Congressional Spotlight: Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD)

Each month The Nonprofit Alliance (TNPA) introduces you to a member of Congress who is a leader on legislative matters important to our TNPA community, with representation from both parties.

What was the moment you realized you were serious about getting into public service?

While in college, I had the opportunity to serve as an intern for the South Dakota Legislature. I enjoyed the politics but I especially enjoyed the policy making. The members of the legislature that I worked with were serious about making a difference and instilled those values in me. I always thought that I might be able to serve in a similar capacity especially once I had the financial means to do so.

Describe your life in seven words.

Dad, Grandpa, Concerned Citizen, Workhorse, South Dakotan.

More About Senator Mike Rounds

TNPA has worked closely with Senator Mike Rounds.

The Senator earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from South Dakota State University. From there he went on to a successful career in South Dakota in insurance and real estate serving as a partner in Fischer Rounds & Associates.

In 1990 he launched his political career by being elected to the South Dakota Senate. In the state Senate he quickly moved up the ranks becoming Senate Minority Whip in 1993 and in 1995 his peers selected him to be Senate Majority Leader. In 2002, he went on to win the governorship by a large margin – 15 percentage points! In 2006, he was then reelected as governor by an even larger margin – 25 percentage points.

Throughout his eight years as Governor he had many important accomplishments. Among them were – establishing 10 nationally competitive research centers at state-supported universities, creating the Sanford Underground Research Lab, record state university and technical school enrollment, K-12 schools received $109 million more annually in state support compared to when he first took office, and a substantial advancement of the ethanol and wind energy sectors.

In 2014 he ran for the U.S. Senate and won by a large margin. He went on to be reelected to another six-year term in 2020 with yet another decisive victory by over 30 percentage points. In the Senate he serves on five committees: Armed Services; Banking Housing and Urban Affairs; Indian Affairs; Veterans’ Affairs; and the Select Committee on Intelligence. In the Senate he has been a leader on health care issues as a strong advocate for advances in rural health care, access to healthcare care through the VA for our veterans, and improvements in Indian Health Services on reservations. He has also been a leader in developing updated cybersecurity and national defense programs to protect our country.

We at TNPA know the Senator best for his strong leadership on the issue of Artificial Intelligence. He is the Co-Chair of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus with Senator Chuck Schumer and has worked hard as Congress continues to develop a smart policy that balances AI’s risks and rewards to ensure the competitiveness of the American economy. Here the potential benefits of AI to the nonprofit community are significant for not only more efficiently identifying potential donors, but also helping in carrying out our missions, particularly in terms of the delivery of healthcare to those in need.

TNPA looks forward to continuing to work closely with Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota.