Daines Honors Montanan of the Week: Jessica Anderson of Deer Lodge
Senator Steve Daines today honored Jessica Anderson, the 2016 Montana Teacher of the Year. Ms. Anderson is an outstanding educator at Powell County High School in Deer Lodge. Through his “Montanan of the Week” initiative, Daines each week will highlight a Montanan by submitting a statement of recognition in the official Congressional Record, the document that reflects the official proceedings of Congress. Daines’ recognition in the Congressional Record is available here. Daines welcomes anyone to nominate fellow Montanans for Daines’ “Montanan of the Week” program by calling Daines’ office at 202-224-2651 or by filling out the contact form on Daines’ website: http://www.daines.senate.gov/connect/email-steve
Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Daines Discusses Intellectual Property, Says He Backs Patent Reform
Local tech entrepreneur-turned-politician U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, meeting with the local business community at the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce on Friday, said he agreed with concerns raised by several people about the need for reform in the U.S. Patent system. “There’s this kind of arms race where you have to develop a patent portfolio to protect yourself from the other big guys who have patent portfolios,” said Bob Wall, a former engineer with RightNow and Oracle, now with startup IronCore labs. “This world of patent trolls, and people making their living on that, it is stifling innovation to some extent,”
Daines Calls on Senate to Take Up Rural Water Bills
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today reaffirmed his commitment to moving forward Montana rural water projects and called on the Senate to take up his bills to ensure the completion of authorized projects across Montana. During today’s Energy and Natural Resources hearing on western water legislation, Daines emphasized the challenges associated with inadequate water management in western communities, including many regions in Montana. “My bills would facilitate water delivery to over 23 million acres in Montana and millions more acres across the West for rural communities without good access to quality water supply today,” Daines stated. “If we are going to address
Daines: Democrats Blocking Funding for Water, Infrastructure Projects is Shameful
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today slammed Senate Democrats for blocking the FY2016 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill, which funds critical infrastructure projects administered by the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation – including Montana rural water projects. “Despite the vast majority of Democrats supporting this bill during an Appropriations Committee vote this summer, once again Democrats have chosen to block legislation that protects Montanans’ interests and strengthens our national security through increased energy and water security,” Daines stated. “This legislation works to enhance our energy efficiency while funding important projects that modernize our nation’s energy and water infrastructure. It’s
Daines, Klobuchar, Gardner Introduce Legislation to Expand Broadband Infrastructure
Legislation would increase broadband deployment by cutting red tape for companies, states, and local governments that want to install broadband infrastructure on federal land and promotes the simultaneous installation of underground broadband conduit during the construction of federal transportation projects Yesterday the president of the Wireless Infrastructure Association announced his support for this important legislation at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) have introduced bipartisan legislation to expand broadband infrastructure. The Streamlining and Investing in Broadband Infrastructure Act would increase broadband deployment by cutting red tape for companies, states, and
Daines Honors Helena Veteran as an “Angel in Adoption”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today recognized John Joyce of Helena as an “Angel in Adoption” – an honor designated to Americans making a difference in the lives of children through adoption. Click here to download the photo of John Joyce with Senator Daines. “It’s an honor to nominate John as an ‘Angel in Adoption.’ As a Guardsman and Afghanistan veteran from Helena, Montana, John has a heart for serving not only his country, but his community. John is a source of support, stability and inspiration for the young men he has helped foster and has been a source of inspiration for
Daines Applauds Passage of the National Defense Authorization Act
Senator Steve Daines today applauded the overwhelming bipartisan passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which provides critical support for the nation’s military and national security. “Montana is playing a critical role in meeting our nation’s security and military needs and this bill provides the support our men and women in uniform need to carry out their missions,” Daines stated. “The NDAA prioritizes the needs of our service members, while protecting the important role that Montana holds in our national defense. I urge President Obama to drop his veto threat and stand with Congress, the American people and our
FOX: Congress May Lift Ban on U.S. Crude Oil Exports
The United States is the only country that has a ban on exporting crude oil. This Friday the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a bill that seeks to lift the ban on exporting U.S. crude oil. It’s a cold war era ban that was originally put in place during oil shortages in the 1970s. Congressman Ryan Zinke is co-sponsoring H.R. 702, and today he held a press conference to discuss the future of Montana’s energy economy. Zinke said lifting the ban would create more than 2,400 new jobs, and generate $120 million in economic growth in Montana alone.
Gazette opinion: Daines’ idea ensures Montana grain exports
Montana grain growers have an important new assurance that they can get their product to market, thanks to the Agricultural Reauthorization Act signed by President Barack Obama on Oct. 1. Included in the legislation is a provision requiring the USDA to continue grain export inspection if state inspectors are not on the job. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., championed this change in the Grain Standards Reauthorization Act to keep grain moving to export. The Senate bill was introduced by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. As previously reported by The Gazette, grain inspectors employed by Washington state stopped work for five weeks in