Category: News Article

MISSOULA, Mont. — Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester, Congressman Greg Gianforte along with Montana Attorney General Tim Fox released statements slamming the Supreme Court decision on internet sales tax. The office of Senator Steve Daines sent out the following release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines today condemned the United States Supreme Court decision allowing states to implement an Internet sales tax on small businesses physically located outside of the state’s borders. The 5-4 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair will increase tax burdens on small businesses and raise prices for consumers. This decision could lead to Internet retailers in all states

Montana Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines on Wednesday joined a group of lawmakers at the U.S Capitol to urge Congress to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The fund, established in 1964 to safeguard public lands, water resources and cultural heritage, is set to expire on Sept. 30 without congressional reauthorization. “Today marks 100 days until the LWCF expires,” Daines said. “It’s time we permanently reauthorize this critical conservation and recreation program for Montana. I support the full and permanent funding of LWCF.” Several conservation groups launched a $1 million digital ad campaign earlier this month to pressure lawmakers to reauthorize

All three of Montana’s delegates in Washington, D.C. said they oppose the Trump Administration’s strategy of separating families at the border. But they disagree on how to move forward to change that practice. Democratic Senator Jon Tester maintains a specific bill isn’t even necessary to keep those families together. “The Secretary of Homeland Security could stop it, (U.S. Attorney General Jeff) Sessions could stop it, they could stop it, and it would be stopped within minutes. But, assuming they’re not going to do that let’s stay here Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday – however long it takes to get this stopped.

Malmstrom Air Force Base will receive federal funding to help modernize its ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) infrastructure and replace UH-1N Huey military helicopters at the base, Sen. Steve Daines said Monday. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 OKs a $69.4 million increase for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program, a Daines spokeswoman said Monday. The GBSD will replace the Missileman III missile at Malmstrom in the mid-2020s and the funds are for public and private research nationwide, Daines said. It also requires the Air Force to increase staffing to ensure the project stays on schedule and to

Standing in the shadow of the Washoe Smelter, Republican Sen. Steve Daines got the lay of the land on Anaconda’s Superfund Friday while the quiet valley lay far below. Daines got a rare visit to the 585-foot smoke stack while making stops throughout southwest Montana Friday. He also visited Whitehall, Dillon and Deer Lodge as part of a 56-county tour around the state. He talked to ranchers in Whitehall, stock growers in Dillon, and lumber industry professionals in Deer Lodge. He also paid a visit to a pilot’s group in Missoula. He stopped in Butte in early March. His stopover

Two Montana groups will share $100,000 in federal grants to focus on local drug crises and emerging drug abuses, Sen. Steve Daines said Friday. The Substance Abuse Prevention Alliance in Great Falls and the Lincoln County Unite for Youth Coalition will each get $50,000 for communities’ efforts to combat local drug use, especially among youth. “Montana’s meth and drug epidemic has taken lives and destroyed families,” Daines, R-Mont., said. “These critical funds will help Montana combat drug use and rebuild impacted communities.” Daines said Montana had a 427 percent increase in methamphetamine violations from 2010-2015 and the 11 drug task

Republican-backed bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to ensure that government money targeted to subsidize rural broadband, a White House and FCC priority, is not going to overbuild existing service. The Reprioritizing Unserved Rural Areas and Locations (RURAL) for Broadband Act of 2018 has been introduced in the House by Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and and the Senate by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), two states that are about as rural as they get. The bill prioritizes Rural Utility Service (RUS) funds to unserved areas over underserved areas. One of ISPs’ big issues with the RUS dispensation of

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee released its version of the 2018 Farm Bill on June 8, presenting an opportunity for the Senate to reaffirm our national commitment to reducing hunger. Montana Food Bank Network applauds Montana’s U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and the rest of the Senate Agriculture Committee for developing a bipartisan bill that recognizes the importance and effectiveness of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Unlike the House Farm Bill, which made harsh and indiscriminate cuts to SNAP, the Senate Agriculture Committee’s bill protects access to vital food benefits for children and their parents, seniors, people with disabilities and

The new version of the 2018 Farm Bill may have a lot of Montana-based timber policy changes, including restrictions on court challenges to logging projects and simplified forest management rules. Much of that will come from Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, who filed 20 amendments to the bill on Monday evening. Those additions will be discussed in mark-up sessions over this week. “Chairman Roberts asked me to take the lead on the forestry side,” Daines said on Tuesday, referring to Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas. “I’m using that as another vehicle to work on forest management reform.” Daines said a

BILLINGS —  Leaders of the Blackfeet Nation and U.S. Interior Department on Tuesday put into effect a $471 million settlement of water rights claims that was decades in the making for the northwestern Montana American Indian tribe. Tribal Chairman Harry Barnes and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed documents in Washington, D.C., that set the stage for the government to begin paying for drinking water and irrigation projects envisioned in the agreement. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock signed the documents last week. The settlement gives the tribe control over 95 percent of the water on its 2,340-square mile reservation, Barnes told The