Press Releases

BOZEMAN, Mont. —U.S. Senator Steve Daines’ bill to support Native children was signed into law on Friday, October 14, 2016.  The bipartisan Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act creates a Commission on Native Children, which will conduct a comprehensive study on the programs, grants, and supports available for Native children, both at government agencies and on the ground in Native communities. The goal is to develop a sustainable system that delivers wrap-around services to Native children.  “I am thrilled to see my bill to help Native children enacted into law,” Daines stated. “This bill is an important step

BOZEMAN, Mont. — U.S. Senator Steve Daines released the following statement after the expiration of the Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA): “Subsidized and unfairly traded lumber imports continue to severely harm Montana mills, workers and communities. President Obama needs to remain committed to reaching a new trade agreement that prioritizes the American worker and fights for good-paying jobs.” The SLA expired on October 12, 2015 with a one-year moratorium on complaints or lawsuits ending on October 12, 2016.   A timeline of Daines’ efforts to renegotiate a new SLA for Montana’s sawmills is below:  April 27, 2006: SLA signed – seven year agreement that went

U.S. Senator Steve Daines today hosted a roundtable discussion with the leaders of the Montana Lodging & Hospitality Association (MLHA) on growing Montana’s tourism industry and protecting consumers from online booking scams. Daines sought to raise awareness and crack down on operators of that trick consumers into thinking they are making reservations directly with hotels. On September 27, Daines introduced bipartisan legislation to address this problem and protect consumers from online booking scams.   According to the University of Montana Institute for Tourism & Recreation Research, in 2014, tourists spent $3.98 billion and which helped support more than 55,000 jobs.

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today made the following statement after hearing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to deny the appeal of the U.S. Forest Service in challenging the ruling of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cottonwood v. U.S. Forest Service:  “I’m very disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear this case. Allowing the Ninth Circuit’s disastrous ruling to stand will greatly increase needless paperwork on the Forest Service and further delay much-needed restorative management work. This development makes it especially critical that Congress act to explicitly remove this crippling regulatory burden, and I will continue

BOZEMAN, Mont. — This week, U.S. Senator Steve Daines traveled 648 miles across Eastern Montana with stops in Malta, Glasgow, Scobey, Westby, Plentywood, Culbertson, Sidney, Glendive, Wibaux, Baker, Ekalaka, Broadus and Ashland. Malta: Daines discussed critical issues facing Phillips County in Malta at breakfast with the Rotary Club and local elected officials at the Great Northern. During the breakfast, the conversation focused on developing Montana’s vast natural resources and the good-paying jobs it supports, ensuring Montanans voices are heard in any future national monument designations and the development of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Glasgow: Daines spoke with local leaders, business owners, farmers and

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester today urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve T-Mobile’s waiver application to allow them to expand broadband access in rural Montana. In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, Daines and Tester underscored the importance of ensuring that underserved, rural areas have access to broadband and that T-Mobile has a proven track record building facilities to serve this part of the country.  This transaction will provide wireless competition in the state and will enable T-Mobile to provide 4G LTE service to unserved areas covering over 1 million people in Montana

SIDNEY, Mont. — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today held a roundtable discussion to discuss law enforcement needs, coordination and approaches to combating the continuing criminal activity in the Bakken region, as well as the need for the temporary Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent presence in Sidney to be made permanent.  During the roundtable, Daines presented John Dynneson, Richland County Sheriff with a letter he sent today to FBI Director James Comey requesting a meeting to discuss the need to maintain a permanent FBI presence in Sidney.   “I heard loud and clear the need to maintain the FBI presence in Sidney to protect

SIDNEY, Mont. — U.S. Senator Steve Daines and U.S. Representive Ryan Zinke today announced that they have introduced legislation to encourage carbon sequestration. The CO2 Regulatory Certainty Act of 2016 aligns tax guidelines with existing federal regulations to ensure taxpayers are better able to utilize the Section 45Q carbon sequestration tax credit. By accelerating work on carbon sequestration projects, this bill is helping to provide one of the energy technologies needed to utilize America’s abundant coal resources. Currently, project developers can claim credit for CO2 sequestration, however, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance does not reflect differences between the two existing sequestration methods, permanent or geological

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) today called on on Energy Bill Conferees to accelerate forest management reforms and fix wildfire funding. Daines and Feinstein penned a letter to the leadership of the conference committee for S.2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act.  “As cosponsors of the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, we urge you to include reforms in the final energy bill to enable the Forest Service to pay for fighting extraordinary wildfires similarly to how other agencies pay for disaster responses – through funding that is unconstrained by stringent spending caps,” Daines and Feinstein wrote. “We also recognize that