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Tag: Indian Affairs

Daines Introduces Bill to Roll Back EPA Regs

May 13, 2015

“A War on Coal is a War on the Crow People” WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today joined a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce legislation that ensures Montanans have access to affordable energy and protects good-paying coal jobs. Daines is an original cosponsor of The Affordable Reliable Energy Now Act (ARENA), which holds the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accountable and protects states’ rights by requiring the EPA to demonstrate how their proposed regulations could impact each state. This legislation preempts the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan, set to be released this summer, which could shutter Montana’s coal-fired power

Daines Slams EPA Administrator on Job-Killing Coal Plan

April 29, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today slammed Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy for pushing forward new EPA carbon regulations without fully consulting affected states and tribes or addressing the plan’s detrimental impacts on coal production and jobs in Montana. During today’s Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Daines emphasized Montanans’ concerns that the EPA’s proposed “Clean Power Plan”  could shutter the state’s coal-fired power plants and hinder Montana tribes’ and the state’s abilities to develop their coal resources. Daines also pressed McCarthy on the EPA’s failure to take into account how allowing State Implementation Plans under

Tester, Daines introduce Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act

April 29, 2015

(U.S. Senate) – Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines introduced legislation to finalize a decades-old water rights settlement for the Blackfeet tribe. The Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act will resolve all claims to water rights on the Blackfeet Reservation and ensure access to reliable and clean water for the communities within the Reservation, as well as farms, ranches, and businesses in the surrounding area. “Folks in Montana came together, worked out their differences, and built this agreement that has earned bipartisan support,” Tester said, Vice Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.  “The Blackfeet Tribe has waited too long.  It’s time for Congress to honor

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, Tester push Little Shell Recognition Bill through committee

March 18, 2015

Senate Indian Affairs Committee passes legislation to federally recognize Little Shell (U.S. SENATE) — Montana Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester today helped advance their bill to grant federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. The Little Shell Tribe, headquartered in Great Falls, was recognized by the State of Montana in 2000, but has sought federal recognition for over 35 years.  Both Tester and Daines applauded this important first step in getting the tribe federally recognized. “For far too long, the Little Shell Tribe has jumped through bureaucratic hoops and

Daines Fights for Tribal Needs at Three Senate Hearings

March 11, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today fought for Montana’s tribes, pressing Obama administration witnesses on the responsible stewardship of federal funds to benefit tribal housing, health services and public safety. During three different Senate Committee hearings today, Daines called on witnesses to ensure that federal dollars intended for Montana’s tribes are being properly allocated to help tribal members on Montana’s reservations, rather than being misused or creating bureaucratic waste. Daines sought to rein in exorbitant administrative costs at Indian Health Service (IHS), ensure efficient allocation of tribal housing resources and address the communications challenges facing first responders on reservations and

Daines Calls for Prioritized Funding for Tribal Water Projects

March 4, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines is working to ensure that Montana tribes have the resources they need to maintain irrigation projects on Montana reservations. During today’s Senate Indian Affairs Committee legislative hearing on S. 438, the Irrigation Rehabilitation and Renovation for Indian Tribal Governments and Their Economies Act (IRRIGATE Act), Daines stressed the importance of fixing the maintenance backlog issues facing a number of irrigation projects throughout Indian Country, including five in Montana. Daines also reiterated his support for funding additional authorized rural water projects through the Bureau of Reclamation, including those on the Fort Peck and Rocky Boy

Daines: BIA Dollars Should Support Tribes, Not Bureaucracy

February 24, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today called on the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to prioritize Montana tribes’ interests in the agency’s fiscal year 2016 budget request and ensure that federal dollars are being better used to support tribes’ needs – not spent on bureaucracy. During today’s Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on the President’s FY2016 budget request for Indian programs, Daines pressed BIA witnesses to increase the agency’s efforts to promote tribal sovereignty and provide tribes with greater primacy in the management of local health care provided by Indian Health Services. “Montana’s tribes must be empowered to drive