WASHINGTON, June 7 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: After a sustained push for transparency from U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Montanans can finally access increasingly accurate maps of their own high-speed internet coverage. Montanans will be able to use a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) map with up-to-date information on what entity covers their home and the services provided. Montanans can report inaccurate information directly to the FCC. Tester secured   more

WASHINGTON, June 8 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following remarks on June 7, 2023: * * * As the East Coast gets a taste of wildfire season with skies filling with smoke from Canadian wildfires, U.S. Senator Steve Daines today delivered remarks at the weekly Republican Senate Leadership press conference calling for the passage of his bill to reverse the disastrous 9th Circuit Cottonwood decision to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. "If you woke up in Washington D.C., th  more

WASHINGTON, June 9 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: In his continued effort to support veterans across rural America, Chairman Jon Tester led a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing yesterday where he pushed officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve access to quality long-term care. "The Veteran Directed Care [VDC] program provides veterans the opportunity to receive long-term car  more

WASHINGTON, June 9 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news on June 8, 2023: In his continued effort to support veterans across rural America, Chairman Jon Tester led a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing yesterday where he pushed officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve access to quality long-term care. "The Veteran Directed Care [VDC] progra  more

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on June 5, 2023: As part of his continued efforts to hold executives accountable in the wake of recent bank failures, U.S. Senator Jon Tester is backing the bipartisan Bank Management Accountability Act - legislation that would empower federal regulators to claw back compensation from failed bank executives and ban responsible bank leadership from future participation in the financial industry for at least two y  more

WASHINGTON, June 9 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on June 8, 2023: U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) have introduced the Water and Agriculture Tax Reform (WATER) Act. The bipartisan legislation reforms outdated tax provisions hindering investment in important infrastructure advances. Co-sponsors of the WATER Act include U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Montana), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) and John Barrasso (R-Wy  more

WASHINGTON, June 10 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch (both R-Idaho) joined Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Steve Daines (R-Montana) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in introducing the Judicial Efficiency Improvement Act of 2023, a bill that would split the massively overburdened Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and create a new Twelfth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to the split, the legislation would codify the Judicia  more

WASHINGTON, June 9 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release on June 8, 2023: U.S. Senator Steve Daines today called attention to the serious threat of wildfires as smoke covers East Coast skies and highlighted the importance of passing his full and permanent fix for the 9th Circuit Cottonwood decision. Click HERE [link at bottom] to download his remarks. Daines: When you woke up this morning in Washington, you might have opened your windows up and heard the birds cou  more

WASHINGTON, June 8 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release and letter on June 7, 2023: U.S. Senator Steve Daines today sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding answers on the Pentagon's policy pertaining to drag shows on military bases. "On March 31, 2023, I wrote your office because I was alarmed to find out a 'Drag Story Hour' for children was held on Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana...There was no indication in your department's  more

WASHINGTON, June 10 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release and letter on June 9, 2023: U.S. Senator Steve Daines today sent a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to urge the agency to expeditiously review SkyWest Charter's (SWC) application for commuter authority. Rural Montana relies on small community air service to connect them with the rest of the state and nation. SWC's application has sat unresolved at the agency for over a year. It is past time fo  more

WASHINGTON, June 9 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release and letter: U.S. Senator Steve Daines and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul today sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on the State Department to deem Marc Fogel as wrongfully detained and prioritize securing his release from Russia. Mr. Fogel has family in Montana and is currently serving a 12-year sentence of hard labor in a Russian prison for possessing medically prescrib  more

WASHINGTON, June 10 -- Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, issued the following news release on June 9, 2023, and a letter: Today, Western Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke requested the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Executive Assistant Commissioner Pete Flores to expand hours of operation at ports of entry in Montana and other northern states to, at a minimum, match the operating hours with their adjacent Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) ports. Zinke and his colleagues also asked CBP to   more

WASHINGTON, June 10 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Jim Risch AND Mike Crapo (both R-Idaho) joined Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Steve Daines (R-Montana) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in introducing the Judicial Efficiency Improvement Act of 2023, a bill that would split the massively overburdened Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and create a new Twelfth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to the split, the legislation would codify the Judici  more

WASHINGTON, June 7 -- Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, issued the following news release on June 6, 2023: Yesterday, Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02) introduced a bill that would ban the Department of Defense from using taxpayer funds to host or support adult cabaret performances. "Anything that does not help our troops be the most effective fighting force on earth is a distraction and a waste of resources," said Rep. Rosendale. "Drag performances on our military bases are another example of   more

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, issued the following news release and letter on June 5, 2023: Today, Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02) sent a letter to VA Undersecretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal demanding answers on the Department's promotion of the Missoula PRIDE Parade. "This is yet another example of the VA promoting woke identity politics that do nothing to help veterans," said Rep. Rosendale. "It bewilders me that the Department finds it appropriate to allow f  more

WASHINGTON, June 9 -- Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, issued the following news release on June 8, 2023, and a letter: Today, Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02), Senator Steve Daines (MT), and Congressman Ryan Zinke (MT-01) sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning demanding answers as to why the BLM is not offering any parcels in Montana for the lease sale in June, despite the congressionally mandated quarterly requi  more

WASHINGTON, June 7 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news on June 6, 2023: U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, today introduced a bipartisan resolution marking September 20th as National Service Dog Day in honor of service dogs across the country. "Service dogs play an incredible role in helping folks--especially our nation's vete  more

WASHINGTON, June 9 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) are introducing bipartisan legislation to expand the VetSuccess on Campus (VSOC) program for veterans nationwide who are pursuing higher education. The Senators' Ensuring VetSuccess On Campus Act of 2023 would ensure at least one VSOC counselor is located at a highe  more

WASHINGTON, June 7 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release and a letter: In his continued effort to support firefighters and increase wildfire protection and preparedness, U.S. Senator Jon Tester led a bipartisan group of Western Senators in urging the Senate Committee that controls firefighter policy to consider long-term solutions to recruit and retain wildland firefighters. In their letter, the Senators stress the importance of acting before short-term pay increases   more

WASHINGTON, June 8 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release and letter on June 7, 2023: Continuing his aggressive push to fully reopen the northern border and resume full trade and commerce with Canada, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today led a bipartisan letter to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pressing the agency to return the hours of operations at northern ports of entry to pre-pandemic hours or, at minimum, match the operating hours of Canadian ports. "As M  more

WASHINGTON, June 9 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on June 8, 2023: In his continued push to ensure Montana communities have access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet connectivity, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today secured $119.9 million through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to build out high-speed internet to 61,000 locations across the state. This funding comes from ARPA's Capital Projects Fund, which prioritizes building out internet infrastructure  more

WASHINGTON, June 8 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on June 7, 2023: U.S. Senator Jon Tester's bill to establish the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies today passed through the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, clearing a key hurdle and is now headed to the Senate floor. Tester's bill would create a five-member Truth and Healing Commission, a 19-member Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, a 17-member Federal Truth a  more

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release and a letter: As part of his continued efforts to defend America's national security and lower costs by easing pressures on our supply chains, U.S. Senator Jon Tester joined 46 of his colleagues on a bipartisan letter urging the Biden Administration to nullify a Department of Energy (DOE) rule that would make it harder for manufacturers to meet current demand for distribution transformers. Tester's bipartisan l  more

WASHINGTON, June 9 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on June 8, 2023: As part of their continued efforts to counter China and stand up for American farmers and agricultural producers, U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) today introduced their bipartisan China Trade Cheating Restitution Act to ensure that agricultural sectors most affected by China's evasion on anti-du  more

WASHINGTON, June 7 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on June 6, 2023: U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, today introduced a bipartisan resolution marking September 20th as National Service Dog Day in honor of service dogs across the country. "Service dogs play an incredible role in helping folks--especially our nation's veterans--heal wounds both seen and unseen," sai  more