Keegan Bittner, Author at Senator Steve Daines

Daines in Senate Indian Affairs Committee: Complete the Fort Belknap Water Settlement, Support Montana’s Hi-Line

March 12, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with the Department of the Interior Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Scott Cameron in a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing. The two discussed the necessity of completing the Fort Belknap water rights settlement and supporting irrigation and infrastructure on the Milk River. Watch the full exchange HERE. Daines on the importance of the Fort Belknap water rights settlement: Daines: The Fort Belknap have waited over a century to settle their water rights. In fact, they are the original tribe that led to the Winters Doctrine. They completed their settlement negotiations decades ago and have been waiting

Daines Bill to Increase Access to Public Lands Passes Senate Committee

March 4, 2026

Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act One Step Closer to Becoming Law WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced that his bill, the “Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act,” passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and is one step closer to becoming law. “As a lifelong sportsman, increasing access to Montana’s beautiful public lands is one of my top priorities. This bill is common sense: it unlocks land that’s overdue for release from restrictive Wilderness Study Area status to increase access for outdoor recreation, forest management, and wildfire mitigation. I am glad to see it pass committee and I’ll keep fighting to

Daines, Warner, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Increase Economic Prosperity, Strengthen CDFI Fund

February 26, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) today introduced the bipartisan “Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development (AFFORD) Act.” The AFFORD Act will provide added transparency over CDFI Fund operations and strengthen its role in improving capital access and economic development in rural, tribal, and other underserved communities in Montana, Virginia, and across the country. Additionally, the bill would extend and enhance the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program to enable participation by smaller CDFIs, reauthorizes the CDFI liquidity enhancement program to increase CDFI lending capacity and reach more communities, and bolsters the role of Native CDFIs by expanding a

ICYMI: Daines Lauds Affordability, Strength on the World Stage Following Trump’s State of the Union Address

February 25, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today joined CNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg TV, and Fox Business to react to President Trump’s State of the Union address as well as the latest updates in Iran. Read highlights below. Daines on CNBC’s Squawk Box I thought for a moment, what if Kamala Harris would have won the 2024 election? What if she was giving that speech last night? Where would we be at? Millions of illegals continuing to come across our southern border. As the president said, he’s sealed the southern border. Fentanyl flows are down 56 percent over the course of the

Daines in Senate Finance Committee: Trade with Canada and Mexico is Critical for Montana

February 12, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady in a Senate Finance Committee hearing about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) and its impact on Montana. Watch the full exchange HERE. Daines on how the USMCA benefits Montana producers, manufacturers, and consumers: Daines: The United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement is vital for Montana ag producers, manufacturers, and consumers alike. President Trump was correct when he sought to modernize NAFTA in 2017, securing better terms for American farmers and businesses and fortifying supply chains in the Western Hemisphere. I’ve heard quite often that USMCA created business and investment certainty for

Daines Hails Trump Administration Action to Counter Russia’s Predatory Palladium Trade Practices

February 12, 2026

Will Protect Montana Jobs at Sibanye-Stillwater Mine WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines issued the following statement today commending the Trump administration for issuing a duty countering Russian efforts to flood markets with palladium in order to drive down prices. Russia’s actions put jobs at Montana’s Sibanye-Stillwater Mines in jeopardy. The mine is the only primary source of palladium in the United States and has been negatively affected by Russia’s actions. The administration’s 132.83 percent anti-dumping duty rate is enforceable upon publication in the Federal Register. “Montana mining is on a roll thanks to President Trump. Russia’s malign actions are aimed at eliminating competition

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) today introduced the “Expanded Telehealth Access Act,” which increases health care access by expanding the types of health care practitioners who may provide telehealth services under Medicare to include audiologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists, among others.

February 11, 2026

“Many Montanans depend on telehealth services to access critical, especially in rural communities where patients and families would otherwise have to drive long distances or face unpredictable weather conditions to receive care. This bipartisan bill will increase access to telehealth services and help ensure patients receive the care they deserve,” said Daines. “Telehealth serves as a vital lifeline for many patients who would otherwise not be able to access the health care that they need. This is especially important for Minnesotans living in rural areas and small towns, where many healthcare services are difficult, if not impossible, to reach. This bill ensures

Daines on Fox Business: Trump is Reversing Biden’s Green Hallucination

February 10, 2026

Calls Minnesota Fraud “Scandalous” and “Outrageous” WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today joined Fox Business to discuss the outrageous fraud in Minnesota and how President Trump is reversing Biden’s harmful energy policies. Watch the full exchange HERE. Daines on the massive fraud in Minnesota: It’s scandalous, it’s outrageous, and notice it’s focused on blue states, where you’ve got leaders who are looking the other way, pretending it’s not happening. It’s fake nonprofits, fake food banks, fake homeless shelters, fake daycares. This absolutely undermines the trust of the American people in these institutions. That’s why heads need to roll. Prosecutions need to

Daines Honors Montana National Guard Families at Fort Harrison

February 7, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today attended the Montana National Guard’s Adjutant General Appreciation Dinner at Fort Harrison. At the dinner, he honored the Montana Army National Guard Aviation Crews and the Montana National Guard Family & Military Readiness Group as “Montanans of the Month” and presented them with signed copies of congressional resolutions honoring their service. Read the resolutions that were presented HERE and HERE. Read Daines’ remarks as prepared for delivery below. Thank you, Major Begger. Brigadier General Gibson, and Command Sergeant Major Deboo for the opportunity to recognize some incredible heroes of the Montana National Guard. Distinguished guests, men and

Daines on Fox Business: President Trump Leads with Peace Through Strength

February 6, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today joined Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street to discuss inflation, Trump RX, Iran nuclear talks, President Trump’s trade deal with India, and DHS funding. Watch the full interview HERE. Daines on U.S.-Iran nuclear talks: Let’s not forget that Iran distinctly calls us the great Satan, and they call Israel the little Satan. They seek to destroy the United States. They seek to destroy Israel. They are the number one state-sponsored supplier of terror in the world. Of course, they prop up Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis. That is all Iran. And that’s why I’m a little skeptical, frankly,

Author: Keegan Bittner