Category: Oped – External

Traveling around our state, from the wheat fields and rolling hills in the east to the jagged snow-covered peaks almost 500 miles to the west, it is easy to understand why our state really is Big Sky Country.  That’s why it’s so important to ensure that Montanans in rural communities can easily travel not only across our state, but the region and country as well. Amtrak’s Empire Builder runs approximately 660 miles across Montana and connects 12 rural communities. For the many Montanans who live a long ways from an airport, but live close to a rail station, it’s critical to

Uber, Facebook, the iPhone – these are just three of many examples of innovative products and services that add billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and make our everyday lives easier. Despite the once-unimaginable benefits of our tech economy, the future of innovation in America is being threatened by the federal government’s desire for ever-expanding control and regulation. Outrageously, recent decisions, especially at the FCC, are threatening the “permissionless innovation” culture that fostered a digital revolution and created hundreds of thousands new high paying American jobs. Given the unparalleled record of U.S. success in developing and bringing new, innovative

Thomas Jefferson was a man of many remarkable achievements. Drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Secretary of State, and President cover just a few. But within this impressive list, there were only three things for which he most hoped to be remembered—legacies that were so important to him he had them etched into his gravestone. “Because by these,” he wrote, “as testimonials that I have lived, I wish most to be remembered.” Two of these are probably unsurprising to most modern-day Americans: “Author of the Declaration of American Independence” and “Father of the University of Virginia.” The third accomplishment

After years of passing patches that lasted only months or weeks, Congress finally delivered a multi-year Highway Bill. That’s great news, especially for Montana, because our vast, sparsely populated state depends on federal funding for about 87 percent of our highway construction budget. The other 13 percent comes from the state’s 27 cents per gallon fuel tax. Few other states lean so heavily on federal support. H.R.22 passed with strong bipartisan support, garnering the votes of every member of both the Montana and Wyoming delegations. “For the most part, it’s a very good bill for Montana,” Jim Skinner of the