U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines has been recognized by a leading research institute as having one of the top records of bipartisanship in the U.S. Senate.
The Lugar Center and the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy recognized Daines this week in its Bipartisan Index as having one of the strongest record of working across the aisle in the U.S. Senate. Daines ranked 13th for bipartisanship among his Senate colleagues.
“Montanans expect their representatives to work across the aisle to do what’s right for our state and our country,” Daines said. “Some folks in Washington are only concerned about toeing the party line and doing what will secure them re-election. It doesn’t matter to me if you have an ‘R’ or a ‘D’ behind your name – if you have good ideas that help grow jobs, reduce regulatory burdens facing hardworking families, or make our government more efficient, I am happy to roll up my sleeves and work together to get things done.”
Methodology (from Lugar Center):
Unlike the many rankings produced by special interests groups that monitor Member’s voting records, the Bipartisan Index does not have a political agenda. Instead, by measuring the number of occasions a Member cosponsored a bill introduced by the opposite party as well as the frequency with which a Member’s bill earned cosponsors from the opposite party, the study sought to study Members’ efforts to build coalitions in order to get the most results. For more information, click HERE.
Daines Bipartisan Bill Highlights:
On December 13, 2017, Daines introduced bipartisan legislation with Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to expand education savings plans to skilled workers to help cover training costs, including, tools, books and equipment.
On June 5, 2017, Daines and Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced legislation that strengthens states’ abilities to provide an additional option within the foster care system in Montana and Michigan and across the country.
On May 26, 2017, Daines and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced two bipartisan, bicameral bills to protect and recognize wildland firefighters.
On February 17, 2017, Daines and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) reintroduced the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, legislation to ensure that thousands of Navy veterans, known as “Blue Water” veterans, are able to receive the disability and health care benefits they earned after exposure to Agent Orange while fighting in the Vietnam War.
On January 16, 2017, Daines and Jon Tester reintroduced a bill to honor the life of renowned Montana conservationist, Alex Diekmann, by naming an unnamed peak in his memory. President Trump signed the bill into law on January 31, 2018.
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