EPA’s Benevento, Daines join Anaconda hotel groundbreaking
Progress rode into Anaconda on a sharp west wind Tuesday. At a building site at Polk Street and Highway 1, gusts kept blowing down the pictures of the $10 million Forge Hotel and new Barclay’s II Restaurant, but there were plenty of hands to keep putting them back up. Best of all, the pictures were backed up by an EPA consent decree and settlement with the Smelter City, and real money. Bill Everett, Anaconda chief executive; Doug Benevento, acting deputy administrator of the EPA; and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines braved the wind to celebrate real accomplishment after nearly four decades
Daines thanks firefighters
Toward the end of a fire season that set records for acres burned and firefighters deployed, Montana Sen. Steve Daines and U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture Jim Hubbard visited the Missoula Smokejumper Base to say thanks. “This fire year has been one of those that got a lot of attention,” Hubbard said during a brief ceremony at the Smokejumper aircraft hangar on Tuesday. “Our season is still far from over in California. The weather and vegetation will continue to keep it active.” Daines’ staff presented about a dozen Lolo National Forest firefighters and smokejumpers with copies of a Senate proclamation commending
Paradise Valley ridge named in honor of fallen Air Force pilots
A ridge east of Paradise Valley where a bomber crashed in 1962 has officially been named “B-47 Ridge” in honor of the four Air Force pilots who died there. President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan B-47 Designation Act into law on Tuesday. The bill honors Capt. Bill Faulconer, Lt. Fred Hixenbaugh, Lt. David Sutton and Lt. Lloyd Sawyers, who died in a plane crash in 1962. The crew took off from the Dyess Air Force Base in Texas on July 23, 1962, for a training mission. During the flight, their B-47 bomber crashed into a ridge on a southwestern slope
Daines Calls on HHS to Provide PPE, Medical Equipment to Montana ASAP
U.S. SENATE – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Steve Daines urged U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Robert Kadlec to ensure Montana has the medical supplies and medicines needed as the state is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. “I write to you today to encourage the expeditious review of Montana’s requests for supplies and medicines from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) to ensure our health care system, first responders, and care facilities are equipped to handle the COVID-19 crisis,” Daines wrote. “As our state is currently experiencing a regional surge in COVID-19 cases, I would
Daines Demands Investigation Following Deaths in Whitefish Nursing Home
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today called on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma to investigate the Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation facility following a pattern of serious noncompliance with federal regulations and the deaths of multiple residents following a COVID-19 outbreak. “As someone who wants to ensure that our most vulnerable are protected, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, I urge you to further investigate the circumstances surrounding these deaths and re-evaluate this facility’s suitability to continue providing care as well as whether the state survey agency properly enforced the regulations in place to protect residents,” Daines wrote. “In light of these
Fix For Sidney & Kinsey Irrigation Districts Heads To President Trump
Washington – The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday unanimously passed a measure from Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-MT) to ensure the Sidney and Kinsey Irrigation Districts continue receiving affordable power that enables irrigation. “This critical legislation ensures many family farms in eastern Montana have access to reliable irrigation, and I look forward to President Trump signing it into law,” Gianforte said. “Agriculture is Montana’s top industry, and I’ll continue working hard to protect it.” “This is about protecting Montana ag jobs and Montana family farms,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) who introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate in June 2019.
Daines Introduces Senate Resolution Honoring Bravery, Sacrifice of Montana Wildland Firefighters & First Responders
U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines introduced a Senate resolution to recognize the bravery, sacrifice, and heroism of wildland firefighters and first responders across Montana and the nation. The resolution honors those who have lost their lives this fire season, including Montanans Tom Duffy and Sara Madsen. “This wildfire season has brought horrific loss of lives and property, and it would have been even worse if it weren’t for our brave firefighters and first responders on the front lines. It’s an honor to recognize our Montana heroes who risk their lives every day to protect our communities from wildfires,”
Daines Introduces Bill to Protect Over 9,500 Montana Veterans from Losing Health Care
U.S. SENATE – Last week, U.S. Senator Steve Daines introduced the “TRICARE Retired Protection Act” to ensure that Montana’s 9,500 military retirees will not lose health care as a result of new policy changes taking effect January 1st, 2021. “Our Montana veterans dedicated their lives to defending our freedom and way of life. We must do all we can to ensure our retired Montana heroes have the healthcare they earned,” Daines said. “That’s why I introduced my bill to prevent Montana veterans from losing coverage.” In 2017, Congress enacted a series of personnel reforms proposed by former Defense Secretary Ash
Daines Meets with “Minivan Mom” Supreme Court Nominee
Montana’s Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) met with President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee- Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Judicial nominations, particularly Supreme Court nominations, have been front and center for Daines since he was first elected to the US Senate in 2014, and is now a centerpiece of his 2020 re-election campaign as well. He describes Judge Amy Coney Barrett as a “brilliant jurist and a minivan mom.” He added: “She is the kind of jurist that Montanans will look up to, someone they’d want on the Supreme Court. During our meeting, we talked extensively about our Founding Fathers’ vision for the