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Senators from California and Montana said Thursday that they plan to introduce a bipartisan bill that aims to protect communities from wildfires like the one that killed 85 people and destroyed much of the Northern California town of Paradise last year. Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California and Republican Steve Daines of Montana told The Associated Press they will introduce the bill after the Senate’s August recess, but wanted to announce their plans now as the western U.S. states enter their peak fire season. “Unfortunately, millions of acres of forests in our states and across the West remain at high risk

Sen. Daines introduced the Budgetary Accuracy in Scoring Interest Costs (BASIC) Act Thursday, which would require both the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation to include projected interest expenses associated with legislative proposals. Daines said that including interest is necessary to accurately account for the budgetary cost of the legislation.  Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and David Perdue (R-GA), two fiscal hawks, also cosponsored Daines’ BASIC Act. Daines’ legislation arises as the Senate passed a two-year budget agreement,that would increase federal spending by $320 billion over two years. The federal government requires both the JCT and CBO to provide

Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines introduced a resolution forcefully condemning what he called the “failed experiment” of socialism on Monday, warning that the United States had “two paths to take” — with one leading to “freedom,” and the other, “complete government control, undermining our constitution and our American way of life.” The resolution comes as a new Fox News poll showed 54 percent of voters thought the U.S. moving from capitalism toward socialism would be a “bad thing” — even as 53 percent of Democratic primary voters said it would be a “good” development. The growing divide is expected to play a pivotal role

President Donald Trump signed the Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act on Friday, a bipartisan piece of legislation introduced by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., which requires designated breastfeeding rooms in federal buildings. The law requires federal buildings that are open to the public and contain a public restroom provide a lactation room, other than a bathroom, that is hygienic and is available for use by federal employees or members of the public who are breastfeeding, Daines said. The lactation room must be shielded from view, be free from intrusion, and contain a chair, a working surface, and (if the building is

BILLINGS, Mont. — Senator Daines announced in a press conference this morning that the U.S. Senate Finance Committee passed a bill that could potentially lower the cost of prescription drugs. Daines says months of work with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee have turned into the passing of a major bipartisan prescription drug reform package, “What we saw today is that bipartisan compromise isn’t dead. Today was about making life easier for Montanans.  It’s about cutting out of pocket costs and lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, for hardworking moms and dads, for grandmas and grandpas, frankly for Montanans in every

Sen. Steve Daines said a prescription drug pricing bill passed Thursday by the Senate Finance Committee will save Montanans and other taxpayers in the United States more than $100 billion for their medications. The Montana Republican spoke to reporters shortly after the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019 moved out of the committee, where it is now headed to the Senate floor. He was joined by Tim Summers, state director of AARP Montana. Daines, who sits on the committee, said lawmakers had just passed a major, bipartisan, prescription drug pricing package. “Today was about making life easier for Montanans,”