[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 92 (Thursday, May 26, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2723-S2724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              South Dakota

  Mr. President, this past weekend, I headed to Murdo, SD, the small 
town of around 500 people where I grew up.
  Needless to say, any trip to Murdo brings back a lot of memories. 
First and foremost are those memories of my parents Pat and Harold 
Thune and of growing up with my three brothers and sister.
  We were lucky kids to have my parents. My mom was a wonderful, 
loving, eternally optimistic mother who spent most of my growing up 
years as our school librarian. She was responsible for making sure that 
we Thune kids got some culture, whether we wanted it or not. She was 
the one who made sure we got an introduction to music and learned how 
to play the piano. With her encouragement, I even joined the swing 
choir--although I will spare you, Mr. President, from any recitals.
  In the summer, she would make us come inside for an hour every day to 
read. I didn't always want to come inside on those beautiful summer 
days. At the time, I would have much preferred to keep shooting hoops 
with the basket my dad had attached to a pole in our backyard. But 
today I am grateful for every minute that she made us spend with books.
  My dad, he was our hero--a division I basketball player, a World War 
II combat pilot. He was a teacher at my high school. And a coach. And 
the athletic director. Oh, and also the bus driver.
  So between him and my mom as the librarian, we Thune kids were 
practically never away from our parents' watchful eyes. I am so 
grateful to have had my dad's coaching in sports and in life. My dad 
taught us, as players, to play as a team. He didn't like ball hogs or 
people who were in the game for the personal glory. He believed your 
job as a member of a team was to make the people around you better. If 
somebody else was in a better position to take the shot, you always 
made the extra pass. You didn't try to pad your own statistics. You 
played for the good of the team.
  It is an attitude I have tried to carry with me throughout my life. 
My parents gave us Thune kids a strong set of values and an inheritance 
of faith. In good times and bad, faith was their anchor and the Holy 
Scriptures, their roadmap. And I am grateful that they taught us who to 
turn to in times of trouble.
  Mr. President, being in Murdo reminded me of my parents, as it always 
does. It also made me reflect on just how lucky I was to grow up in a 
small town--and small-town South Dakota in particular. It is true that 
growing up in a small town meant that my parents had heard all about 
any of the Thune kids' misdemeanors before we even made it home.
  But even with that little drawback, small-town life was wonderful. In 
Murdo, you know everyone, and everyone knows you. And that gave us a 
sense of community and belonging that we carry to this day. Growing up 
in Murdo also taught us just how much we are all connected.
  Mr. President, South Dakotans are independent people, but we also 
rely on

[[Page S2724]]

our neighbors when the going gets tough. And the going can get tough. 
But, in Murdo, we knew that if a roof collapsed under the weight of 
snow or a windstorm came through and wiped out a barn or we lost a 
friend or family member, the whole community would rally around to 
help.
  Small-town life has a beautiful simplicity. On summer nights, my dad 
would take us to get ice cream cones, and then we would drive down to 
the White River. We would roll down the windows and feel the breeze and 
watch the sun drop below the horizon--no staring at iPhones or checking 
likes on social media.
  Those were idyllic evenings. Moments like those kept us connected to 
what really mattered: our family, our community, the land. Mr. 
President, the values I saw reflected growing up in Murdo are reflected 
in towns all across our State. In Murdo, I learned the character of 
South Dakotans, the work ethic, the commitment to freedom coupled with 
the belief in personal responsibility and the sense of responsibility 
to the broader community.
  Agriculture, of course, is the lifeblood of South Dakota, and it is a 
hard way of life. It is backbreaking work in all weathers, always with 
the risk that all your work can be wiped out in moments by a storm.
  Anyone who grows up on a farm or ranch knows that everybody has to 
pull their weight or the farm or ranch just don't survive. And I think 
that grounding in agriculture has helped give South Dakotans their 
reputation for having a strong work ethic and a commitment to getting 
the job done.
  And I am not kidding about that reputation. As a Senator, I have 
traveled to a number of places around the world, and I regularly meet 
people--often military members--who talk about the work ethic of the 
South Dakotans they know. I am pretty sure it is that work ethic and 
sense of personal responsibility that is responsible for the fact that 
South Dakota has always punched above its weight when it comes to 
military service, as well as the patriotism that runs strongly through 
the South Dakota character.
  South Dakotans cherish their freedoms, and they also believe that 
with freedom comes responsibility. And they have a deep appreciation 
for the Founders' vision that has allowed us to enjoy such freedom and 
for the sacrifices that have been required to secure it. With that 
comes an expectation that each generation has to do its part to pay 
freedom's price and protect all that we have been given.
  The South Dakota values I learned growing up helped shape my 
political philosophy: my belief that government should be limited and 
that it is best when it is closest to the people; and that if a matter 
can be handled at the State or local level, it should be; that the 
legacy of the past is something to be cherished and preserved while 
leaving, at the same time, room for change and adaptation when needed; 
that freedom is a sacred gift, one that must be defended, and that with 
freedom comes responsibility; and, finally, that while government is 
necessary, government is not where we should look for salvation.
  Mr. President, the legacy of growing up in South Dakota is a precious 
one. We didn't have much money, but we were very rich in the things 
that mattered. And I am deeply grateful for those years in Murdo, for 
the teachers and coaches and others in the community who invested in 
me, and for everyone who continues to make it feel like home and for 
the privilege of living in the Mount Rushmore State.
  It is my very great honor to represent the people of South Dakota in 
the U.S. Senate.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.