Daines Named the 2017 Senate Taxpayer Super Hero
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today was named the Senate 2017 Taxpayer Super Hero by the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste. “Montanan’s deserve to keep their hard-earned money in their own pockets,” said Daines. “I’m honored to be named the Senate Taxpayer Super Hero and I’ll continue to fight on behalf of taxpayers across Montana and our nation.”’ The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste released their 2017 Congressional Ratings yesterday. Members are scored based on how well they defend taxpayer interests. Members ranked with a score of 100% are named Taxpayer Super Hero. For the
Daines Demands Action on Rural Water Infrastructure
U.S. SENATE — During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on rural water infrastructure, U.S. Senator Steve Daines demanded action on projects to deliver clean and reliable drinking water to rural Montana communities. During the hearing, Tim Petty, the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior, affirmed his commitment to work with Daines to ensure that the needs of rural communities in Montana are not overlooked when it comes to providing a clean and reliable water supply. Watch video HERE. Download video HERE. “Clean and reliable water is a basic necessity for all
Center for Biological Diversity: Omnibus Bill Includes Riders to Ramp Up Logging, Weaken Wildlife Protections
WASHINGTON— The $1.3 trillion spending bill unveiled in Congress on Wednesday includes harmful provisions to ramp up logging on public lands, weaken protections for endangered species and fund portions of an environmental destructive border wall. The bill, however, does not include most of the anti-environment riders proposed by Republicans, including ending protections for wolves in the Great Lakes states, allowing a toxic mine in the Superior National Forest and undermining the National Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which would have allowed damaging road building in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. It also contains significant funding for conservation and spares the Santa Ana National Wildlife
MTPR: Montana Delegation Praises Forest Management Changes In Omnibus Bill
Today the U.S. House passed the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill with strong bipartisan support. It funds the federal government through September. The bill now heads to the Senate where NPR says it is also likely to pass with bipartisan support. Wednesday, Montana’s Republican Senator Steve Daines said there’s good news for the Treasure State in the spending bill. “We secured some very important forest management reforms.” Daines points to eliminating what he calls “NEPA paperwork” on national forest projects of 3,000 acres or less aimed at reducing hazardous fuels. NEPA is the National Environmental Policy Act. Critics like the
Helena IR: Wilderness Study Areas should not be closed to recreational use
I really support U.S. Sen. Steve Daines’s S. 2206 to open our historic wilderness study areas, because it does conclude a long overdue 40-year (study) period. The majority of people from Montana and other states all want their historic access that should never have been closed. The three nearly connected congressionally approved wilderness areas south of Lolo Pass are the largest wilderness acres in the lower 48 states, so we don’t need the Great Burn area as a wilderness for more major global warming. The Great Burn area does have historic roads and mining places already and this should be
Daines Secures Forest Management Reform to Restore Local Collaboration and Protect Montanans from Wildfires
Says much more work remains on commonsense management reforms U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today released the following statement after securing forest management and wildfire funding reforms in the omnibus appropriations bill. While much more remains to be done, the package includes many of Daines’ priorities to restore local control and better protect Montanans from wildfires. The funding bill reverses the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ Cottonwood decision, which Daines has long fought for, as well as Daines-led initiatives to reform the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) project planning process, expand tree and brush clearings, reform vegetation management around power
Daines’ Bill to Combat Sex Trafficking Heads to President’s Desk
U.S. SENATE — Today, the U.S. Senate passed Senator Steve Daines’ bill, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, which eliminates federal liability protections for websites that knowingly assist, support or facilitate online sex trafficking. It also allows state Attorneys General to prosecute websites that violate federal sex trafficking laws. The bill now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law. “In the era of technology, sex traffickers commit unthinkable crimes just by turning their phone on,” said Daines. “With the passage of this bill, we will crackdown on criminals who are trafficking children and better protect our communities.”
Great Falls Tribune: Forest, firefighting funding reforms included in spending bill in Congress
Reforms to improve forest management and how firefighting is funded are among the provisions important to Montana included in the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill making its way through Congress, according to Montana lawmakers. A bill protecting public land north of Yellowstone National Park from mining, however, did not make it into the omnibus bill, prompting one of the state’s senators to criticize the other for its failure to be included. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., told reporters via telephone Wednesday that he was able to secure forest management and wildfire funding reforms in the bill. One provision reduces red tape and streamlines projects
Missoula Current: Daines, Gianforte say forest reforms will “blunt” lawsuits, streamline timber projects
Montana’s Republican delegation to Congress on Wednesday praised provisions included in the 2018 federal spending bill that address forest management, including a partial overturning of the Cottonwood decision and efforts to streamline timber projects. Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte said the reforms, which will also fund the U.S. Forest Service’s firefighting expenses from a separate account, represent a start in improving the health of the nation’s forests. “What’s been going on has been called fire borrowing,” Gianforte said. “In bad fire years, most of the operating budget for the Forest Service gets consumed with fighting fires. Because we’re opening up