News

U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today introduced his first piece of U.S. Senate legislation in the 115th Congress: the Balanced Budget Accountability Act requiring that Congress passes a balanced budget – or members won’t get paid.  The Balanced Budget Accountability Act strengthens accountability in Washington and encourages members of Congress to commit to the annual budget process as required by law and pass budgets that balance within ten years. If a balanced budget is not passed by April 15—the legal requirement for Congress to have passed a budget—members will see their pay terminated.  “The Balanced Budget Accountability Act reflects Montana values:

U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today condemned the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) results of their laughable “comprehensive, public review” of the Nation’s federal coal program.  “Despite my efforts to ensure Montanans’ voices were heard in a meaningful way, the Obama administration has denied their input and put forth ideas for reforms to the federal coal program that would jeopardize good-paying jobs and tax revenue that support our schools, roads and essential services for our rural communities, including the Crow Tribe,” Daines stated. “I look forward to President-elect Trump and Secretary Zinke reversing the moratorium on coal leasing,

U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today released the following statement after meeting with President-elect Donald J. Trump’s designee for the U.S. Small Business Administration, Linda McMahon.  “Linda McMahon knows what it takes to grow a business from the ground up,” Daines stated. “I know she will fight for small businesses with the same vigor that she did for her company.”   According to the Small Business Administration Montana has over 115,000 small businesses in the state, making up 97.4 percent of all businesses. These organizations employ nearly 236,000 Montanans, or 67.4 percent of the state workforce.  ###

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today questioned President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, General John F. Kelly during the nomination hearing in the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Following breaches at both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Personnel Managment (OPM), Daines asked Kelly how he would protect Americans sensitive information from a cyberattack.  “General Kelly, as we discussed, I spent 28 years in the private sector, ten of them with a global cloud computing company,” Daines remarked to Kelly. “We faced cyber threats daily,

U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today applauded the U.S. House of Representatives bipartisan passage of his legislation to protect Montana small businesses from burdensome regulations found in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 317-page “net neutrality” rules.  “Hardworking small business owners are already facing uncertainty and more red tape because Washington can’t get its act together,” Daines stated. “The last thing small businesses need is bureaucrats hundreds of miles away telling them what they need to do – it harms the bottom line and job creation.”  Daines led the effort in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to extend a temporary exemption

U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today released the following statement on President-elect Donald J. Trump’s designee for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), General John Kelly. “General Kelly is a straight shooter who knows what it takes to secure our borders, protect Americans and will Make America Safe Again,” Daines stated.  Daines and Kelly discussed securing the southern border, robust refugee vetting, enhancing cybersecurity and increasing security at the northern border. Daines is a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which has jurisdiction for DHS including nominations subject to Senate confirmation.  ###

U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today implored Health Net to address long-standing concerns of Montana veterans and ensure timely care and payment. In a letter to Billy Maynard, President and CEO of Health Net, Daines expressed concerns that he has heard from Montana veterans of their lack of confidence in Health Net’s ability to fulfill their obligations.   “It is unacceptable that over a year later, I continue to hear concerns from Montana providers and veterans that Health Net’s performance remains woefully deficient,” Daines wrote. “I am also greatly concerned that numerous payments for tens of thousands of dollars have been misrouted throughout