Category: News Article

HELENA, Mont. (AP) – An internal evaluation of the VA Montana Health Care System saw its performance rating downgraded to one star for July, August and September, compared with two stars for the same period in 2015, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines announced Wednesday. Public affairs officer Mike Garcia said that officials are reviewing the report and looking for areas of improvement, but he notes the star ratings are not equivalent to those one might find for a hotel or restaurant. The nation’s VA hospitals are rated on a bell curve, and there will always be a dozen five-star facilities and 12 or 13 one-star

U.S. Senator Steve Daines, R-Montana, met last week with President-elect Donald J. Trump’s designee for the U.S. Department of Energy, Rick Perry. “After speaking with Governor Perry, I have confidence that he will work to restore the balance between fossil fuel and renewable energy investments and regulation, a balance that has been lacking in President Obama’s Energy Department,” Daines stated. “Governor Perry will work to make our nation energy secure.” During the meeting, Daines invited Perry to Colstrip and the Crow Reservation and commended his attention to a letter from Lori Shaw, co-founder of Colstrip United, a grassroots citizens’ group

Retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is undergoing a confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday, and ahead of the meeting he sat down with Montana’s two Senators to discuss issues relevant to the Treasure State, including northern border security. Republican Sen. Steve Daines met with Kelly on Jan. 9 to discuss national security priorities, including securing the southern and norther borders, as well as refugee vetting and enhancing cybersecurity. “I was impressed with Gen. Kelly. He is a straight shooter. He understands what it will take to secure our borders.

Both of Montana’s U.S. Senators have sent letters chastising the company that runs the Veterans Choice healthcare program in Montana and 36 other states. Veterans Choice is supposed to help vets get appointments with private health care providers if they live far from a VA facility, or have been waiting a long time for a VA appointment. It was created in 2014, and has been plagued with problems since the beginning. “HealthNet isn’t doing what they need to do,” said Democrat Jon Tester on Saturday. “They’ve made it so complicated for hospitals, and so complicated for the veterans, that we’re not able to use

Montana U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is positioned to play a key role in the confirmation of Ryan Zinke to Donald Trump’s presidential cabinet. The two Montanans met Thursday. Zinke, Montana’s lone congressman, met with Daines to discuss the representative’s nomination to be Interior secretary. Daines is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will begin Zinke’s confirmation process. “Ryan has a good balance of protecting public land and conservation, and energy development,” Daines told The Gazette. “I think it’s that balance that’s needed in the secretary of Interior.” Daines said he expects the Senate Energy and

Montana has been without a congressional representative on any federal Agriculture Committee since Senator Max Baucus became Ambassador to China, but that is about to change. The Montana Grain Growers Association applauded this week’s news that Montana Senator Steve Daines has been appointed to serve on the U.S. Senate Ag Committee. MGGA Executive Vice President Lola Raska says this decision will play a large role in the upcoming farm bill. “We are looking at renegotiating the next farm bill, that is already underway and this gives us a seat at the table,” said Raska. “Every detail of the farm bill goes through

Montana public officials have come together in unified opposition of the recent intimidations made against the Jewish community in Whitefish.  Together in a letter co-signed by senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines, Rep. Ryan Zinke, Gov. Steve Bullock and Attorney General Tim Fox, each denounced efforts of threat and intimidation directed at the community.  The letter comes in response to a post on the Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi and white supremacist blog that last week called its followers “to action” to harass and “troll” Whitefish businesses, its Jewish community and the Love Lives Here advocacy group. On Friday, the blog

WASHINGTON — Montana’s top elected leaders of both parties issued a strong denunciation Tuesday over a plan by neo-Nazis to conduct an armed march harassing the state’s Jewish community.   “We condemn attacks on our religious freedom manifesting in a group of anti-Semites,” the officials said. “We say to those few who seek to publicize anti-Semitic views that they shall find no safe haven here.”  The statement — signed by Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D), US Senators Steve Daines (R) and Jon Tester (D), Rep. Ryan Zinke (R) and Attorney General Tim Fox (R) — is a response to plans to hold the march

Tuesday morning, a powerful letter against anti-Semitism was sent from Montana’s top elected leaders.  Governor Steve Bullock, Attorney General Tim Fox, Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines, and Representative Ryan Zinke all wrote the letter together, titled ‘standing together’. The letter states this:  Dear fellow Americans, as we close out this year and look toward the future, we as Montana’s elected leaders are focused on the values that reflect our true character.  We offer our full support to the Jewish community, Montana families, businesses, faith organizations and law enforcement officers as they ensure the security of all our communities. We

Tucked into the legislature’s Continuing Resolution for Fiscal Year 2017 was a Christmas present for the nation’s farmers — a life preserver of sorts for the front lines of the agriculture industry, whose family enterprises are facing historic low commodity prices in wheat and concurrent unexplained volatility and low prices in the cattle industry. The $1.07 trillion funding bill that continues the government through April 28 by maintaining funding at current budget cap levels was necessary once again to prevent another government shutdown, but the stop-gap measure does make a provision for one area of increase.  The USDA’s loan provision,