News

Associated Press: Missoula Center Pleased with Rankin’s $10 Bill Nomination

MISSOULA – The suggestion by Sen. Steve Daines that the U.S. Treasury put the face of Jeannette Rankin on the $10 bill is being welcomed by advocates of the nation’s first female congresswoman. Betsy Mulligan-Dague, director of the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center, said the development is exciting. “It’s a huge step forward for women to be taken seriously in the world,” Mulligan-Dague said. “It’s way past time.” Rankin would serve as a fitting figure for the bill and for further advancing the achievements of women, Mulligan-Dague told the Missoulian. Rankin was first elected in 1916 and again in 1940. Aside

Daines Honors Montanan of the Week: Gene Peterson

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today honored Gene Peterson, a native of Culbertson and resident of Missoula, for his fifty successful years of shaping Montana’s broadcasting industry and long history of public service to the state.  Peterson was inducted into the Montana Broadcasters Hall of Fame earlier this month. In addition to working in Montana broadcasting for more than fifty years, Peterson has served as president of the Missoula Chamber of Commerce and a member of the St. Patrick Hospital Advisory Board and Grizzly Scholarship Association. Daines’ “Montanan of the Week” initiative highlights a Montanan by submitting a statement of

Daines Introduces Bill to Honor Jeannette Rankin on U.S. Currency

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today introduced legislation to require that former Montana Representative Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, be featured as the first woman on U.S. paper currency. Today, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced that it is taking nominations for the new face of the $10 bill. Daines introduced the “Celebrating the First Woman in Congress Currency Act” to require that Jeannette Rankin be the first woman on paper currency. “Jeannette Rankin, a proud Montanan and the first woman to serve in Congress, has left a lasting mark on our nation’s democratic process,” Daines

Daines’ Bills to Provide Critical Funding for Montana’s Rural Water Infrastructure Receive First Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines’ bills to provide much-needed funding for Montana rural water infrastructure received their first Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing today. Daines’ bills— S. 1552 the Clean Water for Rural Communities Act and S. 1365, the Authorized Rural Water Projects Completion Act – provide much-needed funding and authorization for the construction and completion of critical rural water infrastructure projects in Montana and other states. Daines’ remarks can be viewed here and downloaded here. “Water is a basic need of life. In Montana, we depend on a steady supply to irrigate our crops, water our livestock

Daines Applauds Passage of Critical Defense Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today hailed the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which provides critical support for the nation’s military and national security. “This legislation is critical to ensuring our men and women in uniform have the funding and support they need to fulfill their missions,” Daines stated. “The NDAA prioritizes the needs of our service members while protecting the important role that Montana holds in our national defense.” Daines successfully included an amendment to the NDAA that would protect military couples from abrupt reductions in their housing allowances. Under the NDAA, current dual housing

Missoulian: Daines to Treasury: Put Missoula’s Jeannette Rankin on $10 bill

Jeannette Rankin is a popular woman this week. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines introduced a proposal to put her face on the $10 bill Thursday, only two days after she became a finalist for the name of a new Billings middle school. The U.S. Treasury announced Wednesday that Alexander Hamilton is getting the boot and a woman’s portrait will be featured on a redesigned $10 bill. Daines is determined that Rankin, the Missoula woman who was the nation’s first female member of Congress, be first in line. His bill mandates that “Federal Reserve notes bear the likeness of Jeannette Rankin before

Daines Secures Additional Support for LWCF

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today secured close to $14 million in additional funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a program of critical importance to increasing access to Montana public lands and protecting Montana’s outdoors heritage. During today’s mark up of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2016, Daines and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) successfully passed an amendment to increase LWCF programs by nearly $14 million, bringing the overall total funding for LWCF to the FY2015 enacted level of $306 million.  “LWCF is an important program for Montana that helps expand access to

Daines Announces First Biannual Montana High Tech Jobs Summit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today announced that he will be hosting the first biannual Montana High Tech Jobs Summit in Bozeman this fall. The Summit, sponsored by Daines, the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Montana Chamber of Commerce, will take place at Montana State University on September 13 and 14 and will feature Safra Catz, Chief Executive Officer of Oracle, among other national tech and business leaders. “Working at RightNow Technologies, I experienced firsthand the opportunity that technology gives us to grow jobs right here in Montana,” said Senator Daines. “Technology has removed geography as a constraint and

Associated Press: Daines seeks hearing on pipeline safety agency

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is calling for a congressional hearing on the government’s pipeline safety agency following two oil spills into Montana’s Yellowstone River in the past five years. The Montana Republican requested the hearing into the actions of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in a Tuesday letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune of South Dakota. Daines said he wants to examine how effectively the agency is overseeing and enforcing pipeline rules. An Exxon Mobil Corp. pipeline spilled 63,000 gallons of crude into the Yellowstone near Laurel in 2011. Federal regulators issued a $1 million penalty