News

Two pieces of major conservation legislation reached a “milestone” Tuesday, Republican Sen. Steve Daines told the Montana media after a Senate committee advanced legislation that would fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and address the maintenance backlog at national parks. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing Tuesday morning to consider the two bills and offer amendments.  Tuesday’s action follows the passage of a lands package earlier this year. That package was pushed by Montana’s delegation and included permanent reauthorization of LWCF. If it receives the president’s signature, Senate Bill 1081 considered Tuesday would

With the help of Sen. Steve Daines, the U.S. Senate has the chance to finally consider full funding for a public land and parks grant program and some funding for overdue national park maintenance. On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, of which Daines is a member, passed more than a dozen bills out of committee, but two may be of particular interest to Montanans.  The first would require Congress to allocate $900 million to the Land and Water Conservation Fund every year, the full amount allowed by law. That would provide more matching funds for states and

Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, of Helena, has secured $15.5 million in federal funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester both provided aid to the organization in securing this competitive funding over the next five years. However, according to Sara Medley, CEO of Mountain-Pacific, this is about half of the funding the organization received in 2014.  Medley described the funding as “insanely competitive” and noted that there are comprehensive evaluation metrics at play in this “value-based contract.” Medley explained this means the organization “has to perform well” in its efforts to promote better health

Google should explain why it’s collecting mass amounts of health care data on U.S. citizens and ensure the information isn’t being taken without permission, said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., in a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai Thursday.  In a letter obtained by Fox News, Daines highlights Google’s “Project Nightingale,” which has the company collecting health data on millions of Americans without sharing the goals of the project.  “While I recognize the value of partnerships that are aimed to personalize medical treatment, reduce health care costs, and improve patient outcomes, one of my top priorities in Congress is upholding the privacy rights of Montanans, and

Senator Steve Daines will be in Billings on Monday, November 11, to honor veterans. He will be at Will James Middle School (1200 30th Street W, Billings) at 8:15am. He will be speaking at a Veterans Day Assembly that will start at 9am. Veterans are invited to the assembly. Senator Daines will speak at MSU Billings (1500 University Drive, Billings) at 10am in the Petro Theater, along with Superintendent of Huntley Project Schools Mark Wandle. A lunch reception will follow the ceremony at 11:30am. Senator Daines will speak at Independence Hall (710 Lake Elmo Drive, Billings) at noon as part

You have most likely heard plenty in the recent months about the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and the political football being played back in Washington, D.C. to secure permanent, full, dedicated funding for the program. While we aren’t all the way there yet, we are closer than we have been in decades. Montana can be proud that both U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester have been bipartisan champions for reauthorization and funding of this critical program. To say otherwise just isn’t accurate or authentic. Earlier this year, Congress permanently reauthorized LWCF, a critical first step