Daines, Feinstein Secure Hearing for Bipartisan Forest Management Bill, Urge Quick Passage
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Dianne Feinstein today announced that their bipartisan forest management reform bill has been given a hearing date in the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee next week. This announcement follows Daines’ and Feinstein’s direct request to the committee for a hearing. Daines serves as Montana’s voice on the Committee. “As deadly wildfires continue to spread across Montana and the West, it is important now more than ever that we advance this bipartisan forest management reform bill,” Daines said. “This hearing will demonstrate how our legislation will help protect at-risk communities, create jobs and
Daines Urges Action on Grizzly Bear Delisting in Senate Committee
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today testified in a U.S. Senate Committee in support of his bill, the Grizzly Bear State Management Act, which would delist the grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, return management to the State of Montana and prevent further obstruction in the courts. To download the full video, click HERE. “Wildlife management should be determined by science, not a court order. The science has long proven that the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has fully recovered,” Daines said. “Delisting the grizzly bear is in the best interest of our communities, public safety, the ecosystem, wildlife, and
Daines Announces $13.3 Billion Contract for Malmstrom Defense Project
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced that the U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $13.3 billion contract to begin the major engineering design work for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program at Malmstrom Air Force Base. “This critical funding will help support Malmstrom’s mission and strengthen our nation’s defense systems,” Daines said. “I will continue working to ensure that Montana’s national security priorities are met and that our facilities at Malmstrom have the resources needed to keep our country safe.” This funding marks the second of three major milestones before Malmstrom begins replacing its Minuteman
Daines Urges President Trump to Support Funding for the National Guard in Montana Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today sent a letter to President Trump urging the administration to fully fund National Guard operations in Montana amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Restoring the one hundred percent Federal cost-share for all National Guard units will allow it to continue to execute the numerous tasks required for our nation’s response to the threat COVID-19 poses,” Daines wrote. “The National Guard has lessened the impacts of the virus in many ways including support to community-based testing sites, distributing millions of meals to Americans in need, as well as aiding our front line health workers that provide
Daines: We Must Work Together on Targeted COVID-19 Relief for Montana
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today highlighted several Montana priorities in the Senate COVID-19 relief package which will be voted on this week. The relief package will provide relief for Montana workers, families, schools, small businesses as well as expand access to testing and promote vaccine development. “This targeted relief package will help Montana families, workers and small businesses bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as provide funding for Montana schools to keep students and teachers safe and advance vaccine development to help us get back to normal,” Daines said. “I encourage my colleagues on both sides
Sen. Daines leads push against minimum insurance increase
A contingent of U.S. Senators are standing up against a push to significantly increase the minimum insurance requirement for motor carriers. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and six of his colleagues sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in response to a provision added to House Democrats’ version of a highway bill that would increase the liability insurance coverage requirement from $750,000 to $2 million per truck. “We ask that you refrain from including any increase in the existing minimum liability coverage for motor carriers,” the letter stated. “An increase in insurance requirements is both
Daines backs grizzly delisting bill
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines has co-sponsored a bill to remove Endangered Species Act protection from grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and prevent any court challenge. The bill gets its first hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday morning. Fellow Republican Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming authored the 80-word Grizzly Bear Management Act of 2019, which would reissue the Department of Interior’s 2017 delisting rule for Greater Yellowstone grizzlies “without regard to any other provision of statute or regulation that applies to the issuance of such rule. Such reissuance (including this section) shall not be
Officials hope weather will help slow Bridger Foothills fire, but say work isn’t over
A fire that blew up over the weekend and burned 7,100 acres in the Bridgers continued growing slowly to the north on Sunday, and fire officials said there’s a lot of unburned fuel there. The Bridger Foothills fire laid down Saturday night as cooler temperatures moved into Bozeman. But Sunday was another day with weather favorable for fire growth, and officials said helicopters were attacking a fire that picked up in the northwest corner of the burned area. Corey Lewellen, Bozeman district ranger with Custer Gallatin Gallatin National Forest, said at a virtual public meeting Sunday afternoon that fire officials
Washington Briefs
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines cosponsored legislation encouraging the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to work with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to recruit medical personnel and professionals currently employed across military medical departments to work for the VA, providing jobs for Montana veterans. The VA reportedly has over 45,000 open positions. “Veterans serving veterans makes sense. My bill will help ensure Montanans making the transition from warrior to veteran have a job available where they can support their fellow veterans,” said Daines. U.S. Sen. Daines announced that President Trump signed his bipartisan legislation that would guarantee benefits for