Facebook-f Youtube

Tag: Energy

Daines Works to Prioritize State Based Sage Grouse Conservation Plans

April 22, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today helped introduce legislation that prioritizes state-created conservation and management plans for the recovery of the Sage Grouse. Daines is an original cosponsor of S. 1036, the Sage-Grouse Protection and Conservation Act, which would require the Department of the Interior to share scientific data with states, assist states in crafting and implementing their plans, and recognize the state plans for a minimum of six years. The Act empowers states to take the lead in Sage Grouse conservation while preventing a listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). “Montana is best equipped to manage and

Helena Independent Record: Daines pushing for disaster funding for wildfires

April 11, 2015

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines said he is looking to add certainty to federal fire managers’ budgets by reforming the way the worst wildfires receive federal funding. Daines was in Clancy on Friday discussing the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2015 with a roundtable of state and federal forest managers, conservation and forest dependent business interests. Daines signed onto the act as a senator in January, which would likely end the practice of “fire borrowing” when suppression funding runs out and must be pulled in from other programs. “The agencies have this cloud hanging over them,” said Richard Stem, retired deputy

Daines Investigates Importance of Coal to Tribal Economies

April 8, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today chaired a Senate Indian Affairs Committee (SCIA) field hearing in Crow Agency, Montana on empowering Indian Country. Daines examined the need to responsibly develop coal resources as a vital component of the tribal economies along with the importance of access to international markets. Daines spoke with Crow Chairman Darrin Old Coyote regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) harmful policies that stand in the way of the tribes’ ability to develop their coal resources and create good paying jobs. Daines also questioned Chairman Old Coyote on the economic benefits of making permanent the Indian Production Coal Tax Credit. 

KULR-8: Senator Steve Daines Talks Jobs and Coal in Indian Country

April 8, 2015

CROW AGENCY – Senator Steve Daines emphasized unemployment, the coal industry and jobs in Indian Country as part of a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs field hearing in Crow Agency on Wednesday. The hearing at the Little Big Horn College Health and Wellness Center lasted nearly two hours, and Attorney general Tim Fox and Crow Tribe Chairman Darrin Old Coyote were among the speakers. Sen. Daines discussed the importance of passing a permanent Indian coal tax credit. The temporary tax credit, which provides millions of dollars for the Crow’s economy, expired in December 2013. Daines and Old Coyote both testified

Daines Slams New Fracking Rule As Direct Attack on American Jobs, Energy

March 20, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today blasted the Department of Interior’s new regulations on hydraulic fracturing on federally-owned lands as a direct attack on American jobs and American energy. “The Obama administration is at it again. States like Montana have successfully overseen hydraulic fracturing for years, but once again, the Obama administration seems more set on overregulating our energy industry than promoting the responsible development of our nation’s vast energy resources,” Daines stated. “This top-down regulation is duplicative, burdensome and ultimately, a direct attack on American energy production, critical tax revenue for our schools and communities, and thousands of good-paying jobs across

Daines Outlines Priorities for American Prosperity

March 16, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today delivered his maiden speech on the Senate floor and outlined his priorities as Montana’s new United States Senator. During his speech, Daines discussed the need for state-based solutions to restore economic growth that keeps America safe and secure. Key excerpts from Daines’ speech are below: We are blessed to live in the greatest nation on earth. And it is the solemn responsibility of the United States Senate to do everything in its power to keep it that way.  Washington is more concerned with its own self-interest and self-gain than the well being of the

Daines Calls for Montana Solutions to Land Management, Coal Jobs and Increasing Access to Public Lands

March 4, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today advocated for the Department of Interior to better incorporate Montana-driven solutions in the management of Montana’s public lands, energy resources and wildlife habitats. During this morning’s Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing on the Department of Interior’s fiscal year 2016 budget request, Daines pressed Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to work more collaboratively with Montana in the conservation and management of the state’s sage grouse population. Daines also called for Department funds to be better utilized to expand access to public lands and pushed back against the Department’s recently proposed energy regulations that could have

Daines Statement on Vote to Override President Obama’s Keystone Veto

March 4, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines issued the following statement after the Senate failed to gain enough votes to override President Obama’s veto of the bipartisan Keystone XL pipeline. “It’s disappointing that some of my Democrat Senate colleagues failed to stand with a majority of the Senate and the American people to override the President’s short-sighted veto of the Keystone XL pipeline. Regardless of today’s vote, the fight to build Keystone is not over. I will continue to keep pressure on the Obama administration to approve this pipeline and fight for American jobs, American opportunity and American energy independence.” Last

Daines: Keystone Veto Solidifies President’s War on Jobs, Energy

February 24, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today blasted President Obama’s recent veto of the bipartisan Keystone XL pipeline, condemning the veto as yet another sign of Obama’s “war on energy.” “President Obama is standing firmly against thousands of good-paying American jobs and domestic energy independence,” Daines stated. “Instead of advancing economic opportunity for hardworking Montana families, the President is instead perpetuating his war on energy and standing as a barrier to affordable energy. With one stroke of the pen, President Obama chose political grandstanding over the overwhelming bipartisan approval of Congress and the American people. I will continue to fight

Daines Calls on Obama Administration to Lift Barriers to Montana Energy Production

February 24, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today condemned the Obama administration’s refusal to embrace an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy and called on Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to revise Department of Interior policies that stand in the way of Montana tribes’ ability to develop their coal resources and create good paying jobs. During this morning’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the Interior Department’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016, Daines pressed Jewell to also reduce the bureaucratic overreach limiting new oil and gas permitting in eastern Montana and ensure the state of Montana has primacy in developing and implementing