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Senator Steve Daines today reaffirmed his commitment to reining in Washington’s perceived out-of-control spending after the Congressional Budget Office reported that the federal budget deficit is expected to increase by $105 billion in 2016 – the first increase in seven years. “These projections reaffirm the dire consequences of Washington’s continued bloated spending. Make no mistake – this $105 billion increase in the federal deficit is direct result of the 2000-page trillion dollar spending bill that was cobbled together behind closed doors and forced through Congress last month,” Daines stated. “It’s past time for Washington to get serious about reining in our

Last week, the Rocky Mountain Rifle Club was formally recognized for their sponsorship and support of the local 4-H Shooting Program. The members of the club joined with 4-H shooters in welcoming Robin Baker of Senator Steve Daines’ office. Recently, Senator Daines took to the floor of the Senate to read his recognition of the Rocky Mountain Rifle Club into the Congressional Record as “Montanan of the Week.” Ms. Baker presented the club with an official copy and read the document, explaining the process of entering the honor into the record. The local 4-H program has some of the top

A main topic discussed at an energy briefing in Billings today: President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan. Enacted last August, the Clean Power Plan’s goal is to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. Montana Senator Steve Daines said this act will kill 7,000 tribal and union jobs within the state. Additionally, he said it will affect $140 million of tax revenues every year that fund schools, teachers and infrastructure. “It’s going to create a double-digit energy increase for Montanans. To sum it up, the people in Montana who can afford it the least are going

Losing part of Colstrip’s 40-year-old power plant would devastate Montana’s economy through possible job losses and higher power bills, state elected officials and industry backers said Monday in Billings. They urged the business-friendly audience to speak out against federal regulations they say would hurt the coal industry. “President Obama stopped the Keystone pipeline. Next on his to-do list is to kill the coal industry,” U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said at the forum sponsored by Big Sky Economic Development. About 180 people attended the gathering at Crowne Plaza in downtown Billings. Included in the audience were state lawmakers, county commissioners

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Friday it will “pause” on issuing new coal leases on federal lands. The suspension was ordered while the federal agency reviews the coal lease program “in order to ensure that it is properly structured to provide a fair return to taxpayers and reflect its impacts on the environment, while continuing to help meet our energy needs,” according to press release. The review is expected to take three years, the agency said. The move met with immediate criticism from congressional members in Montana and Wyoming. Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines said the move is an “unprecedented assault on one

Mining companies say a federal decision to stop leasing coal on public lands has bottled up Montana and Wyoming coal projects. The leasing suspension announced Friday by the Department of the Interior has put expansion plans in doubt at the Spring Creek Mine in Southeast Montana, and Antelope Mine in Wyoming, developer Cloud Peak Energy said. Cloud Peak was trying to determine whether the lease suspension would stop a 1,602-acre lease adjacent to Spring Creek Mine. The lease, involving 198.2 million tons of mineable coal, is beyond preliminary approval, but is still under environmental review, which might not be far

Congressional Republicans are slamming the Obama administration’s decision to halt new coal mining leases on federal land.  Administration officials said Friday they would hold off on new lease sales while overhauling the coal leasing program to account for climate change costs.  Republicans, who have badgered Obama for energy and environment policies they say constitute a “war on coal,” let loose on the decision Friday.  “There seems to be no limit to the number of job-crushing regulations, executive orders and insults [Interior Secretary Sally Jewell] and President Obama will throw at America’s middle class,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a statement. The Interior Department

Politicians in the House and Senate introduced a resolution Friday to remind Congress that religious liberty is a fundamental human right. The resolution affirms “the importance of religious freedom as a fundamental human right that is essential to a free society and is protected for all Americans by the text of the Constitution, and recognizing the 230th anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom,” the resolution states. The resolution comes the day before Religious Freedom Day, which is Jan. 16. It was introduced by Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines and Republican Virginia Rep. Randy Forbes.  “America sets the standard across the