Daines’ Bipartisan Bill to Settle Montana’s Final Indian Water Rights Settlement One Step Closer to Becoming Law
Daines’ “Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act” passes out of committee, heads to Senate floor U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing applauded the passage of his bipartisan “Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act.” The historic bill would finalize Montana’s last Indian water rights settlement. Watch and download HERE. “This is a historic step for Montana. It is a bipartisan agreement, the Fort Belknap Water Rights Compact, the last compact for the state of Montana. We are now one step closer to getting this to the President Biden’s desk. There has been a lot
Daines Calls for Passage of Largest Bipartisan Hydropower Permitting Reform Bill in Two Decades
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines, at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee hearing, highlighted his bipartisan “Community and Hydropower Improvement Act” and called on the committee to pass his bill that would streamline the permitting and licensing process, boost hydropower in Montana and increase tribal engagement. Listen to Daines’ full remarks HERE. “The ‘Community and Hydropower Improvement Act’ streamlines permitting and licensing as well as increases tribal engagement. The bill creates an expedited licensing process for powering non-powered dams and building closed loop pumped storage. It limits the scope of environmental review and mitigation to real, on the ground and
Daines to Introduce Amendments to FY2024 NDAA to Bolster National Security, Support Montana Service Members
Amendments Would Address Chinese Spy Balloon, Drag Shows at Military Bases and Side Effects of the COVID-19 Vaccine U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today released the list of amendments he plans to introduce next week as part of the “National Defense Authorization Act” (NDAA), including legislation to crack down on Chinese espionage, ban drag shows on U.S. military bases and launch an investigation into potential side effects of the previously mandated COVID-19 vaccine for U.S. service members. Daines introduced a bill this week that would ensure the U.S. Department of Treasury works with the Department of Commerce to identify various institutions as restricted trade partners if they are associated with either the Chinese military
Daines Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Make Pay Raise for Wildland Firefighters Permanent
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines helped introduce the bipartisan “Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act”to maintain the pay raise secured for Montana wildland firefighters in Daines’ bipartisan “Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act” that was signed into law in 2021. Daines’ “Wildland Firefighter Recognition Act” which was also signed into law in 2021 and required the Office of Personnel Management to create a job series for wildland firefighters that recognized the dangerous work they do and also helped pave the way for this critical boost in compensation. “As fire season devastates Montana communities year after year, Montana wildland firefighters put everything on the line to protect Montana families and towns. I was glad to work with my colleagues across
Daines Fights for More Public Access, Better Forest Management
Promotes bill to improve conservation of 100,000 acres of public land at Senate hearing U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines, at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, announced the introduction of his “Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act” to remove certain restrictive Wilderness Study Area (WSA) designations that can hinder land management and public access. At the hearing, Biden administration officials explained that returning the WSAs to general public land management will help mitigate wildfire risk and increase public access to public lands while keeping important protections in place. Listen to Daines’ full remarks HERE. “My ‘Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act’ will improve the ability to
Daines Touts Bipartisan Fort Belknap Water Rights Settlement as a Win-Win-Win for Montana at Senate Hearing
Highlights importance of finalizing last Indian water rights settlement, benefits to Tribe, State U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing highlighted the importance of finalizing Montana’s last Indian water rights settlement with his bipartisan “Fort Belknap Water Rights Settlement Act.” Watch HERE. Daines: Today is historic, it really is. I sometimes wondered if we’d ever get to this point, to have this kind of hearing. When I was first elected to the House 2012 over a decade ago, this is one of the first issues I heard about. I heard about it from the Tribe. I heard about it from the county commissioners, Phillips County, Blaine County.
Daines, Zinke Support Governor Gianforte’s Action to Address Falling Flathead Lake Levels
U.S. CONGRESS – U.S. Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Ryan Zinke (MT-01) today issued the following statements of support for Governor Greg Gianforte’s action to address low water levels in Flathead Lake. “I commend Governor Gianforte’s work to address the situation at Flathead Lake and hope to see immediate action from the TMT. Protecting our Montana way of life will always be my top priority and I encourage the Biden administration to join us in this effort. Congressman Zinke and I will continue to push for relief to the communities around Flathead Lake as well as farmers in the Flathead Basin,” Daines said. “Fill the lake.
Daines Works to Protect Montanans’ Access to AM Radio
U.S. SENATE – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Steve Daines co-sponsored a bicameral, bipartisan bill to ensure the continued availability of AM broadcast in new vehicles at no additional charge to the consumer. “AM radio is absolutely vital to maintaining the important fabric of our rural Montana communities and plays a critical role in public safety. Whether it be local news, weather or commodity prices, our AM radio stations in Montana are as much a part of us as the local barber or coffee shop. We must preserve our AM radio stations to ensure that Montana remains the Last Best Place.” See the full text of the
Daines Touts Bipartisan Fort Belknap Water Rights Settlement as a Win-Win-Win for Montana at Senate Hearing
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing highlighted the importance of finalizing Montana’s last Indian water rights settlement with his bipartisan “Fort Belknap Water Rights Settlement Act.” Daines: Today is historic, it really is. I sometimes wondered if we’d ever get to this point, to have this kind of hearing. When I was first elected to the House 2012 over a decade ago, this is one of the first issues I heard about. I heard about it from the Tribe. I heard about it from the county commissioners, Phillips County, Blaine County. Both sides wanted to set me straight on their strong