Category: News Article

Permanently banning new mining claims north of Yellowstone National Park and renewing a popular conservation fund are closer to reality, as the U.S. Senate plans to take up a broad lands bill including the two measures next week. The bill, S. 47, contains a variety of public lands legislation across the country including two measures that have been important to the Montana congressional delegation — the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act and the reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Representatives from the offices of Montana’s two senators have told the Chronicle the bill will hit the Senate floor early

HELENA – Sen. Steve Daines told state lawmakers Friday that Montanans don’t want a government that reaches “deeper” into their pockets and wanted courts with judges without political agendas. The Montana Republican spoke to state House members during a 30-minute speech in which he discussed topics such as the honor of public service, a memorial being approved for a slain Broadwater County deputy, job creation, term limits,  lower prescription drug prices and the Keystone XL Pipeline. “I will not stop fighting for common sense solutions on issues that mean the most to Montanans,” he said. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester spoke

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R.Mont., has  announced that he is cosponsoring the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2019. The bill would fully repeal the federal estate tax, also known as “the death tax.” “The death tax hits Montana’s farming and ranch families the hardest and often results in the break-up of family farms,” Daines said. “Families who are dealing with the death of a loved one shouldn’t have to worry about what is going to happen to their land. I’m glad that were able to double the death tax exemption in the last Congress. Now it’s time for full repeal.”

The wife of a Broadwater County deputy slain in the line of duty in 2017 will be Sen. Steve Daines’ guest at President Donald J. Trump’s State of the Union address. Jodi Moore, wife of Broadwater County Deputy Sheriff Mason Moore, will join Daines Feb. 5.  Deputy Mason Moore was shot and killed while on duty in May 2017. He left behind three children and his wife.  “No spouse should ever have to go through the pain she and her family did when Mason was tragically killed. And because of that, she has been a tireless advocate for Montana’s first

Sen. Steve Daines is requesting a field hearing in Montana to explore the growing issue of missing and murdered indigenous people.  The Republican from Montana wrote to the chairman and vice chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs Tuesday asking for the meeting.  He noted that May 5th is marked as a national day of awareness to shed light on the number of native women who go missing or are murdered.  His letter lists several women by name who have made headlines for years in Montana. Cases like Henny Scott who was found dead on December 28 near Lodge Grass,

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican, has teamed up with Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, to block a loophole abusing the conservation easement tax benefit. The pair reintroduced the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2019 on Thursday. It would limit tax deductions on conservation easements to 2.5 times the owners original cost for the property. An Internal Revenue Service report to Congress noted that abuses of the benefit totaled $20 billion between 2010 and 2016, with some owners claiming 20 times their original purchase price on the easement deduction. “The conservation easement tax incentive is meant to

WASHINGTON — As Wednesday rounds out the 26th day of the government shutdown, it continued to dominate conversations in Washington, D.C., including ours with Republican Sen. Steve Daines. We had a bright and early start when we shadowed him Wednesday, just as we did with Sen. Jon Tester Tuesday. He took us on a personal tour of the Capitol building and even to the Senate floor, where no cameras are allowed. From there, the Montana Coffee, where Daines was joined by Tester and Rep. Greg Gianforte, a one-stop delegation event held every Wednesday for Montana constituents. “It’s a unique Montana

Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines introduced a bill on the Senate floor Thursday that would withhold the pay of members of Congress during future government shutdowns. Daines’ introduction of the bill, sponsored by Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, comes hours after Daines announced he sent a letter requesting the secretary of the U.S. Senate withhold his pay during the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government. “Members of Congress are sent to Washington, D.C., to represent the great people of their state and keep the federal government open, working, and funded. So it’s simple. If they can’t do that, they

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines will do something no senator has done in 75 years: serve on both the Senate Finance and Appropriations committees, a move expected to give Montana unusual clout and gird Daines for the 2020 elections. The assignment gives Montana a seat at the table on the committee responsible for prescription drug prices, Medicaid, Medicare, taxes and trade. It also puts Daines on two of the Senate’s most powerful “juice committees,” which boost a lawmaker’s ability to leverage campaign funds. By being on the two committees, Daines will have a first vote on every federal dollar raised and

An unprecedented move by the National Park Service could free up millions of dollars for staffing and cleaning-up trash and restrooms at Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks during the partial federal government shutdown. Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt says many of the burdens facing the two iconic parks in Montana as a result of the shutdown should be addressed within the coming days. The agency says it will tap into the entrance fees park visitors pay to cover staffing during the shutdown. On Saturday Republican Senator Steve Daines wrote Burnhardt requesting to restart lapsed work in national parks, including the