Author: Reilly Lowery

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines sent a letter signed by a bipartisan group of Senators to Administrator Raymond Martinez of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), calling for greater flexibility within hours of service (HOS) regulations for commercial motor vehicle drivers, which help maintain the safety on Montana’s roadways.  Daines and the bipartisan group of colleagues wrote, “The trucking industry provides for over three million jobs in the U.S. and is the backbone of our economy, ensuring our nation’s goods get to market. It is important that HOS regulations provide for a commonsense framework for drivers, rather than

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today released the following statement after President Donald Trump announced Robert Wilkie, the acting secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, as his next nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. “Robert is a friend and I know he will do what it takes to put our veterans first in a department that has not been giving our heroes the treatment they deserve,” said Daines. “I look forward to putting my full support behind his nomination to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.”   ###

U.S. SENATE – During National Police Week, U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester introduced the bipartisan Putting First-Responders First Act. This legislation would clarify the current tax code to ensure injured first-responders do not have to pay taxes on injury-related compensation. In addition, this bill prevents injury-related compensation from becoming taxable when injured first-responders reach retirement age since their injuries and associated costs remain. The legislation was inspired by the story of the now retired Billings police officer, Ladd Paulson. In 2002, Mr. Paulson was hit by an impaired driver while he was conducting a routine traffic stop on

U.S. SENATE – Just a day after U.S. Senator Steve Daines urged Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt to lift a court gag order on the Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund site cleanup plan, Daines announced today that the Department of Justice in conjunction with the EPA and the Atlantic Richfield Company filed a motion to lift the confidentiality order. During a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies hearing, Daines secured Administrator Pruitt’s commitment that EPA staff would quickly go to Butte to hear the community’s input once the details of the plan are released.

U.S. SENATE — During a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, U.S. Senator Steve Daines urged Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to act swiftly to ensure the United States remains the leader in 5G wireless technology and to take steps to strengthen access to broadband in rural areas. Mentioning the recent congressional trip he led to China, Daines warned Chairman Pai that he feared America was losing the race to 5G and questioned Chairman Pai on what actions the Commission is taking to ensure the United States remains the world leader is 5G technology.

U.S. SENATE — Today, during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on the Department of the Air Force budget, U.S. Senator Steve Daines urged Heather Wilson, Secretary of the Air Force, to consider Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls as a future base for the B-21 bomber.  He also requested an update on the plan to replace Montana’s aging UH-1N helicopters.  “With 3,400 active duty airmen, 968 Air Guardsmen, and 600 civil servants in Montana, Montana is essential to some of the Air Force’s most critical missions,” said Daines. “These men and women represent the best America has to