Author: Reilly Lowery

The U.S. Senate on Friday passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which would support Montana’s military installations, service members, veterans and military families. The bipartisan bill, supported by Montana’s U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines, awaits President Donald Trump’s signature. The annual defense bill includes provisions, such as a 3% pay raise to all service members, hazard pay and 180 days of medical care for National Guard and Reserve service members on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release. The bill also contains maintenance and modernization for bases with intercontinental

BOZEMAN — Bozeman’s VA Clinic is well on its way to being renamed after Medal of Honor recipient, staff sergeant Travis Atkins. On Thursday, in a unanimous vote, the U.S. Senate passed a bill to rename the clinic after Atkins who was killed on the battlefield in Iraq after he tackled and fell on a suicide bomber to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. Atkins was born and raised in Montana and served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was awarded the Medal of Honor after his death in a White House ceremony in March. Montana U.S. Senators Jon Tester

A bill to promote the use of public lands and other outdoor spaces for medical treatment and therapy for veterans has been signed into law, opening the door to improved physical health and mental well-being for veterans who lacked access to outdoor recreation in the past. The “Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act” was co-introduced into Congress by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nevada, in May, 2019, and signed by President Trump on Dec. 5. It mandates the formation of an interagency task force to identify opportunities for veterans to use public lands for medical treatment and recreational

Six internet providers are expected to extend broadband service to nearly 46,000 homes and businesses in rural Montana with nearly $126 million from the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC announced Monday it will grant $9.2 billion to internet providers from its Rural Development Opportunity Fund over the next 10 years, following an auction that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called “the single largest step ever taken to bridge the digital divide.” Big winners in the auction include Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which received nearly $886 million to expand broadband in 35 states. That includes nearly $73 million for more than 29,000 sites

Recently re-elected Senator Steve Daines was on the Montana Morning News show on Wednesday to speak about several issues, primarily regarding the COVID 19 vaccines headed to Montana next week. Daines was at the Operation Warp Speed COVID response press conference at the White House on Tuesday, and was congratulated by President Trump for his November re-election. “I was at the White House, in fact I was just one of two senators invited to President Trump’s vaccine summit,” said Daines. “It’s where he pulled together all the leaders from our country when working on Operation Warp Speed to get the

Note: This story was corrected to change the date the bill was signed. A U.S. Senate bill signed into law Saturday stands to bring Montana’s veterans and the outdoors closer together. Introduced by Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, the bipartisan bill promotes outdoor veteran recovery programs and expands outdoor recreational opportunities for veterans on public lands. The bill passed as part of the Veterans COMPACT Act of 2020. The other aims of the bigger package are to improve veteran access to services from the Department of Veterans Affairs, such as suicide prevention,

The Federal Communications Commission completed an auction that selected companies who will increase high-speed internet access to Montana and the rest of rural America. The companies include cable operators, electric cooperatives, telephone companies, satellite companies and fixed wireless providers. The work is expected to be mostly completed within six years of a 10-year contract. In Montana, Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines welcomed the news, which provides $125 Million to bring high-speed internet to over 45,000 locations across the state. Nationally, $9.2 billion is being spent on the upgrades from the FCC’s Rural Development Opportunity Fund. Tester said he will