Billing Gazette: With Clean Power rules looming, Daines touts Colstrip benefits at Billings forum
Losing part of Colstrip’s 40-year-old power plant would devastate Montana’s economy through possible job losses and higher power bills, state elected officials and industry backers said Monday in Billings. They urged the business-friendly audience to speak out against federal regulations they say would hurt the coal industry. “President Obama stopped the Keystone pipeline. Next on his to-do list is to kill the coal industry,” U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said at the forum sponsored by Big Sky Economic Development. About 180 people attended the gathering at Crowne Plaza in downtown Billings. Included in the audience were state lawmakers, county commissioners
Washington Times: The pride of Thomas Jefferson
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
MTN News: Daines: Halt of coal leases an “unprecedented assault” on Montana jobs and tax revenue
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Friday it will “pause” on issuing new coal leases on federal lands. The suspension was ordered while the federal agency reviews the coal lease program “in order to ensure that it is properly structured to provide a fair return to taxpayers and reflect its impacts on the environment, while continuing to help meet our energy needs,” according to press release. The review is expected to take three years, the agency said. The move met with immediate criticism from congressional members in Montana and Wyoming. Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines said the move is an “unprecedented assault on one
Billings Gazette: Federal coal lease suspension clips Montana projects
Mining companies say a federal decision to stop leasing coal on public lands has bottled up Montana and Wyoming coal projects. The leasing suspension announced Friday by the Department of the Interior has put expansion plans in doubt at the Spring Creek Mine in Southeast Montana, and Antelope Mine in Wyoming, developer Cloud Peak Energy said. Cloud Peak was trying to determine whether the lease suspension would stop a 1,602-acre lease adjacent to Spring Creek Mine. The lease, involving 198.2 million tons of mineable coal, is beyond preliminary approval, but is still under environmental review, which might not be far
The Hill: Republicans furious over Obama move on coal leases 2.9K6
Congressional Republicans are slamming the Obama administration’s decision to halt new coal mining leases on federal land. Administration officials said Friday they would hold off on new lease sales while overhauling the coal leasing program to account for climate change costs. Republicans, who have badgered Obama for energy and environment policies they say constitute a “war on coal,” let loose on the decision Friday. “There seems to be no limit to the number of job-crushing regulations, executive orders and insults [Interior Secretary Sally Jewell] and President Obama will throw at America’s middle class,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a statement. The Interior Department
Daily Caller: Politicians Remind Congress Religious Freedom Is A Fundamental Right
Politicians in the House and Senate introduced a resolution Friday to remind Congress that religious liberty is a fundamental human right. The resolution affirms “the importance of religious freedom as a fundamental human right that is essential to a free society and is protected for all Americans by the text of the Constitution, and recognizing the 230th anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom,” the resolution states. The resolution comes the day before Religious Freedom Day, which is Jan. 16. It was introduced by Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines and Republican Virginia Rep. Randy Forbes. “America sets the standard across the
Daines, Forbes Highlight Resolution to Celebrate Religious Freedom Day
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) and Representative Randy Forbes (R-VA) today highlighted their resolution to celebrate and reaffirm the role of religious freedom as a fundamental human and Constitutional right. The resolution recognizes the 230th anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and commemorates January 16, 2016 as Religious Freedom Day by an act of Congress. The Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom was authored by Thomas Jefferson and served as the model for the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. “America sets the standard across the globe for upholding the fundamental human right to
Daines Blasts Obama Moratorium on New Coal Leases
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today slammed President Obama’s decision to place a moratorium on new coal leasing on federal lands, which will likely end coal mining in the west and destroy the thousands of good-paying jobs coal supports in Montana. “This moratorium is almost exclusively focused at destroying Montana and Wyoming coal. It is an unprecedented assault on one of Montana’s most important sources of good paying jobs and tax revenue that will likely shut down coal development in Montana and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. Rather than forcing his ideology on the American people through executive fiat, President Obama should instead spend his remaining time in office helping America power the
Daines Applauds American Airlines Expansion to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today applauded the announcement that American Airlines will expand their air services to the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport and create an additional travel route for Montanans. “This is exciting news for the Bozeman community and the thousands of Montanans who rely on Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport for reliable air travel,” Daines stated. “This new partnership with American Airlines won’t just increase options for Montanans, but will also make it easier for Montanans to access global destinations at lower costs. It will further open Bozeman’s door to economic opportunities and job creation, unlocking markets for Montana small businesses.”