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U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced he was chosen by President Trump to join a bipartisan White House Task Force to provide counsel to President Trump to safely reopen America in the wake of COVID-19. “I am honored to be selected by President Trump to serve on this historic task force to safely reopen America,” Daines said. “We can prioritize our public health and our workers, families and small businesses. Let’s get this done for Montana and America.” One of Daines’ top priorities during the coronavirus outbreak has been to accelerate the development and manufacturing of drugs to treat and prevent

WASHINGTON—As Congress stands at an impasse over how to replenish funds for a now-depleted small business loan program, Sens. Steve Daines and Cory Booker are pushing for the next round of coronavirus aid to allocate money that would enable local communities to assist very small firms. Mr. Daines (R., Mont.) and Mr. Booker (D., N.J.) are working to finalize a measure, outlined broadly in a letter they sent Thursday to Senate leadership, that would give $50 billion to cities, counties and states for creating and expanding coronavirus relief funds. The local entities would have flexibility to design the funds, which

U.S. SENATE –U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced that the U.S. Department of Education will be directing $31,412,577 to Montana colleges and universities. $15,518,482 will go to providing direct emergency cash grants to students for expenses related to disruptions to their educations due to the COVID-19 outbreak, including things like course materials and technology as well as food, housing, health care, and childcare.  “Montana college students have seen their lives and education disrupted because of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic,” Daines said. “This critical funding I fought to secure in the Coronavirus Economic Recovery Package will help our students get the relief they need during

In less than two weeks, Montana small businesses have received nearly $1.3 billion in federal aid to keep employees on payroll and out of unemployment. The U.S. Small Business Administration issued state-level numbers Tuesday, revealing that 10,372 Montana business had been approved for loans totaling $1.293 billion though Monday. All told, the SBA has spent $247.5 billion since the Paycheck Protection Program launched April 3. Congress had approved $349 billion at the end of March. It is now seeking to add another $200 billion. “This program is critical to keep Montana small businesses open and their workers employed,” Sen. Steve

March in Montana: In like a lion, out like a dude in the unemployment line. There were more than 31,000 Montanans with unemployment payment requests on Sunday, April 12, the highest single-day number since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The numbers tend to spike every seven days, but the weekly high point before the arrival of the pandemic was rarely higher than 5,500. Since all but essential businesses shut down and people began staying home under order Montana’s governor, the number of people seeking unemployment has been extraordinary. “Between March 16 and April 7, 76,042 payments were issued, accounting

BELGRADE — The Bozeman-Yellowstone International Airport sat largely empty when Sen. Steve Daines and his wife, Cindy, arrived on Tuesday to give lunch to the National Guard members stationed there. The National Guard has been screening and checking the temperatures of passengers at Montana airports and rail stations for the past few weeks. They have been working without the benefits many other federal employees receive. Daines, along with Sen. Jon Tester and Rep. Greg Gianforte, is hoping to change that. “While many of us are working out of our homes, our National Guard members and our health care heroes are all on