Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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The fourth Saturday in September marks a national day of recognition for two things Montanans already value every day: National Public Lands Day and National Hunting and Fishing Day. As Montanans, hunting, fishing and access to public lands is part of who we are. It is the lifeblood of our economy, and public lands are where many of us create the memories we cherish with our families. As your Congressman and Secretary of the Interior, I led the charge against the sale or transfer of public lands. I was often the lone Republican voice in the...
Note: The following text is Congressman Zinke’s full opening statement for the Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 18. As a son of a plumber and a kid who grew up in a small timber and railroad town next to Glacier National Park in Montana, I am humbled to be the President-elect’s designee for Secretary of the Interior. I am also humbled because of the great responsibility the position holds to be the steward of majestic public lands, the champion of our great Indian nations, and the manager and voice of our diverse wildlife. Upfront, I am an...
As a 23-year U.S. military Commander, I’ve always been mission-focused, and no mission is too big or too small to take on with everything I have. Whether it’s hunting terrorists in the Middle East, winterizing the house, or fighting for Montana in Congress, I always take the same mission-critical approach as your Representative in Congress. For the past 22 months, you’ve tasked me with the mission to strengthen Montana’s voice in Congress. It’s no secret that Montana priorities were being ignored. Before you sent me to Congress, we didn’t ha...
On September 11, 2001, the world changed forever when nineteen radical Islamic terrorists hijacked commercial jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. These cowardly attacks killed 2,977 innocent civilians and hundreds of first responders. In the fifteen years since the attacks, nearly 5,000 troops have made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation in the Global War on Terror.While America suffered a great loss and was pushed to her limits, we came out stronger as a nation – a nation whose...
Note: Congressman Zinke will debate House candidate and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau at Frazer School on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. The event is open to the public. A couple weeks ago, my good friend, Congressman Trey Gowdy visited Montana. I shared with him the history of our logging and mining industries. Explained how agriculture is not monolithic in our state, and talked about tourism in the west and coal, oil and gas in the east. So after about 450 miles of windshield time, around 1:30 a.m. he said to me, “Ryan, M...
I’m excited to announce that for the first time ever, there will be two House debates east of Billings. My opponent has accepted a series of four debates in Billings, Great Falls, Frazer and hopefully Crow Country. This schedule features two east of Billings and on reservations. This will truly be a historic season. To me, the Frazer debate will be like a homecoming. I grew up in Whitefish, but I have deep family roots in eastern Montana. I know that the rural communities in the east are just as important as Billings, Great Falls, and other u...
Over the past month, I had the honor and privilege of recognizing more than 1,200 Montanans who served in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam War at special pinning ceremonies. (Date and location for Glasgow/Fort Peck area coming soon) Many of these events we chose to host at the veterans memorials because we wanted to share the moment with those we have lost. These memorials are places to remember our brothers and sisters who have fallen in defense of our nation, to celebrate the lives of our veterans, and to bring the tight-knit community of...
I draw a lot from my 23 years of military service. During that time I have known and served with many of our nation’s finest. However, some of the strongest men and women I have ever known have fallen on hard times and contemplated or committed suicide. It can happen to anyone. Many folks are familiar with the statistic that 22 American veterans take their own lives every day, but I wonder how many know that this crisis is much more far reaching. Montana leads the United States in suicides per capita. Suicides affect every aspect of our l...
Earlier this week, the Natural Resources Committee voted on a series of bills, two of which dealt with public lands. The first piece was an outright transfer of federal lands. The second piece dealt with establishing a land management pilot program. I have said this before, and will say this again: I do not support selling and transferring ownership of Montana’s public lands. Anyone who says otherwise, whether they are knowingly lying to promote themselves, or unaware of the actual votes, is wrong. I was the only Republican to vote against m...
Since the first battles at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, American men and women have laid down their lives for something larger than themselves. When the first Memorial Day was celebrated in 1868, our nation remembered the nearly 750,000 Americans who died in a war that shaped our destiny and defined its character. From WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the fights for freedom and peace from terrorism around the globe, the American troops have been a beacon of hope and a symbol of freedom and liberty from oppression for those who would...
You sent me to Washington with a long list of Montana priorities. After about a year in the House, I’m happy to say we’ve accomplished a lot. My bill, the Resilient Federal Forests Act, passed the House with bipartisan support and was the first forest reform bill to pass any chamber of Congress in a decade. We passed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act, which rolls back common core and puts more control at the local level. And, we finally lifted the Cold War-era ban on exporting oil – a critical accomplishment for energy growth and natio...
Terrorism-related deaths are up 800 percent in the past five years according to a new report. That’s nearly 30,000 people who are killed per year by terrorists. While suicide bombers and gunmen have been killing civilians around the globe almost constantly, it was last week’s coordinated terrorist attacks by ISIS in Brussels that violently shook the world awake. I believe in the power of prayer for the victims and their families, but I also believe in the power of U.S. leadership against this evil. It’s time for the U.S. to get serious about...
The recent and unexpected death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia sent shockwaves across our nation. I was floored when I heard the news. Although I had only met Justice Antonin Scalia once, his legacy will have a lasting impact on me. Scalia’s longtime “best buddy,” liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg paid tribute to him perfectly: “He was a jurist of captivating brilliance and wit.” Scalia was a steadfast supporter of the Constitution who made principled decisions based upon what is in the text rather than what he wished was writt...
Montana and other Western states are blessed with some of the most expansive grasslands on earth, which are optimal for grazing cattle. East and west coast residents do not understand what it takes to care for a ranch; they do not realize the bureaucratic burdens, and they do not care about the costs ranchers pay to stay in compliance. Frankly, they do not understand Montana, but that does not stop them from meddling. Too many unelected Washington bureaucrats who only think Glasgow is a city in Scotland and Malta is a country in the...
Last week, in two separate stings in Texas and California, the FBI arrested two Iraqi refugees for connections to terrorism. These individuals were screened in accordance with the Obama Administration’s “rigorous” vetting standards, which include interviews, fingerprinting and running refugees’ names against databases. It didn’t work. As I have long warned, these individuals cannot be properly vetted because such counter-terrorism databases simply do not exist in the nations the refugees are emigrating from. Back in November, I introduce...
Before Thanksgiving we had a hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee about the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). When talking with my colleagues from all over the country about LWCF, I ask them to imagine America without iconic national parks like Rocky Mountain, Grand Canyon, Acadia and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. All of those parks were created by the LWCF. Since Americans first set eyes on the natural beauty of our country, it has been one of our shared values that those lands must be cherished and that...
Montana has a strong military tradition unparalleled by almost any other state in the nation. Nearly 1-in-10 of us hears the call to serve in the armed forces, and in the sovereign nations the warrior spirit is even stronger. Last month, I visited Wolf Point and spent time with the family of Michael Bell, a young man from the Fort Peck Tribes who was also a Navy SEAL. Surrounded by friends, family and officials from tribes as far away as North Dakota, I helped honor Michael with a memorial service and Naval ceremony. I knew Michael as his...
