John Thune
Role at the time: Senate majority leader
Defended or excused
Statement summary
John Thune cites the bill's broad House support to reject claims that it lacks consequence.
“I don’t know how you can say something that passed the House of Representatives 417-3 isn’t consequential,”
Open source (opens in a new tab)NBC interview reporting on Senate debate over the ratepayer billThune response to arguments that the bill is only a political gesture
NBC published Thune's remarks on September 30; the report does not specify the day of his answer.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
Thune defends the bill's significance and argues that it could become law.