In The News
Helena Independent Record: McCarvel receives West Point appointment
Capital High senior Robert McCarvel has received an appointment to the U.S. Army's West Point Military Academy. McCarvel's appointment came from Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines, and Representative Ryan Zinke, with Daines making the initial call to the school, according to Capital football coach Kyle Mihelish. Pause Current Time0:00 / Duration Time0:00 Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% 0:00 Fullscreen 00:00 Unmute A 6-fo… Continue Reading
02.23.16
Morning Consult: Jewell: Coal-Lease Freeze Could Be Longer Than 3 Years
The Interior Department's three-year moratorium on new coal leases on federal land could be longer than three years, Secretary Sally Jewell told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday. The length of the coal-lease freeze will depend on how long it takes the department to conduct its review of the federal coal-lease program, which Jewell estimated would take three years. But she warned that depending on the circumstances, some reviews have taken "six or seven years." Sen. … Continue Reading
02.23.16
Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Montana’s congressional delegation reacts to Obama’s Guantanamo Bay plan
President Barack Obama's plan to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba slammed into a wall of Republican opposition on Tuesday, stopping cold Obama's hope for a bipartisan effort to "close a chapter" that began in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. The long-awaited proposal, which was requested by Congress, is Obama's last attempt to make good on an unfulfilled campaign promise by persuading Congress to change the law that prohibits moving detainees accused of violent extremist… Continue Reading
02.22.16
Washington Examiner: Bill would reduce reach of liberal court
A pair of Republican senators has resurrected an old idea: splitting the Ninth Circuit, the largest and most liberal court of appeals in the country, into two courts. Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, aren't the first to try. The Ninth Circuit dominates the western United States, serving about one-fifth of the population of the country, and the resultant caseload has created a bureaucratic logjam that court-watchers of all stripes dislike. Conservative critics derive ex… Continue Reading
02.22.16
Roll Call: Senate Freshmen Aim to Be 'Force' Not 'Faction'
A preacher, a doctor, a historian, a governor, two businessmen, a few veterans and some lawmakers walk into a bar ... and the "bear den" is born. Every other week or so, an email will circulate among the Senate Republicans elected in 2014 with a line like, "Hey, you guys want to have a bear den?" The regular morning meetings take place in one of their offices, and the meeting name derives from the hotel bar in Hershey, Pa., where they gathered during their first joint Republican retreat. "I al… Continue Reading
02.16.16
Roll Call: Daines Snaps His Way Through Alaska
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., has HOH covered with intel on what members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee are doing in Alaska. On Monday, the committee held a field hearing on energy technology innovation, deployment and opportunities for Alaska's energy future. On the way to the hearing in Bethel, Alaska, Daines showed Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.l; Angus King, I-Maine and Energy Secretary Ernest… Continue Reading
02.16.16
Sidney Herald: Bill originally co-sponsored by Daines to nix Internet taxes is on President’s desk
A bill Montana's senators have both at one time or another promoted is now on the President's desk for signing. The measure prohibits taxing the Internet, even in states that already had it. The Senate recently approved the bill, whose overall purpose was revamping trade law, 75 to 20, sending it on its way. Montana is among states that would have imposed an automatic 3.75 percent tax on Internet access if the moratorium had ever been lifted and nearby North Dakota and South Dakota were amo… Continue Reading
02.12.16
Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Daines among western Republicans hoping to break up 9th Circuit
Montana U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Bozeman, spoke on the Senate floor in Washington, D.C., this week, advocating legislation that would split the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals because its size has led to a case backlog. Daines said it is a matter of equal access to justice. There are 14,000 cases pending in the Ninth Circuit, three times more than the next largest, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has 4,700 cases pending, he said. "The Ninth Circuit is unable to provide Americ… Continue Reading
02.12.16
The Hill: Lawmakers unnerved by reports of new cyber breaches
Lawmakers in both parties say breaches reported this week at the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service are the latest indication of the government's weak defenses against cyber criminals. While the administration has sought to downplay both incidents, some lawmakers are hitting the White House, arguing the intrusions offer further evidence that the government can't be trusted to protect its highly sensitive networks. "[President Obama] has neglected to take tangible steps to a… Continue Reading
02.11.16
KGVO: Sen. Steve Daines Finalizes Ban on Internet Taxation
Senator Steve Daines finalized a ban on state and local governments from taxing Internet access on Thursday. A press release from Daines's office says the Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act would "permanently extend the current moratorium on taxing Internet access. Montana is one of a few states that would automatically impose a 3.75 percent tax on Internet access if the moratorium is lifted." "The Internet is a critical avenue for Montana businesses to compete in the global marketplace and serv… Continue Reading
02.10.16
Great Falls Tribune: Tester, Daines question Air Force officials on budget
Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester asked questions during a Senate hearing Wednesday on the Air Force' proposed budget and how it relates to Montana's military missions. Daines, R-Mont., asked Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh about the status of replacing the Vietnam-era UH-1N Huey helicopters that are used by the Air Force's three missile wings, including Malmstrom Air Force Base. "We are working on that in a rather urgent way," … Continue Reading
02.10.16
The Hill: Senator blasts Obama for sweeping IRS hack 'under the rug'
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is slamming President Obama for not alerting Congress to a recent breach of the Internal Revenue Service. "The President has a duty to inform Congress of cyber attacks on federal infrastructure, yet once again has tried to sweep this under the rug," Daines said in a statement. The IRS announced Tuesday that identity thieves had used an automated bot in an attempt to generate phony login information, using almost half a million stolen Social Security numbers to c… Continue Reading
02.10.16
Glasgow Courier: Daines Reaffirms Importance of Splitting the Ninth Circuit
Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) is joining forces on the Senate floor with Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) in efforts to improve the federal circuit court system as a whole and expedite the justice process for the people within the overburdened Ninth Circuit. An excerpt of Daines' remarks from the presentation are below: "At 64.4 million people served, the current Ninth Circuit is the largest circuit by population, as well as the largest land area. It includes Montana and Alaska, Washington, Oregon, I… Continue Reading
02.09.16
Daily Caller: Republicans Completely Blow Off Obama’s Budget Proposal
Congressional Republicans are completely blowing off President Barack Obama's 2017 budget proposal, refusing to hold hearings on it because they say it would be a waste of time. Now Democrats are calling that snub "disrespectful to all of the hard work that went into producing this expansive document." "President Obama's budget is full of the same failed policies that has led our country down a path of reckless bloated spending, burdensome regulations and higher taxes," Republican Montana Sen.… Continue Reading
02.09.16
Associated Press: Supreme Court puts Obama's Clean Power Plan on hold
(AP) - A divided Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to halt enforcement of President Barack Obama's sweeping plan to address climate change until after legal challenges are resolved. The surprising move is a blow to the administration and a victory for the coalition of 27 states, including Montana, and industry opponents that call the regulations "an unprecedented power grab." By temporarily freezing the rule the high court's order signals that opponents have made a strong argument against t… Continue Reading
02.08.16
Truck News: Pilot project could reduce operational hours at Port of Raymond
Following a battle with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in early December 2015, the offices of Montana Senator Steve Daines and House Representative Ryan Zinke said they are again attempting to stop an effort to close the Port of Raymond's 24-hour operating status. "Past and present efforts by CBP to reduce operational hours at the Port of Raymond fail to recognize the importance of cross boarder travel to local and regional economic activity," Daines and Zinke wrote in a letter to CBP… Continue Reading
02.05.16
KULR8: Montana lawmakers react to oil tax proposal
BILLINGS - President Barack Obama will propose $10-per-barrel charge on oil to fund clean transportation projects as part of his final budget request next week. While some in Washington are applauding the president's proposal, some Montana lawmakers have a different opinion. Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Ryan Zinke are slamming the president's proposal, and Senator Jon Tester says the proposal won't go anywhere. Zinke's statement reads, in part, "too many Montana families are living … Continue Reading
02.05.16
Daily Inter Lake: Sen. Daines honors Osweiler as Montanan of the Week
Sen. Steve Daines has honored former Flathead High School star quarterback Brock Osweiler as one of a pair of Montanans who will be on the roster for Super Bowl 50. Osweiler and Dwan Edwards, formerly of Columbus, were named by Daines as Montanans of the Week. The senator paid tribute to the men in the Congressional Record on Thursday. Osweiler is the backup quarterback for the Denver Broncos, and started seven games for the team earlier this year while Peyton Manning was injured. Osweiler gra… Continue Reading
02.04.16
Great Falls Tribune: Tribes blast Indian Health Services at Senate hearing
Tribal leaders and U.S. senators from across the Great Plains blasted the quality of care provided by Indian Health Services during a U.S. Senate oversight hearing Wednesday. Multiple speakers addressing the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs spoke of a health care system that is underfunded, understaffed, unresponsive and which delivers a substandard quality of health care that frequently results in a compromised quality of life for its patients. Montana mother's lawsuit raises medica… Continue Reading
02.03.16
ABC Fox: Tester, Daines push Blackfeet Water Compact to Senate floor
Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines today led the charge to push the Blackfeet Water Compact through the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and onto the Senate floor. This decades-in-the-making agreement will resolve water rights claims on the Blackfeet Reservation and ensure access to reliable and clean water for the communities within the Reservation, as well as farms, ranches, and businesses in the surrounding area. This compact will save taxpayers millions by avoiding costly litigation betwe… Continue Reading
