In The News

MISSOULA,Mont. — U.S. Sen. Steve Daines announced a new proposal, the School Safety and Mental Health Services Improvement Act, which could bring federal funding to more than 800 Montana schools. Daines says state and local governments provide 90 percent of the funding to over 100,000 public schools in the United States. His bill aims to allow the federal government to help schools become safer. “This bill improves school security by using federal funds for measures such as school counselors, alarm systems and training to respond to crisis. This allows our local schools to make decisions that best protect our children and

With a decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, President Donald Trump continued to shake up trade issues in the U.S. It was a surprise move for many in Washington D.C., including a good chunk of the Republican Party. GOP members, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, expressed concern about the consequences such tariffs could have on American consumers. The president, however, said trade wars are “good” and “easy to “win” after proposing a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum. Republicans in Congress have also approached the president about re-engaging

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines said Thursday he will use every means possible “to hold all bad actors” accountable in response to the resignation Wednesday of U.S. Forest Service Chief Tony Tooke amid sexual harassment allegations in the agency. The Montana Republican said he planned to ask for a Senate hearing on combatting sexual harassment in the U.S. Forest Service. Tooke’s departure comes less than a week after PBS NewsHour reported the chief was under investigation following relationships with subordinates before he became chief, the Associated Press reported. A recent investigation aired on the PBS NewsHour found at least two incidents

Congress has approved roughly $10.3 million in federal grant money to improve the main road in Big Sky. The TIGER grant is expected to add about seven left-turn lanes at key intersections along Lone Mountain Trail. The money will also pay for the construction of a pedestrian tunnel, road signs, extend an existing paved pedestrian trail and purchase four motor coaches and six vans to enhance transit service in Big Sky. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines announced the grant Tuesday afternoon. He said Gallatin County is leading the state in economic growth. “This grant will help the county meet the infrastructure

America’s National Parks face an $11.3 billion maintenance backlog. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and a group of other lawmakers have a proposal to fill it. The National Park Restoration Act would deposit a portion of revenues from energy production on federal lands into a fund for upkeep and repairs. Several senators and representatives from both parties are backing the bill. They joined Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke in presenting the bill Wednesday morning. In a press release, Daines described it as “a commonsense step forward to ensure that the challenges facing our national parks are finally addressed.” Each year,

At a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke welcomed Montana Senator Steve Daines along with Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander and six other senators to propose legislation use revenues from energy production on federal lands to help pay for the over $11 billion maintenance backlog at the parks. Senator Alexander introduced the concept. “What we’re announcing today is a bipartisan proposal supported by the President of the United States and the Office of Management and Budget that over the next ten years could eliminate the $11.6 billion dollar deferred maintenance backlog in the

Today during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee meeting, members voted to include six of U.S. Senator Steve Daines’ bills to protect Americans’ privacy. Improving cyber security will ensure the responsible use of taxpayer dollars in the Department of Homeland Security Reauthorization Act. “As Americans continue to face threats at home and abroad, we must make sure we continue to innovate cyber technologies to protect Americans’ security,” said Daines. Protecting Montanans’ privacy has always been a top priority and I will continue working to ensure the government does not tread on that fundamental right.” During the Committee meeting,

U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Todd Young (R-IN), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Steve Daines (R-MT) joined several colleagues in introducing the U.S. Senate version of a bipartisan bill to beef up anti-violence measures in America’s schools. The Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018 would authorize $75 million to fund evidence-based school safety programs and practices for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 and $100 million annually for the following 10 years thereafter, among other provisions, according to a joint statement released by the senators on March 5

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines and eight other senators are throwing their support behind an ambitious plan to rebuild roads, bridges and other aging systems in Glacier and other National Parks. It’s a plan that aims to tackle the $11 billion maintenance backlogs in the parks. It doesn’t take long to see the growing problems with the infrastructure on a visit to Glacier National Park. It’s not just that the park is having a hard time keeping up with the crowds from the record breaking crowds in recent years. The parks are simply wearing out. On many of the park’s