Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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If there’s one thing Montanans are about, it’s common sense. We work hard, play by the rules and don’t like when Washington elites impose laws that go against what works for Montana. That’s why I fought against President Biden and the Democrats’ attempt to pass their partisan bill to enact a federal takeover of elections every step of the way—because what they were trying to do didn’t make sense, and it’s not what Montanans wanted. In Montana, thanks to the leadership of Governor Greg Gianforte and Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, the M...
Democrats, led by President Biden, Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi, are rushing a reckless $3.5 trillion tax and spending spree bill through Congress that would reshape the very foundation of America and push the U.S. down the path of socialism. The Democrats' massive bill is the largest spending bill in our nation's history and will create all sorts of new entitlement programs. To pay for it, Democrats plan to hike taxes across the board, making this bill the largest tax...
In 1977, President Carter signed a law that required the Forest Service to study 973,000 acres in Montana to determine if they were suitable for wilderness. The findings were to be reported in five years and Congress was to take action afterward. The Forest Service completed the study and determined that several of the study areas in Montana were not suitable for wilderness in its final plan. Thirty-five years later - we’re still waiting for D.C. to get its job done and release the study areas. I’ve introduced the Protect Public Use of Pub...
Montana’s crisis isn’t too much water or hurricanes – it’s fire. It’s smoke filling Big Sky Country and filling our lungs, communities being evacuated, structures lost and tons of fuels just lying on the forest floor waiting for a spark to ignite. In this year alone, over 1,600 fires have burned over 1 million acres in Montana - that’s nearly equivalent to the entirety of the state of Delaware being on fire. We are tired of being told that others know better than us while we watch our forests and grasslands burn every summer, our mills close, o...
Generations of Montanans have cultivated the land and passed family farms and ranches down to their children. Their work has built Montana’s economy and preserved a way of life that still defines our state today. But with the ground cracking underneath us, we are reminded of how fragile this way of life is. As our number one economic driver, Montana agriculture has supported our economy through seasons of plenty and seasons of drought, including physical drought and unseasonable rains. In Montana, we’ve seen them both and our farmers and ranche...
Dear Mr. Fenton [FEMA Administrator]: I understand the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will soon be facilitating a number of listening sessions with tribal governments to solicit Indian tribes’ input in updating the agency’s tribal consultation policy. As you prepare that schedule ahead of the finalization of the renewed policy by August 2017, I ask that you hold at least one of those sessions, if not more, in Montana to ensure Montana tribes’ voices are heard in this process. Montana tribes are all too familiar with natural disas...
It’s an honor to represent Montana in the U.S. Senate and work on your behalf to make our state and nation a better place to live and work. As we gather together during this time of year, I hope that you will join me in thanking the brave servicemen and women who are giving so much to defend our freedoms – for their service and sacrifice we are especially grateful. I just wrapped up my 56 County Tour last week stopping in every Montana County during the 114th Congress. Throughout the tour I heard Montanan's concerns and ideas, I heard abo...
On July 17, 2012, while on patrol with his team in Afghanistan, Bo Reichenbach of Lockwood, who is now a retired Navy SEAL from Team Two, stepped on a 20-pound IED buried in a field. He lost both legs above the knee leaving him a double amputee. The loss of his legs did not stop Bo or slow his determination to excel in life, proven by the fact that he is currently the goalie for the US National Sled Team and will be going to South Korea in 2018 to play hockey for the U.S. in the Paralympics. Bo also coaches his son Landon’s baseball and h...
With the news of Conrad Burns’ passing late last week, Montanans lost a member of the family. From across the state prayers were offered for Phyllis and the Burns family and fond memories were shared. Conrad was a dedicated husband to Phyllis and father to Garrett and Keely. He was an auctioneer, a high school referee, an agriculture broadcaster and founder of Northern Ag Network, a county commissioner, a U.S. Senator and always a U.S. Marine. He loved his family, he loved Montana and he loved his country. And on Thursday, Conrad passed away w...
Made-in-Montana energy means good Montana jobs that on average pay two to three times more than the state average. Montana’s ability to create more good-paying energy jobs is immense – in fact, our state leads the nation in coal deposits. We are the nation’s fifth-largest producer of hydropower, with 23 hydroelectric dams across our state, and fifth in wind energy potential. Montana is at the center stage of the national energy debate and provides the nation a template of a true all-of-the-above energy portfolio – we have coal, natural gas and...
Traveling around our state, from the wheat fields and rolling hills in the east to the jagged snow-covered peaks almost 500 miles to the west, it is easy to understand why our state really is Big Sky Country. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that Montanans in rural communities can easily travel not only across our state, but the region and country as well. Amtrak’s Empire Builder runs approximately 660 miles across Montana and connects 12 rural communities. For the many Montanans who live a long ways from an airport, but live close to a...
As a lifelong sportsman and gun owner, I’m committed to protecting law-abiding Americans’ right to keep and bear arms. And like many Montanans, I know that protecting the Second Amendment isn’t about hunting—it’s about freedom. President Obama started off the new year by unilaterally creating new barriers to purchasing a firearm. His actions are an affront to our Second Amendment rights and a gross abuse of executive power. And like so many times before, President Obama has pursued a “go-it-alone” approach on his gun control agenda. These...
One out of every 10 Montanans is a veteran, which makes Montana home to more veterans per capita than almost any other state in the nation. It is one of my greatest honors to serve Montana’s veterans in Congress. Every one of these men and women have an incredible story to tell from their service – stories that are also part of our nation’s history and our heritage. That’s why the Veterans History Project is so important. My team in Montana is helping to spread awareness of the American Folklife Center’s Veterans History Project across th...
At RightNow Technologies, I helped grow a small software startup into Bozeman’s largest commercial employer, creating hundreds of high-paying Montana jobs along the way. And after spending 28 years in business, I’ve come to know that there are a few principles that are essential for any small Montana business. Hard work and accountability are critical to success. To make a profit and balance a budget, you can’t spend more than you take in. And if you don’t do your job, you don’t get paid. These common sense principles are sorely missing in Wash...