WASHINGTON, May 19 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester yesterday held a hearing with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough and Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) to discuss how the agency's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2024 budget aims to better serve veterans and their families--including millions of newly eligible toxic-exposed veterans  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release on May 16, 2023: As fentanyl continues to devastate Montana communities, U.S. Senator Steve Daines launched a video series highlighting Montanans affected by the fentanyl crisis. Each week, Daines will highlight a video on his social media channels of a Montanan talking about how President Biden's failure to secure the southern border and stop the flow of fentanyl into Montana communities affects them personal  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release and letter: U.S. Senators Mike Crapo, Jim Risch (both R-Idaho), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota) and Steve Daines (R-Montana) wrote the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) urging it to withdraw its proposed Public Lands Rule. The senators stressed the negative impact the proposal would have on western states, including Idaho, North Dakota, and Montana, as the rule would undermine the multiple use requirements established   more

WASHINGTON, May 12 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines and 28 of his Senate Republican colleagues today introduced the "Back the Blue Act," which would increase penalties for criminals who target Montana law enforcement officers and provide new tools for officers to protect themselves. "An attack on law enforcement is not only an attack on the Montana men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect us, but an attack o  more

WASHINGTON, May 19 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release on May 18, 2023: U.S. Senator Steve Daines, Congressmen Ryan Zinke (MT-01) and Matt Rosendale (MT-02) today introduced a bicameral bill to ensure Montana veterans' access to mental health care in their local communities. "The VA's mission is to 'care for those who have served in our nation's military,' that means ensuring our brave Montana veterans have access to the highest quality of care no matter where th  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news on May 16, 2023: Following sustained pressure from U.S. Senator Jon Tester, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced a modified contract agreement with Oracle Cerner on the Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program. To deliver VA medical staff and veterans a safer and better functioning electronic health record, the renegotiated contract inc  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on May 16, 2023: Following sustained pressure from U.S. Senator Jon Tester, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced a modified contract agreement with Oracle Cerner on the Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program. To deliver VA medical staff and veterans a safer and better functioning electronic health record, the renegotiated contract increases accountability and penalties across a  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, issued the following news release on May 15, 2023: Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) led a group of 14 senators in pressing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to withdraw its proposed Public Lands Rule. The senators stressed the negative impact the proposal would have on western states, including North Dakota and Montana, as the rule would undermine the multiple use requirements established by Congress and lock away  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York, issued the following news release: U.S. Representatives Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Steve Daines (R-Montana) and Angus King (I-Maine) introduced the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps Service Recognition Act, a bill honoring women who served in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps during WWII with honorary ve  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following news release and letter: U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) wrote the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) urging it to withdraw its proposed Public Lands Rule. The senators stressed the negative impact the proposal would have on western states, including Idaho, North Dakota, and Montana, as the rule would undermine the multiple use requirements established by   more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on May 17, 2023: As a part of his longtime effort to find a permanent fix to the 2015 Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. U.S. Forest Service (Cottonwood) decision, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today joined legislation to cut bureaucratic red tape and improve science-based resource management in Montana's forests. "Healthy forests and wildlife habitats are critical to supporting thousands of good paying Montana j  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: As part of his continued efforts to support law enforcement officers and keep Montana communities safe, U.S. Senator Jon Tester will lead a bipartisan resolution marking National Police Week and reiterating support for the men and women in law enforcement. Tester's resolution designates the week of May 14 through May 20, 2023, as "National Police Week," honors 443 officers killed in the line of duty, and expre  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester this week blasted his colleagues for jeopardizing American national security by threatening to default on the nation's debt, and pressed Biden officials on the national security risk posed by foreign ownership of farmland. During the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Tester called out his colleagues in Congress who have expressed a willingness to default on the nation's debt, and  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: In his continued push to hold executives accountable in the wake of recent bank failures, U.S. Senator Jon Tester on Tuesday pressed former Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) CEO Greg Becker on the bank managements' risky behavior and failure to prevent a collapse. Tester began his line of questioning by asking Becker point-blank about his failure to prevent the collapse of SVB: "Mr. Becker, if you couldn't see the rea  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on May 16, 2023: U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Mike Braun (R-IN) today introduced their bipartisan Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act to lower drug costs and prevent massive Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) from price gouging consumers. The Senators' bill would prohibit PBMs from making more money on high-cost drugs than they do from lower-cost drugs   more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Steve Daines (R-Montana) and Angus King (I-Maine) and U.S. Representatives Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) reintroduced the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps Service Recognition Act, a bill honoring women who served in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps during WWII with  more