South Dakota Leading the Way
By Sen. John Thune
I served four years as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which has jurisdiction over everything from planes, trains, and automobiles to the depths of the ocean and the heights of outer space. And no matter the subject, one of my favorite parts about serving in that role was giving South Dakota a seat at the table by elevating the issues that are important to the state and by providing South Dakotans with the opportunity and platform to share their expertise and experience on a wide range of issues.
While I no longer serve as chairman of the full committee, I’m still a member, and I’m closing out my first year as chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet. It’s been a fun and rewarding experience, particularly because I’m still able to give South Dakota a seat at the table.
The subcommittee’s membership mirrors the full committee’s membership, so we have a variety of voices, experience, and priorities on which we can lean. I also love the subject matter. I’m able to continue working on several initiatives that began years ago, particularly my effort to ensure the United States wins the race to 5G mobile broadband technology.
Winning the race to 5G isn’t just about the jobs and opportunities it would create or the enhanced speed with which we’d be able to consume or share information. As important as those things are – and they are very important – this is also about better positioning the United States from a national security and economic security perspective.
For these reasons, it’s more imperative than ever that we beat our global competitors in this space, particularly China, which often plays by a different set of rules. I’ve been committed to doing everything I can to ensure the tools are available for the United States to be the first to carry this across the finish line, but we can’t take our foot off the gas.
Over the years, I’ve led full committee hearings on this topic. I’ve led subcommittee hearings on this topic. I’ve brought the committee to South Dakota to examine this topic. I’ve written bills on this topic. I’ve even had one signed into law. And since the federal government isn’t going to win this race alone, I’ve also found partners at the state and local level who have been instrumental in helping South Dakota lead the way on 5G.
Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken has been one of those partners, and it was a “things-have-come-full-circle” experience to join him and others in November as the first 5G cells in South Dakota went live. After years of putting in the work, Sioux Falls is now one of the most rural communities in the entire United States to be 5G-enabled.
Because of his leadership on this issue, I recently invited Mayor TenHaken to Washington, D.C., to share his unique perspective on how important this issue is at the local level. Specifically, the mayor weighed in on the implementation of my Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act – or MOBILE NOW, for short – which was signed into law last year. This new law helped lay some of the important groundwork that has made it possible to more easily deploy mobile broadband networks in the country.
5G is expected to contribute $275 billion in new investment and $500 billion in economic growth, and, as I mentioned, it will help strengthen our national security, too. We’re at the point in the race where the finish line is in sight, and there’s no turning back. With the right investment, a committed team, and a clear vision, the United States can win, and when we do, South Dakota will have been a part of its success.
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In 1969 we were able to send men to the moon and then successfully make a phone call to Earth. Why not develop technology to send 5G satellites into outer space?
Does Senator Thune Understand the Internet?
I respond to this 5G nonsense here:
https://plainstribune.com/podcast?service=podcast.PodCastDetail&streamId=eacb8654c63e6dd4342fe04918c87bd3
Again John Thune shows an anti-China rhetoric to the ignorant. Does John Thune want to return to the 1960 paranoia of communist expansion and its horrible financial and human life loss spectre? Senator, competition is good, it’s what defines capitalism. We are glad you are no longer chairman of the committee as you have no science or economic acumen for that important committee.
Are you seriously arguing in defense of China while also arguing capitalism? A government financially supporting business with direct capital infusions and stealing the IP of competing countries’ businesses is not a free market.
You don’t support China’s business plan? How many items do you have that are “Made in China”? Come on now, don’t be hypocrite.
Its actually only 1.2% of the entire US GDP on products that could not be manufactured here. Did you know that, how small of an issue this is? Didn’t think so.
I don’t disagree with you, Jeff. I was only pointing out how people complain about doing business with China and then purchase the majority of their products: vehicles, phones, tv’s, clothes, etc.
The actual breakdown is roughly this: 1.2% of full Chinese input like goods found at Walmart, etc that are not made in the US due to labor costs, high taxes, lack of labor altogether, over regulation by state and federal governments, lack of venture capitalist funding for these types of manufacturers producing low cost goods for American consumption, and many more; .6% that includes parts for US assembly and raw materials (commodities) that are needed by US manufacturers to be competitive in national and world markets. The anti-China rampage by the Trumsters will certainly begin a great downfall of the US economy and power in the world just like what happened when the Rs passed the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act that drove our country into the Great Depression. In 1934 when Democrats won both houses and the presidency, they passed the Ex-Im bank Act to remedy the damage by the Republicans that now Senator Rounds wants to abolish. Like you said, people want lower cost items like a $20 toaster instead of a $100 dollar toster that is made in America. Take that away and you take away consumer confidence and that is 70% of the US economy. Remember, Americans make a lot of money off of Chinese durable goods. We are setting up a disaster if we follow the Trump’s conspiracy theories.
Not vehicles. Some parts from China and some from Mexico for autos. Many auto parts stores will go out of business because of the anti-China rhetoric. If prices sky rocket due to being made in America, they will slow down buying affecting our economy drastically. It is nothing more than a huge tax onto the American people by the Republicans all for a political stunt by a madman.
China eroded our economy of scale using global bank money and slow infiltration of our institutions.
They abused workers and sacrificed their country’s natural beauty to produce the world’s goods at bargain basement rates.
They did it to create leverage for the end-game.
So, we put our ringer in (President Trump), and it’s really messing-up their exit strategy.
Good.
It’s nothing personal toward China.
It’s just business.
You parrot the ill-informed members of the Trump party. Really, you have no idea what you are spewing and have zero acumen in trade out of China. They are changing because of their work with we in America and Europe, including environmental issues as they are emerging as a nation economically just as we did, unless you’d rather have a war with them…like it sounds.
I could have sold-out my country and fellow citizens a long time ago and made a lot of money in IT. If that’s what you mean by “business acumen”, then I guess you’re right.
When there are only banks and no jobs, becoming a bank robber seems pretty legit.
But it is not.
It is still incumbent on the business community to take the high road, to take the long way around, and to consider carefully what is the right and the wrong way to make money.
As stated you have no business acumen in trade. The 7% downturn in trade from China has just been transferred to Vietnam, a communist nation, Cambodia, and India so nothing was accomplished. The first of your God’s conspiracy theories has just been debunked by the DOJs IG report on the FBI…more to come. Donald Trunp is a tidal wave of lies and conspiracy theories that the ignorant, like yourself, swallow up as fact.
Freaking out over short term results might be an indication that, while you have a “business acumen” for arbitrage to exploit low-hanging short term gain, you seem to lack some understanding of our country’s strategic break-even and the enormous potential of longer-term ROI.
Hold the line, American!
Are you one of those types who says you can’t critique a show if you watch that show? That’s the sort of dumb logic you are using here.
“Are you one of those types who says you can’t critique a show if you watch that show? That’s the sort of dumb logic you are using here..”
Nicely stated. Market choices have been manipulated to our detriment, so we’re not supposed to buy any essentials because the was made in China?
The point is, when it comes to essentials, buy American when possible and undo the corruption that subverted the market in the first place.
Are you one of those types who does not understand the difference between complaining and critiquing? Justify your choices anyway you want, I don’t care.
China, Thune and TenHaken do not care what you, me or Dale think about their business plan. You buy China’s products, that’s what they care about. China’s bottom line is not the free market, it’s about power and they are winning. Your comments are not making any kind difference in the world.
Efficient free markets depend on informed free choice/consent.
Your comments smack of the brand of totalitarianism outlined in Atlas Shrugged.
“Dig this ditch .. no shovel, just dig.”
I wish you the very best of luck in the future.
That is all.
See, but when consituents continue to vent about subversion of market principles, it corners politicians into acting. So yeah, I will continue to voice my opinion and you can wallow in whatever sort of nihilism you’ve got going on at the moment.
It corners politicians into acting… how easily you believe lies. How far back does that hemp corner Noem’s been backed into go? Your venting means nothing to them.
I have a corner for you…
Some say the GOP could win the House back in 2020. They only need to introduce legislation making it a crime to gender transition children AND legislation banning boys from competing against girls.
Problem is Teva Pharma, who makes/sells transition hormones, owns many politicians thru the Israel lobby.
The GOP and DNC grand illusion is to make people, like you, think they’re working on solutions. You think your venting pressures politicians? It doesn’t, but you’ll continue to believe the lies you tell yourself.
“You think your venting pressures politicians?”
Sad but true.
To quote the inimitable Walter Sobchek: These men are nihilists, Donny. They are nothing to be afraid of.
Wallow in your self-fulfilling prophecy, then. I’d rather be an effete but involved person than a conspiracy theorist edgelord.
Until I mentioned them, you’ve never even heard of Teva Pharma or where they’re located. Israel lobby and all the other big dollar donors are real and their money goes a long way in convincing politicians to vote a certain way.
Keep venting, you’ve clearly convinced yourself it works. They listen to everything you have say and appreciate all the money you’ve donated.
“never even heard of Teva Pharma”
I respect that you appreciate the enormity of the problem of human emancipation.
What do you propose IS the solution?
You obviously are ignorant of the facts. Where did you parrot this information from? Fox News?
Curious on why John Dale believes there are no long term gains in China trade. I guess Apple, Nike, Sherwin Williams, 3M, Microsoft, Intel, and hundreds of others would disagree vehemently.
Those firms all want the deal they have, which is great for them.
The “rest of us” want a deal that is good for them, and good for us.
When is the last time you traded anything anonymous from any country, export or import? Thought so. What has China to do with Trumps conspiracy theories and btw, the products made in China are made there for a reason and cannot be made in the U.S. due to many reasons and those products/commodities that are not being shipped due to tariffs are now being manufactured in Vietnam, a communist country, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, etc., countries that are far more problematic than China. Without China, our world would look very different…no Apple, Nike, Amazon, and the high tech industry at all. I’m an expert in trade, you are not. Most issues between US and China always comes back to US crooked companies. Did you know that?
I think you will find in working with the Chinese that their businessmen are more capitalistic than we are in the U.S. China is slowly changing their political spectrum due to the interaction with American and European businessmen; our politicians want to take us all back to a cold war or even a physical war with countries like China over their paranoia as in remember Vietnam, how’d that turn out for the U.S.? One of Trump’s advisors and soldier, Steve Bannon, actually does want a shooting war with China developed during his days as a Navy intelligence officer.
Are you ready for a cold war with China or do you want the world’s businessmen to modify their system of government as is happening; at least until Trump became president. It will take some time but there will be no los of life.