In The News
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
06.08.18
KTVQ: Livingston company expanding, plans to add 100 jobs
LIVINGSTON - Livingston's Printing For Less (PFL) held a ceremonial groundbreaking event Friday for its new 55,000 sq. ft digital printing and fulfillment center. The company plans to add 100 new employees once the new center is complete. Just this past year it added 80 new positions at its Livingston location. "We're obviously optimistic about our own future because we're investing millions in a new facility," said PFL Founder and CEO Andrew Fields. PFL currently employs just under 300 people… Continue Reading
06.08.18
Great Falls Tribune: Veterans facilities renamed after 3 Montana heroes
Three veterans' facilities in Montana will be named after a trio of Treasure State World War II vets, following the president's approval of legislation introduced by Montana's congressional delegation. President Donald Trump OK'd renaming the Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Missoula to honor David J. Thatcher, the Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Billings will be renamed in honor of Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow (Dakaak Baako) and the Community Based Specialty Clinic in Billings will be ren… Continue Reading
06.08.18
KTVQ: Livingston company expanding, plans to add 100 jobs
LIVINGSTON - Livingston's Printing For Less (PFL) held a ceremonial groundbreaking event Friday for its new 55,000 sq. ft digital printing and fulfillment center. The company plans to add 100 new employees once the new center is complete. Just this past year it added 80 new positions at its Livingston location. "We're obviously optimistic about our own future because we're investing millions in a new facility," said PFL Founder and CEO Andrew Fields. PFL currently employs just under 300 people… Continue Reading
06.06.18
Daily Inter Lake: SPERRY REBUILD TO RECIEVE $12 MILLION
The effort to rebuild Glacier National Park's Sperry Chalet will receive $12 million in federal money, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced Wednesday. The money for Sperry is a part of more than $256 million in approved funding to rebuild critical national park infrastructure nationwide. Glacier's historic chalet burned in last summer's Sprague Fire. Glacier National Park Conservancy Executive Director Doug Mitchell told the Inter Lake that the Interior's announcement wasn't une… Continue Reading
06.05.18
Breitbart: Exclusive-Sen. Daines: 'If You're Gonna Drain the Swamp, You've Gotta Keep the Pumps Running in August'
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) gave an exclusive interview to Breitbart News Deputy Political Editor Amanda House Tuesday on Capitol Hill, discussing the successful push to get Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to cancel the Senate's August recess to continue to pursue the Republican legislative agenda and confirm President Donald Trump's nominees. "I spent 28 years in the private sector before coming to Congress. I've never heard of such a thing as taking a month off in the summertime, an Augus… Continue Reading
05.31.18
Billings Gazette: At Billings summit, speakers aim not just for energy independence, but for energy dominance
Representatives from the energy industry gathered Thursday in Billings under the banner mantra of energy independence. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines primarily touted the phrase at the Montana Energy Summit event he organized, featuring industry executives and government officials on stage. If the theme of the event was the celebration of the domestic natural resource supply, then Harold Hamm was perhaps the speaker who embodied that most. The Continental Resources founder and CEO spoke… Continue Reading
05.31.18
KTVQ: Colstrip a big topic as energy summit comes to Billings
BILLINGS - Energy is the name of the game this week as Billings hosts the Montana Energy Summit 2018. From discussing the future of Colstrip to an update on the Keystone Pipeline to the latest on a proposed coal port in Washington State, this week's Montana Energy Summit offers a snapshot of the various moving parts on the U.S. Energy scene. Wednesday morning, Montana Sen. Steve Daines got a jump start as host, leading a tour of top U.S. energy officials to Colstrip and a round-table discussi… Continue Reading
05.31.18
Billings Gazette: Here's a look at the state of Montana's energy industry ahead of Billings summit
Montana's energy economy is at a crossroads as U.S Sen. Steve Daines kicks off his energy summit Thursday in Billings. On the state's horizon are the possible northern construction of the Keystone XL pipeline in 2019, the closure of two of Colstrip Power Plant's four units within the next five years and the legal battle between Western states over shipping coal through Pacific Northwest ports. The Bozeman Republican has assembled a full day's worth of experts from the oil, gas and coal… Continue Reading
05.29.18
Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Bozeman's Memorial Day remembers sacrifice of military veterans and families
Fifty years have passed since her dad was killed in Vietnam, yet the memory still makes Debbie Reintsma tearful. "Because I never knew him," Reintsma said Monday, wiping her eyes. "It's hard to really talk about." Hers was one of 19 Montana Gold Star families honored Monday at Bozeman's ninth annual Memorial Day parade and a ceremony in Sunset Hills Cemetery. Hundreds of people came to both events to remember veterans and honor those who died serving their country. As Mark MacLeod p… Continue Reading
05.28.18
NBC Montana: Montana Gold Star families honored in Bozeman
BOZEMAN, Mont. - The ninth annual memorial ceremony at Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman attracted a big crowd and hosted 70 different Gold Star family members from across the state. "We have many Gold Star families here -- families who live every day with the pain of the loss of their loved one," said Sen. Steve Daines. For Ladena Hall, a Gold Star mother, moments like these mean everything to her. "This is something that shows us that our sons and daughters are not forg… Continue Reading
05.25.18
E&E Daily: Daines aims to amplify Trump "balanced" energy approach
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) intends to promote the president's energy policies next Thursday, when he gathers hundreds of energy industry leaders, policymakers and regulators for his biennial Montana Energy Summit in Billings.… Continue Reading
05.24.18
Fox News: GOP threatens to torpedo August recess, keeping vulnerable Dems off campaign trail
It is said there are decades where nothing happens. And there are weeks where decades happen. Congress has a version of this. It's a month called "August." Crazy congressional things happen in August. This is ironic because, well, Congress is supposed to be on recess in August. But the biggest question buzzing around Capitol Hill now is whether the Senate will cancel or shorten that recess - and meet anyway. President Trump initiated this year's fretting over a canceled recess with a tw… Continue Reading
05.22.18
Politico: GOP Senators Expect McConnell to Scrap or Scale Back August Break
Time to reschedule those vacation plans: The Senate's traditional August recess is likely to be trimmed or possibly scrapped entirely, according to four Republican senators. Senate Republicans expect that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will soon announce plans to gut the four-week recess as his caucus and President Donald Trump clamor for more action in Washington. McConnell discussed the matter privately with his leadership team on Monday evening in a members-only meeting, according to two GO… Continue Reading
05.18.18
Great Falls Tribune: 'Piano Pat's' honor part of Congressional Record
Pat Spoonheim, better known as Piano Pat, plays on a recent Wednesday night at the Sip 'n' Dip. She has played piano at the bar since 1963. Two Montanans were cast into the national spotlight Friday when two federal lawmakers honored a famed Great Falls piano player and a Fort Benton coffee shop owner for making differences in their communities. Patricia Spoonheim, better known as "Piano Pat," was honored by Rep. Greg Gianforte with his Spirit of Montana award for "entertaining countless pa… Continue Reading
05.18.18
KTVH: Daines fights against Amtrak ticket-agent cuts along Hi-Line
During a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) urged Amtrak officials to reconsider cutting ticket agent jobs at Amtrak's Havre and Shelby stations and to take action to ensure the transportation needs of rural Montanans are met, including adding a stop in Culbertson. "The Empire Builder is critically important to keeping our rural communities connected, transporting out-of-state… Continue Reading
05.18.18
Great Falls Tribune: Daines: Bring B-12 bomber to Malmstrom
Sen. Steve Daines is urging U.S. Air Force officials to consider Malmstrom Air Force Base as a future site for the B-21 bomber. The Montana Republican made his suggestion Thursday to U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on the Air Force budget. He said Gen. David Goldfein spoke in September about the strategic advantages and budgetary efficiencies of having Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) assets and long-range bomber… Continue Reading
