In The News
Acting EPA Administrator Wheeler to visit Butte, Anaconda this week
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler will visit Butte and Anaconda this week, Sen. Steve Daines's office announced Monday. Wheeler, named to the post after the resignation of Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned in July, will be the first head of the agency to visit the Butte-Anaconda Superfund complex since Administrator William Reilly came at the behest of Sen. Max Baucus in 1990. Katie Schoettler, Daines's press secretary, said the senator and Wheeler will visit both cities Friday… Continue Reading
09.02.18
Daines: Kavanaugh is Well Qualified
This week, one of the most qualified Supreme Court nominees ever nominated to the bench, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, will testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Other than sending our sons and daughters to war, confirming a Supreme Court Justice is the most consequential vote I will take as a United States Senator. For Montana, and the rest of the nation, the impacts of this decision will last forever - because while laws come and go, judges serve for a lifetime. That's why it's cri… Continue Reading
08.17.18
KBZK: Acting NPS Director in Bozeman for Lawmakers Gathering
BOZEMAN, Mont. - Acting Director of the National Park Service, P. Daniel Smith, addressed lawmakers from around the country during a roundtable event in Bozeman Friday morning. He stressed the need to fund deferred maintenance projects which currently total more than $11 billion. "You name a park and a state in the west and it's a tremendous part of our deferred maintenance," said Acting Director Smith. He says Yellowstone is over $500 million in deferred maintenance. Projects that have been pu… Continue Reading
08.17.18
E&E Daily: Members convene in Mont. to discuss fires, forests, and parks
Several Western lawmakers are headed to Big Sky Country this weekend to discuss wildfires, conservation and the challenges facing the beleaguered National Park System. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), the respective chairmen of the Senate and Congressional Western caucuses, will host the group of members, congressional staffers, agency officials and a handful of industry guests in Bozeman, Mont., for a "Summer Western Policy Roundtable." Other confirmed members attend… Continue Reading
08.17.18
BDC: Daines expresses need for better forest management
Montana Sen. Steve Daines said Friday that the state and federal governments need to better manage forests to reduce the risk and severity of wildfires. Daines pushed that message at a roundtable discussion at the Baxter Hotel in Bozeman along with members of the Senate Western Caucus and other agencies across the state. Daines apologized to the group inside the hotel for the haze that covered the view of the Bridger Mountains because of wildfire smoke. Years ago, he said, if you came … Continue Reading
08.15.18
KFBB: Daines hopes to secure more funding to honor Vietnam veterans with new visitor center
Senator Steve Daines spent his afternoon back on Capitol Hill fighting to build an education center at the heart of one of the nation's most recognizable memorials. Nearly 58,000 names don the wall that was built nearly two decades after one of the most divisive times in America's history with thousands coming home from Vietnam only to be spit upon, shamed and even attacked for fighting for our country. President and CEO of Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall, Jim Knotts told KFBB, "The repercus… Continue Reading
07.13.18
Daines Sponsors Resolution to Support ICE
U.S. SENATE - U.S. Senator Steve Daines today sponsored a resolution denouncing the radical calls for the dissolution of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement performs vital functions that protect American families. Last year, agents worked tirelessly around the clock to rescue 1,422 victims of human trafficking. More than 900 of those victims were children. ICE agents also removed a million pounds of narcotics and more than 4,800 gang membe… Continue Reading
06.27.18
Ravalli Republic: Latest farm bill protects Montana's interests, Daines and Tester
The U.S. Senate version of the farm bill delivers for Montana agriculture and forests, the state's two senators said Tuesday. Sens. Steve Daines, Republican, and Jon Tester, Democrat, say they have amendments to the 2018 farm bill as the bill goes to the floor for debate, but mostly they see the state's interests protected. The bill passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee last week on a 20 to 1 vote. Daines, an Agriculture Committee member, said the bipartisanship that got the f… Continue Reading
06.21.18
NBC Montana: Montana officials don't agree with sales tax decision
MISSOULA, Mont. - Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester, Congressman Greg Gianforte along with Montana Attorney General Tim Fox released statements slamming the Supreme Court decision on internet sales tax. The office of Senator Steve Daines sent out the following release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines today condemned the United States Supreme Court decision allowing states to implement an Internet sales tax on small businesses physically located outside of the state's borders. The 5-4… Continue Reading
06.20.18
Missoula Current: Daines, Tester urge Congress to reauthorize Land and Water Conservation Fund
Montana Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines on Wednesday joined a group of lawmakers at the U.S Capitol to urge Congress to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The fund, established in 1964 to safeguard public lands, water resources and cultural heritage, is set to expire on Sept. 30 without congressional reauthorization. "Today marks 100 days until the LWCF expires," Daines said. "It's time we permanently reauthorize this critical conservation and recreation program fo… Continue Reading
06.20.18
MTPR: Montana Representatives Oppose Separating Families At Border
All three of Montana's delegates in Washington, D.C. said they oppose the Trump Administration's strategy of separating families at the border. But they disagree on how to move forward to change that practice. Democratic Senator Jon Tester maintains a specific bill isn't even necessary to keep those families together. "The Secretary of Homeland Security could stop it, (U.S. Attorney General Jeff) Sessions could stop it, they could stop it, and it would be stopped within minutes. But, assumin… Continue Reading
06.18.18
Great Falls Tribune: Malmstrom to get funds for ICBM, 'copter projects
Malmstrom Air Force Base will receive federal funding to help modernize its ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) infrastructure and replace UH-1N Huey military helicopters at the base, Sen. Steve Daines said Monday. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 OKs a $69.4 million increase for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program, a Daines spokeswoman said Monday. The GBSD will replace the Missileman III missile at Malmstrom in the mid-2020s and t… Continue Reading
06.15.18
Montana Standard: Sen. Steve Daines gets rare visit to Anaconda's former smoke stack
Standing in the shadow of the Washoe Smelter, Republican Sen. Steve Daines got the lay of the land on Anaconda's Superfund Friday while the quiet valley lay far below. Daines got a rare visit to the 585-foot smoke stack while making stops throughout southwest Montana Friday. He also visited Whitehall, Dillon and Deer Lodge as part of a 56-county tour around the state. He talked to ranchers in Whitehall, stock growers in Dillon, and lumber industry professionals in Deer Lodge. He also paid a… Continue Reading
06.15.18
Great Falls Tribune: Two Montana groups to share $100K to fight drug abuse
Two Montana groups will share $100,000 in federal grants to focus on local drug crises and emerging drug abuses, Sen. Steve Daines said Friday. The Substance Abuse Prevention Alliance in Great Falls and the Lincoln County Unite for Youth Coalition will each get $50,000 for communities' efforts to combat local drug use, especially among youth. "Montana's meth and drug epidemic has taken lives and destroyed families," Daines, R-Mont., said. "These critical funds will help Montana combat drug use… Continue Reading
06.14.18
Multichannel News: GOP Bills Target RUS Funds to Unserved Area
Republican-backed bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to ensure that government money targeted to subsidize rural broadband, a White House and FCC priority, is not going to overbuild existing service.The Reprioritizing Unserved Rural Areas and Locations (RURAL) for Broadband Act of 2018 has been introduced in the House by Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and and the Senate by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), two states that are about as rural as they get.The bill prioritizes Rural Utility S… Continue Reading
06.13.18
Montana Standard: Guest view: Senate Agricultural Committee releases Farm Bill that protects SNAP
The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee released its version of the 2018 Farm Bill on June 8, presenting an opportunity for the Senate to reaffirm our national commitment to reducing hunger. Montana Food Bank Network applauds Montana's U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and the rest of the Senate Agriculture Committee for developing a bipartisan bill that recognizes the importance and effectiveness of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Unlike the House Farm Bill, which made harsh and i… Continue Reading
06.12.18
Missoulian: Daines adds slate of forest amendments to Farm Bill
The new version of the 2018 Farm Bill may have a lot of Montana-based timber policy changes, including restrictions on court challenges to logging projects and simplified forest management rules. Much of that will come from Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, who filed 20 amendments to the bill on Monday evening. Those additions will be discussed in mark-up sessions over this week. "Chairman Roberts asked me to take the lead on the forestry side," Daines said on Tuesday, referring to Agricul… Continue Reading
06.12.18
Great Falls Tribune: Montana's Blackfeet Tribe, Zinke put water deal into effect
BILLINGS - Leaders of the Blackfeet Nation and U.S. Interior Department on Tuesday put into effect a $471 million settlement of water rights claims that was decades in the making for the northwestern Montana American Indian tribe. Tribal Chairman Harry Barnes and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed documents in Washington, D.C., that set the stage for the government to begin paying for drinking water and irrigation projects envisioned in the agreement. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock signed the do… Continue Reading
06.11.18
Missoula Current: Forest Service chief approves salvage project for Sunrise fire on Lolo
The U.S. Forest Service is reviewing 14 recent wildfires to conduct post-fire salvage operations in western Montana, including five on the Lolo National Forest, one of which was approved by the agency's interim chief earlier this month. Acting chief Vicki Christiansen used the emergency situation determination to begin work on the Sunrise fire near Superior, which burned in 2017. The work was initially reported as salvage work resulting from the Lolo Peak fire, though that was incorrect. "Lolo… Continue Reading
06.08.18
KRTV: Daines honors Gary Dent of Pondera County as "Montanan Of The Week"
After more than four decades of service, Conrad Police Chief Gary Dent recently retired. Dent spent 40 years in law enforcement, and 31 of those years were with the city of Conrad. Fellow officers and dispatchers joined in on his final goodbye to say thank you for all he has done. On Friday, U.S. Senator Steve Daines honored Dent in his weekly "Montanan Of The Week" email. The following is the statement submitted by Daines to the Congressional Record: Mr. President, this week I have the hon… Continue Reading
