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Transportation Security Administrator Peter Neffenger was headed to Brussels for meetings on March 22, the day of the terrorist attacks against that city. He landed “just as the bombs detonated,” he said, deplaning into a fractured and panic-stricken airport. So when the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a hearing Wednesday morning, the occasion seemed destined for intense or emotional moments. After all, the senators themselves had just traveled to Washington earlier this week from a long spring recess; it seemed reasonable to expect that some might want to know just how safe they’d been in those travels. Plus,

Welcome to OVERNIGHT CYBERSECURITY, your daily rundown of the biggest news in the world of hacking and data privacy. We’re here to connect the dots as leaders in government, policy and industry try to counter the rise in cyber threats. What lies ahead for Congress, the administration and the latest company under siege? Whether you’re a consumer, a techie or a D.C. lifer, we’re here to give you … THE BIG STORIES: –I’VE GOT SWINGING DOORS, A JUKEBOX AND A BARSTOOL: The debate over encryption technology has exposed a push-and-pull between federal agencies that support the technology and those that warn

As temperatures warm up wildfires are on the minds of many Montanans, and Senator Steve Daines is one of them. Daines is calling for legislation today to remove red tape around forest management that he says could prevent wildfires. The red tape is what Senator Steve Daines calls “destructive litigation” from extreme environmental groups. Daines says that litigation keeps logging companies from removing already dead trees from our national forest, which fuel wildfires during the summer.  Senator Daines says there are roughly 5 million acres of dead or dying timbers in Montana alone, and if it is not harvested it

Montana’s senators questioned U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell Wednesday on challenges to forest management reform, wildfire funding and declining trail budgets. Tidwell testified before the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which counts both Republican Steve Daines and Democrat Jon Tester among its members. The hearing focused on the Forest Service’s $4.8 billion budget request for the next fiscal year, including a small increase for Land and Water Conservation Fund and increased fuels reduction spending authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. The budget “represents some really tough choices and where we can prioritize our limited funding,” Tidwell said, pointing to a

Montana Senator Steve Daines spoke at an Appropriations Subcommittee to discuss the U.S. Forest Service’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget. Daines is pleased with the progress of the 2014 Farm Bill, but he voiced his concern that it’s not being completed at an adequate pace. “We’ve identified in Montana about five million acres with dead or dying trees and that’s something we have been communicating to Montanans back home,” said Daines. “These are dead and dying trees, five million acres, you take 6,200 acres of projects that have been identified so far, do the quick math, its about .1% that is