WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: President Trump signed Senator Daines' bipartisan bill giving greater flexibility under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to support and provide more relief for Montana's small businesses and workers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. "The Paycheck Protection Program has already been very effective in Montana, and now with President Trump signing my bipartisan bill increasing flexibility for small bus  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, issued the following news release: Congressman Greg Gianforte recognized Todd Spangler of Whitefish with his Spirit of Montana commendation for providing his community with personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 outbreak. Using the design and open-source software from the developers of the "Montana Mask," Todd, a chemistry teacher at Whitefish High School, contacted people he knew with 3D printers. In no time, a group of educator  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced Montana will receive $360,187 from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to prepare for the upcoming flu season, given the increased risk of COVID-19. "As we continue to invest in efforts to develop life-saving drugs to treat and prevent COVID-19, we must also prepare for the upcoming flu season in the fall," Daines said. "I'm glad to have secured this funding to help prot  more

WASHINGTON, June 4 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced that Montana will be receiving an additional $1,215,034 from the CARES Act to support hospitals and other health care entities to train workforces, expand telemedicine, obtain supplies and equipment, and assist in the coordination of local health care facilities across Montana in response to COVID-19. "This funding is critical for Montana hospitals and healthcare facilitie  more

WASHINGTON, June 4 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: At a U.S. Senate Finance Hearing with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Senator Steve Daines stressed the need to end the nation's reliance on China and other nations and bring critical life-saving drugs and medical supply equipment jobs back to the U.S. "It's long overdue we end our reliance on China to produce our medical supply equipment like PPE as well as life-saving drugs. Over 70 percent of  more

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines sent a bipartisan letter to Senate Leadership to provide additional funding for Community Health Centers in the next COVID-19 funding package. "We write to express our support for additional emergency funding for community health centers in the next COVID-19 relief package. Community health centers are vital to our response to the coronavirus pandemic and need appropriate funding to  more

WASHINGTON, June 4 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines secured Senate passage of his bipartisan bill giving greater flexibility for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to support and provide more relief for Montana's small businesses and workers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The bipartisan bill now heads to President Trump's desk to be signed into law. "I'm glad to have secured passage of my bipartisan bill to increase flexibi  more

WASHINGTON, June 3 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced that the U.S. Senate will be voting on his bipartisan bill, the Great American Outdoors Act, in June. Daines' bill requires full, mandatory funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and helps address the national park maintenance backlog. Here's what Montana and national conservation leaders and stakeholders are saying about Daines successful efforts to deliver  more

WASHINGTON, June 3 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Tester announced $227,000 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds for Montana State University's Montana Manufacturing Extension Center (MMEC), which will support Montana-based small- and medium sized manufacturers, including rural manufacturers, to prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Montana's rural manufacturers play a critical role in our state's healt  more

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. John Tester, D-Montana, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news release on June 5: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Jon Tester is backing bipartisan legislation to strengthen Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) services for homeless veterans, and spearheading an effort to expand testing capabilities for this vulnerable population during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis has affected tens  more

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on June 5: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Jon Tester is backing bipartisan legislation to strengthen Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) services for homeless veterans, and spearheading an effort to expand testing capabilities for this vulnerable population during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis has affected tens of thousands of homeless veterans as shelters have closed and funding  more

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester is demanding more support for Montana's critical community health centers (CHCs) to help them respond to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. In a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Tester and a bipartisan group of his Senate colleagues wrote that CHCs face a $7.6 billion budget shortfall in the coming months, and called for additional funding for CHCs to be included in the next cor  more

WASHINGTON, June 4 -- Sen. John Tester, D-Montana, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, led a committee hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal years. Tester also addressed unused supplemental funding meant for VA's COVID-19 response efforts under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Secur  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, today led a committee hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal years. Tester also addressed unused supplemental funding meant for VA's COVID-19 response efforts under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. At the hearing, Tester pressed VA Secretary Ro  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: As part of his ongoing efforts to safeguard high-risk Montanans from coronavirus, U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced that the Treasure State will receive $6,742,481 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic among homeless individuals and families. "Montanans have proven that when it comes to preventing the spread of corona  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on June 4: U.S. Senator Jon Tester backed legislation expanding flexibility for the Paycheck Protection Program, which has provided relief to 22,124 Montana small businesses hurting from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The bill passed the Senate unanimously. "Montana's main street businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic, and I'm hopeful this legislation improving the Paycheck Protection Program w  more

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on June 5: U.S. Senator Jon Tester, a senior member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Committee Chairman Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) strongly urged U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to immediately make use of $50 million in Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) purchasing funds to ensure food security in Indian Country. The FDPIR provides U.S. Department of Agriculture (USD  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. John Tester, D-Montana, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news release: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Jon Tester and his colleagues are spearheading bipartisan, bicameral legislation to address the increasing number of veteran unemployment during the COVID-crisis. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the veteran unemployment rate across the country has risen exponentially--from 3.1 percent i  more

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Jon Tester and his colleagues are spearheading bipartisan, bicameral legislation to address the increasing number of veteran unemployment during the COVID-crisis. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the veteran unemployment rate across the country has risen exponentially--from 3.1 percent in 2019 to 11 percent in April 2020. To help curb the alarming increase  more