News

Nearly 145 million acres of land are at a high risk of catastrophic wildfireacross the West thanks to the overwhelming insect epidemic, drought, decades of fire suppression and years of lack of management of our forests. This statistic is sure to come up in Tuesday’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee hearing on restoring watersheds and large landscapes. The committee plans to discuss collaborative initiatives between state and federal partners to help restore forests back to health in order to protect our forest resources, watersheds and communities. We agree, collaboration is key if restoration is to happen across a forested landscape.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has a goal of having a federal budget providing adequate safety nets for both producers and those who cannot afford food while admitting spending cuts are necessary to get the federal debt under control. Speaking at Montana Ag Summit in Great Falls, June 1, Perdue discussed the proposed 2018 fiscal year budget, in which President Donald Trump has proposed a $193 billion cut—or 25 percent—in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over 10 years, a 36 percent cut in crop insurance, elimination of the major U.S. food aid program, a cutback in conservation programs and the

More and more Republican lawmakers are considering canceling their month-long August recess so they can continue pushing their agendas through Congress. “Congress has no business taking a recess when the people’s business remains unfinished,” Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines told The Hill Monday. Daines is one of many Republicans who want to stay and make sure the American people know their elected officials are actually doing work. “I think it’s really important that people understand that Congress is working. We are producing a lot of legislation,” Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole told The Hill. Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is also on board saying

Every August, Congress takes a break from the Capitol with a monthlong recess. However, representatives may want to wait before they start packing up their Hawaiian shirts and fanny packs for vacation. The Hill reported that the lack of progress on tax reform, health care, and other bills has resulted in some Republican lawmakers calling for a cancellation of the August break. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) supports canceling the recess and told The Hill, “We have a huge agenda. I think we can get a lot of it done, but what we don’t have is time.” Fortunately, he believes the time issue can be solved because if they

Struggling to make progress on campaign promises like tax and health care reform, rank-and-file congressional Republicans are stepping up calls for their leaders to cancel or at least shorten the upcoming August recess. The GOP agenda is about to enter a summer slump amid internal disagreements and efforts by Democrats to sideline legislation. These efforts will enter a new phase Monday evening when Democrats plan to start slowing down Senate work even more by making speeches and refusing to let Republicans take procedural shortcuts.  President Trump took to Twitter Monday morning accusing Democrats of wanting to “stop tax cuts, good

Montana cattle may well show up on Chinese dinner tables thanks to an historic agreement between the United States and China. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reached a final agreement with Chinese officials on final details of a protocol to allow the U.S. to begin the beef exports to China. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has announced the posting of technical documents related to the beginning of shipments. This is welcome news to Montana ranchers, notes Montana Farm Bureau national affairs director Nicole Rolf. “After an almost 14-year hiatus, our members are anxious to start selling our high-quality beef back

Montana cattle may well show up on Chinese dinner tables thanks to an historic agreement between the United States and China. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reached a final agreement with Chinese officials on final details of a protocol to allow the U.S. to begin the beef exports to China. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has announced the posting of technical documents related to the beginning of shipments. This is welcome news to Montana ranchers, notes Montana Farm Bureau National Affairs Director Nicole Rolf. “After an almost 14- year hiatus, our members are anxious to start selling our high-quality

Montana’s U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines joined the rest of the Senate on Thursday in commending the Capitol Police who responded to a shooting Wednesday involving members of Congress. Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine introduced the bill Thursday in the Senate, where it passed unanimously. Other senators signed on as co-sponsors of the bill. On Wednesday morning, a gunman opened fire on Republicans in Alexandria, Virginia, who were practicing for a charity baseball game against Democratic members of Congress. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana was shot. Also hurt were police officers and congressional staffers. The Senate passed Kaine’s