News

U.S. SENATE – Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2019 (FY19) Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations bill, which includes $100 million to implement the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act.  The legislation authorizes Department of Justice grants to states and localities to help schools implement proven, evidence-based programs and technologies that identify and stop school violence before it happens. Daines sponsored the STOP School Violence Act, which was passed into law in March, and secured the $100 million in funding in the FY19 CJS bill. “Parents deserve to know their kids are safe at school,”

U.S. SENATE — Today, U.S. Senator Steve Daines, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee, secured increased accountability, transparency and security within Congress. The Subcommittee passed the 2019 Fiscal Year Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, which includes provisions to create an E-file system for U.S. Senate candidates, investments to help meet the Capitol’s security needs, and direct the Congressional Budget Office to be transparent with its studies. “When spending taxpayer money, our government must be transparent and serve as a responsible steward of Americans’ hard-earned dollars,” said Chairman Daines. “This bill will do just that by increasing public access to campaign filings, strengthening

Moving Senate candidates to the ‘E-file’ system would save taxpayers nearly $900,000 a year  U.S. SENATE — Today, U.S. Senator Steve Daines, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee, secured a bill to require U.S. Senate candidates to electronically file their campaign finance reports. U.S. Senate candidates are currently the only federal candidates that do not use an electronic filing system. Chairman Daines secured the bill in the 2019 Fiscal Year Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, which appropriates funds for the federal candidate filing system. The appropriations bill will now move to the Senate floor for consideration. “America’s campaign finance system

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines secured forest management reforms and priorities for Montana farmers, ranchers and rural communities in the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Farm Bill that passed out of Committee today. Daines is the only representative of Montana on the Committee. Some of the highlights of the bill include funding for agriculture research critical to Montana farmers and ranchers, crop insurance to help mitigate risks for the agriculture community, programs to support the Montana timber industry and provisions that will prioritize broadband for unserved communities. The Farm Bill will now head to the U.S. Senate

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester and Congressman Greg Gianforte are working to protect Powell County from having to pay a $4 million fine to the U.S. Treasury Department. The government sent Powell County the bill to cover the costs of an oil spill cleanup from 2011, initially totaling $3,172,982.89. At that time, Powell County made clear to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Coast Guard that it was unable to foot a multi-million dollar fine and sought alternate methods of cleaning up the site. The county’s concerns were ignored and now after the additional costs of

Colstrip critical to U.S. energy security and reliability U.S. SENATE — Today, during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Steve Daines pressed Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Neil Chatterjee on the importance of the Colstrip Power Plant to Montana and grid reliability. FERC is an independent agency that regulates the movement of natural gas, oil, and electricity between states. FERC also oversees regulation for natural gas and hydropower projects. Colstrip is critical to ensuring Montanans have access to reliable, affordable energy. It generates enough power for 1.5 million homes. The power plant is a major