Daines to Pelosi: Stop Playing Political Games with USMCA
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats to act and advance the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Daines stressed the importance of the USMCA to Montana Ag and the economy highlighting an estimated $68 billion boost to the nation’s GDP, 176,000 new jobs, higher wages, and increased certainty. To download the full video, click HERE. “The House Democrats cannot continue to hold our farmers and our ranchers hostage any longer for political gain. This is negatively impacting the Montana way of life,” Daines said. “To Speaker
Daines: Syria Troop Withdrawal ‘Detrimental To Our National Security’
President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria has earned condemnation from Montana’s entire congressional delegation. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester told Lee newspapers earlier this month the order to pull troops from Syria’s northern border threatens regional and global stability. Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte and Republican Sen. Steve Daines – two normally reliable Trump stalwarts – also have their doubts. Daines expressed his concerns during Wednesday’s Senate Appropriations Committee meeting where he said the risks of withdrawal outweigh the benefits. “The reduction of the American presence in Syria has resulted in increased influence of Russia and Iran and set the stage for a
Daines Leads Bipartisan Effort to Extend Funding to Community Health Centers
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today led a bipartisan letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Charles Schumer urging long-term funding of community health centers (CHCs). “Community health centers provide affordable health care to our nation’s most vulnerable citizens,” Daines wrote. “More than 29 million patients, including 385,000 veterans and 8.7 million children, receive quality medical, dental, vision, and behavioral health care services from a community health center. These centers work to combat the opioid epidemic, offer preventive care to patients, and treat chronic conditions to improve the health of those they serve while saving taxpayer
House passes bill to name Montana post office after Jeannette Rankin
MISSOULA — The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill to name a Montana post office building in honor of Jeannette Rankin. The Missoulian reported Thursday that the approval came Wednesday to rename the building at 1100 W. Kent Ave. after the Missoula-born Republican known as the first woman to hold federal office in the United States. Officials say the bill was introduced to both the House and Senate in March by Montana Republicans Rep. Greg Gianforte and Sen. Steve Daines. Rankin was elected to Congress in 1916 and reelected in 1940. Officials say she secured the right to vote for
Guest opinion: U.S.-Japan trade deal good for Montana ranchers
As United States senator from Montana, and as a rancher from Miles City serving as the president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, we took a major step forward last week for Montana ag. Together, we worked to accomplish a historic trade deal between the U.S. and Japan — one that will benefit Montana’s farmers and ranchers for generations to come. Farming and ranching is tough enough as it is. Agriculture isn’t for the faint of heart and making a profit only gets harder if access to critical export markets is restricted and our foreign competitors are given an advantage. This trade
Bill to name Rankin post office passes U.S. House
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed by unanimous voice vote a bill to name Missoula’s main post office building in honor of Jeannette Rankin. The approval came Wednesday afternoon after it was introduced in March by Rep. Greg Gianforte of Montana. U.S. Senator Steve Daines presented a similar bill on the same day in the Senate. In a press release from Gianforte’s office, Daines hailed the bill’s passage in the House and said he will continue working to advance S. 953 in that Senate. Gianforte and Daines are Republicans, as was Rankin when she was elected to Congress in
Daines seeks federal disaster assistance for home-state farmers
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) recently requested prompt federal financial support for Montana farmers who have lost their crops due to excessive regional rainfall. “As you know, Montana farmers and the agriculture economy overall are facing significant challenges, whether it be low commodity prices, weather or market access issues,” Sen. Daines wrote in an Oct. 7 letter sent to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. “This rainfall has occurred during harvest and has resulted in losses due to high yields yet very low quality which renders crop insurance ineffective and has dramatically reduced the value and market for their crop.” Sen.
Senate Hears Testimony On Roadblocks To Tribal Housing
A Fort Belknap council member briefed the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Wednesday about roadblocks to homeownership. Three years. That’s how long Nathaniel Mount, council member for the Fort Belknap Indian Community, says it takes for families to get off of the waiting list for tribal housing. Access to safe and affordable housing is a problem across Indian country. Tribal members looking for housing have to deal with complications over land ownership, barriers to private mortgages and lots and lots of waiting. Here’s how Mount told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs about how the lack of housing has
Daines, Tester weigh in on US-China trade deal
Farmers and ranchers are cautiously optimistic about a trade agreement between the U.S. and China. President Donald Trump says China will immediately start buying very large quantities of American agricultural products, even though the agreement won’t be signed for another three weeks. Although the White House has not given specifics, the president says China will purchase between $40 and $50 billion worth of ag products. In the past, China topped out around $25 billion. Several agriculture trade analysts are skeptical. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines was in China in September working on the trade agreement. Daines’ office released this statement about