistants going into federal agencies and demanding personal information on employees.” She said that his actions have not met “the requirements of the law.” BUT THEN VOTED FOR PAM BONDI?

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined Republicans in defending Musk. “He’s working with the president, and they’re making recommendations in some cases on agencies,” he told NOTUS. “But the whole program here is that we’re spending way more money than what we’re bringing in.”

He added: “The president has the authority to operate the executive branch of government. So.”

READ MORE:'Call somebody who cares': GOP senator slammed over response to 'friends who are upset' FOGHORN

Click here to read NOTUS' report in full.

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https://www.ecowatch.com/koch-brothers-paris-agreement-2430226599.html

Paris Exit Was 'Victory Paid and Carried Out' by Republican Party for the Koch Brothers

nolink

The 22 Republican senators who sent a letter to President Donald Trump last week urging the United States' withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement received more than $10 million dollars in campaign funds from fossil fuel interests.

The two-page letter was signed by a number of Republican heavyweights from coal/gas/oil-rich states, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and Ted Cruz of Texas.

The Guardian calculated that the 22 senators received a total of $10,694,284 from oil, gas and coal money in just five years. (See the breakdown below.

However, that sum does not even come close to the amount of undisclosed funds coming from the deep pockets of Charles and David Koch's coal, oil and gas conglomerate, Koch Industries, and other outside groups.

As the Guardian explains:

"Visible donations to Republicans from those industries exceeded donations to Democrats in the 2016 election cycle by a ratio of 15-to-1, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And that does not include so-called dark money passed from oil interests such as Koch industries to general slush funds to re-elect Republicans such as the Senate leadership fund.

"At least $90m in untraceable money has been funneled to Republican candidates from oil, gas and coal interests in the past three election cycles, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics."

Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, shared recently his views on Trump's climate walkout.In an interview with Bloomberg Surveillance, Sachs referenced the senators' letter and specifically cast blame on the billionaire oil barons for pulling the strings of Republican party leaders such as McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who both supported exiting the Paris accord.

"This is the victory paid and carried out for 20 years by two people, David and Charles Koch," Sachs said. "They have bought and purchased the top of the Republican party. Trump is a tool in this."

Notably, most of the Republican signatories of the letter do not support the belief that human activity contributes to climate change.

During an appearance on MSNBC, Democratic Sen. Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts explained why he thinks his Republican colleagues do not believe in the science of climate change.

"This Conservative party in the United States is funded by the Koch brothers [and] it's funded by the coal industry," Markey said. "[They] insist that Scott Pruitt—the Attorney General of Oklahoma that actually sued the EPA 19 times on clean air, clean water, soot, mercury issues—becomes the head of the EPA in our country."

The 22 Republican signatories' funding from Big Oil, Gas and Coal in the past three election cycles (2012, 2014 and 2016):

James Inhofe, Oklahoma

Oil & gas: $465,950 + Coal: $63,600 = $529,550

John Barrasso, Wyoming

Oil & gas: $458,466 + Coal: $127,356 = $585,822

Mitch McConnell, Kentucky

Oil & gas: $1,180,384 + Coal: $361,700 = $1,542,084

John Cornyn, Texas

Oil & gas: $1,101,456 + Coal: $33,050 = $1,134,506

Roy Blunt, Missouri

Oil & gas: $353,864 + Coal: $96,000 = $449,864

Roger Wicker, Mississippi

Oil & gas: $198,816 + Coal: $25,376 = $224,192

Michael Enzi, Wyoming

Oil & gas: $211,083 + Coal: $63,300 = $274,383

Mike Crapo, Idaho

Oil & gas: $110,250 + Coal: $26,756 = $137,006

Jim Risch, Idaho

Oil & gas: $123,850 + Coal: $25,680 = $149,530

Thad Cochran, Mississippi

Oil & gas: $276,905 + Coal: $15,000 = $291,905

Mike Rounds, South Dakota

Oil & gas: $201,900 + Coal: none = $201,900

Rand Paul, Kentucky

Oil & gas: $170,215 + Coal: $82,571 = $252,786

John Boozman, Arkansas

Oil & gas: $147,930 + Coal: $2,000 = $149,930

Richard Shelby, Alabama

Oil & gas: $60,150 + $2,500 = $62,650

Luther Strange, Alabama (Appointed in 2017, running in 2017 special election

Total: NA

Orrin Hatch, Utah

Oil & gas: $446,250 + Coal: $25,000 = $471,250

Mike Lee, Utah

Oil & gas: $231,520 + Coal: $21,895 = $253,415

Ted Cruz, Texas

Oil & gas: $2,465,910 + Coal: $103,900 = $2,569,810

David Perdue, Georgia

Oil & gas: $184,250 + Coal: $0 = $184,250

Thom Tillis, North Carolina

Oil & gas: $263,400 + Coal: $0 = $263,400

Tim Scott, South Carolina

Oil & gas: $490,076 + Coal: $58,200 = $548,276

Pat Roberts, Kansas

Oil & gas: $388,950 + Coal: $28,825 = $417,775

2020

Trade group airs ads to boost five senators facing reelection

A trade group representing chemical companies will spend more than $150,000 on advertising during July in support of four Republican senators and one Democrat, all of whom face reelection in 2020. 

The American Chemistry Council, which represents nearly 200 companies including DuPont, Chevron Phillips and ExxonMobil, is running TV and radio ads in Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana and South Dakota between July 8 and 21, according to Federal Communications Commission records accessed via OpenSecrets’ political ad database. Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) all face reelection next year.

The ads that mention Cassidy, Daines and Rounds praise the three senators for tax cuts. Sullivan receives recognition for ocean cleanup, while Coons is applauded for his sustainability efforts. All of the ads end by encouraging viewers to call their senators and thank them.

**Read more**

2020 pacs

political Action Committees (PACs) 2019 - 2020

$1,570,300

Total PAC Money for 2019 - 2020

Number of Contributions: 745

Sectors 2019 - 2020

All Sectors :: /members-of-congress/mike-rounds/pacs?cid=N00035187&cycle=2020&sector=E :: Oil & Gas

PAC NameTotal
American Gas Assn$4,000
American Petroleum Institute$1,000
Chesapeake Energy$1,000
Chevron Corp$5,000
CHS Inc$1,500
ConocoPhillips$3,000
Continental Resources$5,000
Exxon Mobil$6,500
Independent Petroleum Assn of America$2,500
Koch Industries$10,000
Marathon Petroleum$7,500
National Assn of Convenience Stores$2,500
National Fuel Gas Co$1,000
Transcanada USA Services$1,000

Top Contributors, 2015 - 2020

ContributorTotalIndividualsPACs
Sanford Health$27,250$27,250$0
State of South Dakota$23,648$23,648$0
Rock Holdings$22,700$12,700$10,000
Avairpros$22,400$22,400$0
US Bancorp$20,115$14,115$6,000

Top Industries, 2015 - 2020

IndustryTotalIndividualsPACs
Leadership PACs$453,967$567$453,400
Securities & Investment$387,702$203,202$184,500
Retired$336,154$336,154$0
Commercial Banks$271,435$108,935$162,500
Insurance$262,473$41,723$220,750

https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00035187

RankContributorTotalIndividualsPACs
1Citigroup Inc$43,200$30,700$12,500
2Nextera Energy$39,750$29,750$10,000
3Verizon Communications$32,348$17,848$14,500
4Berkshire Hathaway$30,800$14,800$16,000
5Avera Health Systems$29,254$29,254$0
6Amway/Alticor Inc$27,000$26,000$1,000
7Poet LLC$22,900$12,900$10,000
8Lawrence & Schiller$22,700$22,700$0
9Land O'Lakes$21,600$11,100$10,500
10Beef Products Inc$21,200$21,200$0
11US Bancorp$21,100$9,600$11,500
12Xcel Energy$21,000$7,500$13,500
13Sanford Health$20,750$20,750$0
14Heartland Values PAC$20,000$0$20,000
15Wells Fargo$19,250$5,750$13,500
16Cancer Treatment Centers of America$18,500$18,500$0
17Black Hills Corp$18,150$10,650$7,500
18Murray Energy$18,017$8,017$10,000
19Liberty Mutual$18,000$0$18,000
20JPMorgan Chase & Co$17,450$12,950$4,50
Small Individual Contributions (< $200)$246,0974.28%
Large Individual Contributions$3,454,06760.05%
PAC Contributions*$1,923,90333.45%
Candidate self-financing$9,5990.17%
Other$118,5612.06%
IndustryTotalIndividualsPACs
Securities & Investment$459,758$344,258$115,500
Commercial Banks$339,260$156,160$183,100
Insurance$325,650$79,400$246,250
Leadership PACs$292,500$0$292,500
Real Estate$280,500$178,500

$102,000

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https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2018/10/oversight-of-the-environmental-protection-agency-s-implementation-of-sound-and-transparent-science-in-regulation

Mike Rounds, Chair

Jerry Moran

Joni Ernst

Dan Sullivan

Mike Rounds - Wikipedia

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Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

The Age of Disclosure

Rounds is a participant in The Age of Disclosure, a 2025 documentary film about UFOs and claimed government programs involving recovery of alien technology crashed on Earth.[66]

marion Michael Rounds (born October 24, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States Senator from South Dakota since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 31st Governor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011, having previously served in the South Dakota Senate from 1991 to 2001.

He holds the U.S. Senate seat previously held by retired Democrat Tim Johnson.

Contents

Early life, education, and business career:

Rounds, the eldest of eleven children, was born in Huron, South Dakota, the son of Joyce (née Reinartz) and Don Rounds.[1] He has German, Belgian, Swedish and English ancestry.[1] Rounds has lived in the state capital of Pierre since he was three years old. He was named for an uncle, Marion Rounds, who was killed in the Pacific theater during the Second World War. Several members of the Rounds family have been involved in state government. His father worked at various times as state director of highway safety, a staffer for Rural Electrification Administration and executive director of the South Dakota Petroleum Council. Rounds' brother, Tim Rounds, was a member of the South Dakota State Legislature representing District 24, which includes Pierre.

Rounds attended South Dakota State University in Brookings, where he earned his Bachelor of Science from the Department of Political Science.

Rounds is a former partner in Fischer Rounds & Associates, an insurance and real estate firm with offices in Pierre, Rapid City, Mitchell, Watertown and Sioux Falls.

South Dakota Senate:{

Elections[edit]

Rounds represented District 24, which was based in Pierre. In 1990, Rounds defeated incumbent state Senator Jacqueline Kelley, 53%-47%. He won re-election in 1992 (60%), 1994 (77%), 1996 (66%), and 1998 (75%). Rounds was barred from seeking re-election in 2000 by legislative term limits, which South Dakota voters had passed in 1994.

Tenure:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

He represented Hughes, Lyman, Stanley, and Sully counties. In 1993, Rounds became Senate Minority Whip. In 1995, Rounds was selected by his peers to be Senate Majority Leader.[2]

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2002

Main article: South Dakota gubernatorial election, 2002

Rounds' victory in the 2002 Republican Gubernatorial Primary was one of South Dakota's greatest political upsets.[citation ^needed]^ Until late in 2001, then-Congressman John Thune was the front-runner for the nomination. When Thune passed on the race to challenge Senator Tim Johnson, state Attorney General Mark Barnett and former Lieutenant Governor Steve T. Kirby quickly became candidates.

However, the contest between Kirby and Barnett soon became very negative and dirty. Barnett attacked Kirby for not investing in companies based in South Dakota and for his involvement with Collagenesis, a company which removed skin from donated human cadavers and processed them for use. It became the subject of a massive scandal when it was revealed that the company was using the skins for much more lucrative cosmetic surgery like lip and penis enhancements while burn victims "lie waiting in hospitals as nurses scour the country for skin to cover their wounds, even though skin is in plentiful supply for plastic surgeons".[7] Kirby invested in the company after the scandal broke and Barnett attacked him for it in television advertisements.[8] However, the advertisements backfired because "the claims were so outlandish, that people thought for sure that they were exaggerated or completely fabricated."[9]

After winning the Republican nomination, Rounds selected state senator Dennis Daugaard of Dell Rapids to be his running mate. Their Democratic opponents were University of South Dakota President Jim Abbott of Vermillion and his running mate, former state representative Mike Wilson of Rapid City.

Rounds was elected governor on November 5, 2002. The results were as follows:

2006

Main article: South Dakota gubernatorial election, 2006

Two Democratic candidates emerged to challenge Rounds: Jack Billion, a retired surgeon and former state legislator from Sioux Falls and Dennis Wiese, the former president of the South Dakota Farmers Union. Billion easily defeated Wiese for the nomination and selected Rapid City school board member Eric Abrahamson as his running mate.

The Rounds/Daugaard ticket was reelected on November 7, 2006. The results were as follows:

Tenure:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Rounds served as a member of the Governors' Council at the Bipartisan Policy Center.[10] Rounds served as the 2008 Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association.

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Rounds's 2010 Initiative established 10 research centers at state-supported universities. In the first four years of the program, the state's first five research centers generated an estimated $59 million in federal and private funding, with an estimated $110 million economic impact for the state.[11]

Abortion:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Main article: Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act

On February 22, 2006, the state legislature of South Dakota passed an act banning all medical abortions except those necessary to save the mother's life (see double effect). Rounds signed the act on March 6 and the ban was to have taken effect on July 1, 2006, but never did because of a court challenge. A referendum for a potential repeal of H.B. 1215 was placed on the ballot for the November 2006 statewide election due to a successful petition.[12] On May 30, over 38,000 signatures were filed, more than twice the 17,000 required to qualify. The law was ultimately repealed by voters on November 7, 2006, the day of Rounds' re-election.[13]

According to a Survey USA poll released in January 2006, Rounds had an approval rating of 73% and a net approval rating of +52%, which placed him among the top five most popular governors.[14] Following the abortion ban, again according to a SurveyUSA poll, Rounds' approval rating dropped 14% to 58%; his approval rebounded to 70% after the ban was repealed.[15]

EB-5 Visa inquiry:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

During Rounds' administration, the state offered green cards to foreign investors in exchange for investments in a new South Dakota beef packing plant and other economic investments through the EB-5 visa program established by the federal government in 1990.[16][17] After the beef packing plant went bankrupt, questions emerged regarding the nature of the investments and the foreign investors. Some investors received neither their EB-5 visas nor the money back from their failed investments, with no indication as to where their money went.[18]

State officials misused funds to pay for their salaries, did not disclose that they owned companies which they gave contracts to, directed money towards companies that went bankrupt and arranged for loans from unknown sources from shell companies located in tax havens.[19][20][21] In October 2014, Rounds admitted that he had approved a $1 million state loan to beef packing plant Northern Beef shortly after learning that Secretary of Tourism and State Development Richard Benda had agreed to join the company, with Benda then getting another $600,000 in state loans that was ultimately used to pay his own salary.[22][23] Benda committed suicide in October 2013, days before a possible indictment over embezzlement and grand theft charges.[24]

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Regarding 3D printed weapons, Rounds has stated “This is a new technology which you’re not going to put back into the bottle, it is there.” His suggestion has been to “create new technologies and utilize new technologies” — such as metal detectors that could also recognize plastic — in schools, airports and other public places.[25]

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See also: United States Senate election in South Dakota, 2014

Speculation persisted that in 2008, Rounds would seek the United States Senate seat held at the time by Tim Johnson, a Democrat who had served since 1997. However, Rounds did not file to run against Johnson by the deadline, passing on the Senate race.[citation ^needed]^

Rounds launched a Senate campaign for 2014 on November 29, 2012[26] for the seat being vacated by Johnson's retirement.[27]

Rounds won the June 2014 Republican primary, defeating four other candidates.[28] Early polls showed Rounds leading by a 2-1 margin against Democratic opponent Rick Weiland. Polls in October showed a closer three-way race between Rounds, Weiland, and independent former Senator Larry Pressler.[29]

Independent conservative former state legislator Gordon Howie was also in the race.[30]

Rounds ultimately won the four-way Senate race of 2014 with a majority of the votes cast. The results were as follows:[31]

Positions:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Environment

In 2017, Rounds was one of 22 senators to sign a letter[32] to President Donald Trump urging the President to have the United States withdraw from the Paris Agreement. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Rounds has received over $200,000 from oil, gas and coal interests since 2012.[33] Rounds supported embattled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who had come under scrutiny because of extraordinary expenditures for personal security and luxury travel, and the appearances of ethical conflicts, defending him on Meet the Press. However, referring to the criticism as "nitpicking," he said, “I don’t know how much of it is overblown and how much of it is accurate, to be honest.”[34]

Committee assignments:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

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While attending South Dakota State University, Rounds met his wife, Jean, formerly of Lake Preston, South Dakota. They were married in 1978 and have four children. He is the older brother of Tim Rounds.

Rounds is a member of Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church of Pierre. He is also a member of numerous service clubs and community organizations including Elks, Exchange Club, Knights of Columbus and Ducks Unlimited.

In May 2011, Rounds was conferred upon with an honorary doctorate for public service from his alma mater, South Dakota State University.[35]

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ext links

.S. Senator Mike Rounds official U.S. Senate site

Mike Rounds for Senate

Mike Rounds at Curlie (based on DMOZ)

Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Profile at Vote Smart

Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission

Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress

2010 Initiative Governor's official state economic development plan

Appearances on C-SPAN

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