KUMV: Sen. Steve Daines on 13-city tour of Eastern Mont. to discuss issues with communities
SIDNEY, MT – A Montana U.S. Senator is traveling more than 600 miles across Eastern Montana to learn about the different issues communities are facing. As the general election nears, the United States Senate is in recess, which allows Senator Steve Daines, (R-Mont.) to hit the road. It’s a 13-city tour in just three days, and the mission is simple. “Listening to the concerns of the people here in Eastern Montana,” says Daines. Wednesday, Daines was in Montana’s Sunrise City. He met with multiple law enforcement officials to discuss their needs. Topics ranged from how to combat continuing criminal activity in
Daines, Feinstein Call on Energy Conferees to Accelerate Forest Management, Fix Wildfire Funding
U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) today called on on Energy Bill Conferees to accelerate forest management reforms and fix wildfire funding. Daines and Feinstein penned a letter to the leadership of the conference committee for S.2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act. “As cosponsors of the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, we urge you to include reforms in the final energy bill to enable the Forest Service to pay for fighting extraordinary wildfires similarly to how other agencies pay for disaster responses – through funding that is unconstrained by stringent spending caps,” Daines and Feinstein wrote. “We also recognize that
Daines Announces $138,878 to Enhance Response to Hazardous Materials Transportation Incidents
BOZEMAN, Mont. — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced $138,878 in funding to maintain the safety of emergency personnel and the public when responding to hazardous materials related emergencies. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) grant will train emergency responders to respond to pipeline, rail and other surface accidents that cause a release of hazardous materials. This was authorized by the FAST Act. Further, safe transportation of Montana’s energy resources is critically important to Daines. Daines’ PIPES Act that was signed into law on June 22, 2016, authorized the Pipeline Safety programs of PHMSA. “In addition to needing a safe, secure and efficient pipeline infrastructure we
Daines Honors Montanan of the Week: Alan Charles of Miles City
BOZEMAN, Mont. — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today recognized Alan Charles of Miles City for his tireless work at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Alan served in the agency’s Helena office for the last twenty years, helping maintain Montanans’ access to quality hunting grounds: an integral part of our way of life. Daines’ recognition in the Congressional Record is available here. Through his “Montanan of the Week” initiative, Daines each week will highlight a Montanan by submitting a statement of recognition in the official Congressional Record, the document that reflects the official proceedings of Congress. Daines welcomes anyone to nominate fellow Montanans for
Daines Announces $198,506 for Educational Training for Fort Peck Community College
U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced $198,506.00 in funding for Fort Peck Community College to help train new farmers and ranchers and building on their existing curriculum, especially tailoring it to the Fort Peck community. “Our ag industry is of critical importance to our state, and our farmers play a key role in feeding not only Montana, but the world,” Daines stated. “It’s important that we support the next generation of Montana farmers and ranchers and I’m glad to see the Fort Peck community have the opportunity to utilize these resources.” Haven Gourneau, President, Fort Peck Community College: “Fort Peck Community College
Daines Introduces Bill to Enhance Crowdfunding for Startups
BOZEMAN, Mont. — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today introduced legislation to better the way entrepreneurs raise funds through crowdfunding, a way that prevents expensive regulatory red tape from keeping startups from getting off the ground. Crowdfunding is the basic idea of raising money by relatively small contributions from a large number of people – combining the best of microfinance and crowdsourcing. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a rule last October to give entrepreneurs an important tool in their belt to get their dreams up and running. As a result, the crowdfunding rule allows entrepreneurs to raise up to $1
Daines Encourages Administration to Abandon Proposed Estate Tax Regulations
Proposed Regulations Would Have Severe Chilling Effect on Family Farms and Businesses BOZEMAN, Mont. — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today wrote to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew encouraging the Treasury Department to abandon proposed regulations that would significantly increase the estate tax burden on family farms and businesses. The proposed regulations, if finalized, would contradict long-standing legal precedent and greatly discourage families from continuing to operate and grow their farms and businesses for eventual transfer to future generations. “Treasury should pursue policies that encourage the creation and growth of family businesses and not propose regulatory changes that make it more difficult and
KBZK: Senate overrides Obama veto for the first time in his presidency
WASHINGTON, DC –The Senate voted Wednesday afternoon to override President Obama’s veto of a bill that would allow families of 9/11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia. Senators Jon Tester, Steve Daines and Congressman Ryan Zinke all voted in favor of overriding Obama’s veto of “Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.” Lawmakers overrode the veto in a 97-1 vote. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, was the only lawmaker to oppose the override. The House is expected to vote to override the veto within the next day. This could mark the first time Congress could successfully override a veto from Mr. Obama.
Roll Call: Daines joins Republican senator seeking radical changes to budget process
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican freshmen have seen enough to know that the way Congress approaches the federal budget is broken. And a prospective fix one of them is unveiling Thursday is nothing short of radical — at least by the standards of the often creaky Senate. Georgia Republican David Perdue is proposing to break down the wall between authorizing and appropriating — a way of doing business that, by design, would upend the 1974 Budget Act. The proposal would merge authorizing committees and appropriations subcommittees, according to a fact sheet provided to Roll Call. For instance, the Health, Education, Labor