News

Daines Honors Montanan of the Week: Shayne Pierre of Polson

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today recognized Shayne Pierre of Polson, Montana for his exceptional heroism.  This past May, Shayne acted heroically when a drunk driver collided with a school bus. He helped save the entire bus and attended to the driver, despite sustaining injuries himself. 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’ recognition in the Congressional Record is available here. Daines welcomes anyone to nominate fellow Montanans for Daines’ “Montanan of

Daily Inter Lake: Sen. Daines honors Polson student as ‘Montanan of the Week’

Sen. Steve Daines on Friday recognized Shayne Pierre of Polson as “Montanan of the Week” for his exceptional heroism during a traffic accident in May. Pierre, 15, helped save 10 fellow students when a drunk driver collided with their school bus. Although Pierre was injured in the crash, he had started attending to the driver when he noticed a fuel leak and quickly got the students off the bus. As part of his “Montanan of the Week” initiative, Daines submits a statement of recognition in the official Congressional Record, the document that reflects the official proceedings of Congress. “Shayne’s quick

ABC FOX Montana: Senator Daines Talks Montana’s Business Climate

BOZEMAN – Senator Steve Daines attended the Bozeman Sunrise Rotary Club meeting Friday morning to talk about Montana’s business climate, ways to improve the economy and job creation. Wake Up Montana’s Nina Sveinson caught up with Senator Daines before the meeting.

Daines, Forest Service Affirm Importance of Categorical Exclusions as Forest Restoration Tool

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today pressed the U.S. Forest Service to outline reforms needed to restore the health of the National Forest system and clarify the importance of Categorical Exclusions (CEs) as utilized by the Forest Service in forest health restoration projects. Click here to download Daines’ questioning. Click here to watch Daines’ questioning. During today’s Energy and Natural Resources hearing, Daines reaffirmed his commitment to forest management reform and asked Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell about how CEs are used to expedite forest restoration projects and enhance the environment. “I’m very determined, I’m very motivated to pass

Daines Fights to Give Montana Farmers Certainty in Federally Mandated Grain Inspections

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today fought to secure key provisions for Montana farmers and ranchers and provide farmers greater certainty in federally mandated grain inspections to protect against disruptions like those that occurred last summer at the Port of Vancouver. Daines successfully worked to include provisions addressing concerns voiced by Montana’s farmers and ranchers in the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2016, which was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee this morning by a vote of 28-2. “Montana’s hardworking farmers deserve certainty that their grain can get to market in a timely

Daines Works to Move Forward Long-Term Highway Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines joined the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee last night in approving key components of a multi-year transportation bill and reaffirmed his call for Senate leadership to move forward a long-term highway bill that provides Montanans with much-needed certainty for infrastructure investments. “This vote is an important step forward in getting a long-term highway bill across the finish line. Montana’s short construction season is well underway, and it’s critical that Congress approves a multi-year solution that provides our state with the certainty needed to make long-term infrastructure investments. We need to quickly move forward

The Hill: Senators offer rival bill on student data privacy

The Senate now has competing bills aimed at restricting education companies from selling or using student data for targeted ads. Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Thursday introduced the Safe Kids Act. The measure would also require private companies to meet certain data security standards when handling student information. Federal regulators would be empowered to punish any companies violating the bill’s provisions.“The perils of privacy invasion and data abuse must be stopped at the classroom door with laws that match advancing technology,” Blumenthal said in a statement. The Daines-Blumenthal bill is nearly identical to a measure from

Senate bill would lift ban on goods made with legal ivory

GOP senators are trying to stop the Obama administration from regulating lawfully owned ivory found in antique firearms, musical instruments and other family heirlooms. The African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015, which Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) introduced this week, would lift the ban the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) placed on the importation, exportation and sale of lawfully possessed ivory in February 2014. Ivory is a hard white material found in tusks of Elephants.“The Obama Administration’s plan to limit the trade of legal ivory — such as that found in legally

Daines, Blumenthal Introduce Bill to Protect Students’ Data

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today introduced legislation to ensure proper safeguards are in place to protect students’ data.    The Safeguarding American Families from Exposure by Keeping Information and Data Secure (SAFE KIDS) Act protects student privacy by establishing clear parameters for third-party operators when using data collected from students. The legislation empowers parents to control access to their children’s information. The current federal protections for student data, including the tools currently available to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), are woefully inadequate. The SAFE KIDS Act empowers the FTC to oversee and enforce collection, storage and usage of