Category: News Article

If this were a normal year, Montana’s national parks and recreation areas would already be filled nearly to capacity. The visitors center at Logan Pass would be crowded with motorists pausing midway through their journey across Going-to-the-Sun Road. The ring of cash registers would echo throughout cafes and souvenir shops in West Yellowstone, and the docks at Ok-A-Beh Marina would be filled with boaters preparing to explore Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. However, the summer of 2020 is not a normal one. While millions of Americans are eager to escape the strictures of stay-at-home orders to visit our National Parks,

U.S. SENATE – At a U.S. Senate Hearing today, the Trump administration expressed support for U.S. Senator Steve Daines’ bipartisan bill, the “Montana Water Rights Protection Act,” which permanently settles the century-long Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) water dispute. At the hearing, Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary Tim Petty discussed the benefits of the bill which will create more than 6,000 jobs, modernize critical NW Montana infrastructure, avoid costly litigation, protect the water rights of all Montanans and provide certainty for Montana’s farmers and ranchers.  Daines kicked off the hearing by emphasizing why the bill is necessary, how

Montana’s U.S. senators announced Monday that Montana universities are receiving nearly $1 million in federal funding for health care workforce training. Releases from the offices of Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., said University of Montana in Missoula will receive $438,278 and Montana State University in Bozeman will receive $344,880. The release from Tester’s office said UM’s funding will be for a program that trains medical residents in rural and underserved areas, and MSU’s will be for scholarships to increase diversity in the health care workforce. The funds are coming through the U.S. Department of Health and Human

Montana’s Republican Sen. Steve Daines announced Friday a plan to introduce a bill increasing the penalties for landing aircraft in designated wilderness areas. Landing a helicopter in a wilderness area is considered a federal misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of a $500 fine, six months in prison or both. Daines’ bill will propose raising that fine to $20,000. “Montanans value wilderness for the solitude it provides and the adventure that is involved to travel to so many beautiful locations. My bill will make folks with a deep pocket think twice before entering our pristine wilderness areas unlawfully,” Daines said

Sen. Steve Daines this week signed on to bill aimed at reforming law enforcement policies, saying it will help increase accountability and transparency and provide incentives to limit controversial tactics. The JUSTICE Act was introduced by Senate Republicans on Wednesday and included the leadership of Sen. Tim Scott, the chamber’s only African American Republican. Daines is a cosponsor of the bill. “The men and women who serve our communities in law enforcement put their lives on the line every day to protect our families, and a few bad actors have reflected poorly upon the values of their service,” Daines said

The Great American Outdoors Act passed the Senate on Wednesday, which is a huge win for our national parks and public lands. While our country is obviously going through a very difficult time, this represents a bipartisan effort to preserve our nation’s natural beauty. This legislation addresses the $12 billion National Parks Service deferred maintenance backlog and permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund. In Montana, our national parks are my weekend getaway. Being outside helps me clear my mind and just connect with the great outdoors, which is even more important now. It’s not only me, but many

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines cosponsored the JUSTICE Act, a major police reform bill in the Senate, which aims to help improve the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. “The men and women who serve our communities in law enforcement put their lives on the line every day to protect our families, and a few bad actors have reflected poorly upon the values of their service,” Daines said. “We must work to restore confidence between our communities and law enforcement, and this bipartisan bill does just that by increasing accountability, transparency and training. This provides real

The U.S. Senate passed a landmark conservation bill on Wednesday. The Great American Outdoors Act provides $9.5 billion to address deferred maintenance on public lands and puts $900 million annually from oil and gas royalties into the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester, both bill sponsors, celebrated its success on Wednesday. “Today, this is about protecting our Montanan outdoor way of life for future generations and it increases public access to our public lands in addition to supporting our national parks and really preserving and protecting our western heritage,” said Daines, a Bozeman Republican who’s running for reelection.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) received bipartisan praise for his leadership in helping pass the Great American Outdoors Act through the Senate, a bill to preserve America’s forests and national parks. The Senate overwhelmingly passed on Wednesday the Great American Outdoors Act, 73-25, which serves as a strong victory for “conservative conservationist” Daines. The legislation would permanently provide $900 million in oil and gas revenues for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which secures land for trails and parks. The bill also reserves $6.5 billion for ending the maintenance backlog for the country’s national parks. The legislation served as a

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, is backing a police reform bill that would among other things promote body camera use by Montana law enforcement and require the footage be made available to the public. The bill, requiring more police accountability for use of force, calls for spending $100 million a year on police body cameras and body camera training. Police departments that accept the money would face future funding reductions for both turning body cameras off and for not releasing footage to the public under the terms of the law. States where body cameras aren’t used would receive less federal