Senator Mike Rounds’ WEEKLY ROUND[S] UP: March 10-16, 2025
By US Senator Mike Rounds
Welcome to the Weekly Round[s] Up! We’ve reached the end of a 10-week in-session work period. This is the longest continuous stretch that the Senate has been in session in over 15 years. During this time, we’ve confirmed 21 out of 22 of President Trump’s cabinet level nominees and kept the government open and funded. On Friday night, we passed a continuing resolution (CR) to avert a government shutdown and keep it open until the end of this fiscal year. While I believe we should always aim to fund the government through regular order appropriations, a government shutdown would be detrimental for our country. This CR makes certain our troops and other essential personnel get their paychecks. More on this and the rest of my week in my Weekly Round[s] Up:
South Dakotans I met with: The Rapid City Youth City Council; South Dakota members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Tommy Ibrahim, President and CEO of Sanford Health Plan; the School Nutrition Association of South Dakota; South Dakota members of the Livestock Marketing Association; representatives from South Dakota Impact Aid schools; a group of small business owners from South Dakota; South Dakota members of the International Dairy Foods Association; South Dakota members of the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the National Association of Elementary School Principals; Chairman J. Garret Renville and leaders of Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate; and Matt Brakke, New York Life insurance agent from Pierre.
South Dakota towns represented: Artesian, Belle Fourche, Beresford, Bonesteel, Box Elder, Bullhead, Chamberlain, Colman, Custer, Dupree, Estelline, Fairfax, Geddes, Harrisburg, Hurley, Huron, Kenel, Martin, Milbank, Mitchell, New Underwood, Pierre, Pine Ridge, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Spearfish, Sturgis, Timber Lake, Wall, Winner, Woonsocket and Yankton.
Other meetings: Alexander Yui, Taiwan’s Ambassador to the United States; Travis Hill, Acting Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett, Commander of U.S. Army Cyber Command; David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs; Robert Dussey, Togo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs; Mauro De Lorenzo, Executive Director of the Strategy and Policy Council in the Office of the President of Rwanda; Gen. Michael Langley, Commander of U.S. Africa Command; and Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). I spoke at an event hosted by Punchbowl News on space policy, which you can watch here. I also attended our weekly Senate Bible Study, where our verse of the week was Psalm 111:10.
Hearings: I attended three hearings this week. We had one closed hearing in the Select Committee on Intelligence. We had one hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee to discuss the Military Health System, which you can watch a clip of here. We also had one hearing in the Banking Committee to discuss housing policy. Watch that clip here.
Classified briefings: I had one classified briefing as part of my work on the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity.
Votes taken: 25 – We confirmed one more cabinet level nominee this week: Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor. In addition, we voted to keep the government open and running through the end of the fiscal year.
As I mentioned earlier, I firmly believe continuing resolutions are no way to run our government funding. However, the alternative of a government shutdown – where troops and other essential personnel are not getting paid – is much worse. This CR goes until the end of September of this year, which coincides with the end of this fiscal year. I joined the Appropriations Committee this Congress precisely to prevent this process of kicking the can down the road with a series of CRs each fiscal year. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get the appropriations process done on time this year.
Legislation introduced: I introduced two bills that would strengthen Second Amendment rights for military families and full-time travelers. Both pieces of legislation, the Traveler’s Gun Rights Act and the Protect Our Military Families’ 2nd Amendment Rights Act, would amend sections of the Gun Control Act of 1968 to make exceptions for Americans with unique living situations. This includes spouses of service members and full-time travelers whose permanent residence is a private mailbox or post office box. Read more about both of these bills here.
In addition, I introduced legislation to extend the reporting deadline for Indian Health Service (IHS) patients who seek emergency care outside of IHS facilities. The IHS Emergency Claims Parity Act would extend the emergency notification requirements of IHS’s Purchased and Referred Care program from within 72 hours to 15 days. Read more here.
Medical debt resolution: I introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Medical Debt Rule. Finalized with only days left in the Biden administration, the rule would ban credit bureaus from including medical debt on credit reports. In turn, banks and credit unions have a less clear credit picture of who they’re lending money to, which could force them to limit access to capital. Read more about this here.
My staff in South Dakota visited: Aberdeen and Fort Pierre.
Steps taken: 48,849 steps or 24.31 miles.
Video of the week: I joined Stuart Varney on Fox Business this week:
In countless nations around the world, the concept of ‘medical debt’ is virtually non-existent because healthcare is a fundamental right, not a privilege. Individuals facing medical crises did not opt into this debt; it’s a crushing burden often thrust upon them by circumstances beyond their control, unlike elective debts like credit cards. This misguided legislation reflects not the will of the people, but rather the unfounded fears of banking interests. This is not reality – this is a gross injustice. Shame on you, Senator, for prioritizing profit over the wellbeing of your constituents!
He uses the Round up and so does Rhoden?