Category: News Article

Following the announcement that the VA Montana director is resigning, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Ryan Zinke sent a letter Thursday morning to Secretary Bob McDonald of the Department of Veterans Affairs asking him to prioritize finding a replacement. John Ginnity submitted his resignation to VA officials Tuesday, and the resignation was announced Wednesday. His last day is July 8 and if a replacement isn’t found before then, the position will join the vacant associate director and chief of staff positions. “This is simply unacceptable and we request you make filling these positions a top priority for the sake of

Efforts are continuing in the United States Senate to develop a compromise on GMO labeling that would circumvent Vermont’s GMO labeling law which goes into effect July 1. That law is a trigger for enacting similar laws in two other states, Maine and Connecticut. Roberts brought a bill to the Senate floor in March, dubbed by opponents as the Deny Americans Right to Know act, that attempted to forestall Vermont’s legislation. The Kansas Senator is trying again with another bill he says has “workable solutions” to address the concerns that flummoxed his last bill. He doesn’t expect anything definitive to

Senator Steve Daines’ amendment should provide additional security for land based intercontinental ballistic missile sites like Malmstrom Air Force Base; Today the amendment unanimously passed the United States Senate and will now be included in the National Defense Authorization Act. “The Department of Defense has failed to recognize the urgency in replacing the Vietnam-era helicopters at Malmstrom, and the increased security is needed until they are replaced,” Daines stated. “I am pleased that the Senate is taking the appropriate steps to study the shortfalls and provide increased security from an outside resource until that replacement takes place.” It was confirmed

St. Joseph Hospital in Polson will receive $99,023 to address health-care needs in rural areas, according to a news release from U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. The grant will be used by St. Joseph to engage a network of hospitals serving rural communities through development of a Western Montana Rural Nursing Collaborative. The collaborative provides a unique partnership of hospitals that seek to expand, enhance and improve access to services in rural communities and allow patients to receive high-quality care closer to home. “This is a collaborative project and a made-in-Montana solution that supports our nurses, helps lower health-care costs

A successful haymaker has just been thrown in the funding fight for the Sidney ARS unit. The  2017 Ag Appropriations Bill is headed to the floor of the U.S. Senate for a vote with language that ensures the Northern Plains Research Lab in Sidney will remain fully staffed and operational. Senator Jon Tester, who is a member of the subcommittee that authored the bill, said the language should guarantee that the lab in Sidney can continue to research the impact of the wheat stem sawfly, which annually causes more than $250 million in crop damage every year across the nation,

Montana U.S. Senator Steve Daines has announced today a Polson hospital will be awarded nearly $100,000 to address healthcare needs in rural areas. The grant will be used by St. Joseph Hospital to engage a network of hospitals serving rural communities through development of a Western Montana Rural Nursing Collaborative (WMRNC). WMRNC hopes to expand, enhance and improve access to services in rural communities and allow patients to receive high-quality care closer to home. “This is a collaborative project and a made-in-Montana solution that supports our nurses, helps lower healthcare costs and maintains high-quality care for Montanans in rural communities across the

The proponent of a rejected coal shipping terminal in Lummi Nation’s historical territory is “looking at all its options” and “will decide shortly how we plan to proceed,” the company’s vice president wrote in a letter to ICTMN. Bob Watters of SSA Marine said the Army Corps of Engineers’ denial of his company’s permit based on the project’s potential impacts to Lummi’s historical fishing areas is “a political decision rather than a regulatory decision.” Col. John Buck, commander of the Army Corps’ Seattle District, ruled on May 9 that the potential impacts of the coal shipping terminal to Lummi’s usual

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is eyeing a dual-track strategy for moving legislation that would update the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) suggested during a May 18 panel hearing on the law that the committee consider acting on different bills that would focus on alleged litigation abuses and consumer harms, respectively. “If we could figure out how to divide this discussion into those two categories, we’re much more likely to find a solution to both problems,” Blunt said. Committee chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) said the suggestion of splitting TCPA update efforts into two separate initiatives

Senator Steve Daines’ bill that would move Montana water projects forward and ensure the completion of authorized projects across Montana recently received its first hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “From the crops and grazing fields of our state’s agriculture providers, water is our most valuable resource,” Daines stated. “Our farmers, ranchers and families deserve access to a reliable water source.” The Western Water Supply and Planning Enhancement Act would help improve the efficiency of existing water supply infrastructure, ease the regulatory burden on new projects, and protect water rights that are critical to the prosperity of