WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: Following a years-long effort from U.S. Senator Jon Tester, the United States and Canada today announced a Joint Reference to the International Joint Commission (IJC) instructing an Independent Governing Body to investigate pollution in the Kootenai Watershed. The pollution is caused by mining in Canada. Tester has been Montana's most vocal advocate for a fix to the problem, and first called on the State Dep  more

WASHINGTON, March 9 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: Following years of successful legislative efforts in Congress to update Malmstrom Air Force Base's aging helicopter fleet, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today attended the official Homecoming Ceremony for new MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopters at Malmstrom. Tester officially announced the delivery of the new helicopters in February. For years, Tester has fought tirelessly to secure new helicopters for Malmstrom--a critic  more

WASHINGTON, March 16 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on March 15, 2024: Continuing his longstanding efforts to support Montana law enforcement and ensure they have the resources needed to keep communities safe, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today held a roundtable discussion with Flathead law enforcement officials in Kalispell to discuss crime prevention, fentanyl trafficking, and border security efforts. "Montana law enforcement officers put their lives on the line   more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, issued the following news release on March 13, 2024: Today, Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02), took to the House Floor to recognize and congratulate Nathan Keane who recently got elected as Secretary of the National Association of Wheat Growers. You can watch his full speech by clicking the picture below: "Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Nathan Keane, a remarkable Montanan who has dedicated his life to serving an  more

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, issued the following news release: Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02), released the following statement after Pyramid Mountain Lumber, Inc. in Seeley Lake, Montana, announced its intentions to shut down after operating for 75 years. "I am truly saddened to hear the news that Pyramid Mountain Lumber plans to close its facility in Seely Lake," said Rep. Rosendale. "I have visited there and witnessed the family environment and dedication to  more

WASHINGTON, March 11 -- Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, issued the following news release: Today, Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02), released the following statement after President Biden revealed his budget for FY2025: "In typical D.C. Cartel fashion, Biden released his budget for FY2025 over a month past the First Monday in February deadline that was set in the Congressional Budget Act," said Rep. Rosendale. "Joe Biden voted for the Congressional Budget Act when it passed the Senate in 1973  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, issued the following statement on March 11, 2024: * * * Congressman Ryan Zinke released the following statement after the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act into law. The bill includes Zinke's request for almost $35 million directly to 12 separate Western Montana infrastructure, rural development, and public safety projects. The bill text and explanatory statements released are FY24 funding measures for the Appropriations S  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, issued the following statement on March 13, 2024: * * * Today, Congressman Ryan Zinke released the following statement after voting in support of legislation to prevent foreign adversaries from owning social media companies in the United States. This bipartisan legislation passed the House by a vote of 352 to 65. "Today I voted to ban the Chinese Communist Party from owning and operating TikTok in the United States," Zinke said. "The bill d  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines, Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02), Senator Jon Tester, and Congressman Ryan Zinke (MT-01), sent a letter to Senate and House leadership in support of legislation that would rename the VA Outpatient Clinic in Butte, MT, in honor of Charlie Dowd, Montana's last Pearl Harbor survivor who passed away in March 2023.  "We write to you today in support of S. 2385, a bill to rename t  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: Continuing his efforts to ensure Montanans' freedom to make their own personal health care decisions, U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, is backing legislation to protect veterans and servicemembers' access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other family-building assistance. The Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2023 would protect and expand the fertility trea  more

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester congratulates Billings' Tobias Ottenbacher on his appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy. Ottenbacher attends Rocky Mountain College and is a member of the Army ROTC. He attended Shepherd High School where he was the president of National Honor Society and Business Professionals of America (BPA). He participated in football, track and field, golf, and was the president of the bowli  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester congratulates Bozeman's Pi Taylor on his appointment to West Point. Taylor attends Bozeman High School, where he is the captain of the wrestling team and a standout lacrosse player, competing for four state championships between both sports. He attended Montana Boys State in 2023 and was elected governor of the program. "Montanans have a proud history of serving in our armed forces,   more

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester congratulates Sheridan's Alicia Dale on her appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy. Dale attends Twin Bridges High School where she competed in basketball and cross country, and was named to All-State teams for both sports. She also served as a Congressional Page in the Montana House of Representatives and was the treasurer, secretary, and vice president of her 4-H chapter. "Monta  more

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: As part of his continued work to bolster rural health care and go to bat for Montana kids, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today introduced his Nurses for Under-Resourced Schools Everywhere (NURSE) Act to help rural and underserved Montana schools hire more school nurses and increase student access to care. "Every day, our school nurses provide vital care to our students - and oftentimes these school nurses are the   more

WASHINGTON, March 16 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on March 15, 2024: U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) recently introduced the Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill to standardize the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Security Clearance Process which is used by transportation workers nationwide. Applicants often have to apply multiple redundant  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on March 13, 2024: At the last of three joint Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearings with the nation's leading Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) today, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester spoke with leaders of The American Legion about his legislative effort to hold predatory claims sharks looking to exploit veterans seeking assistance with their benefits accountable, incl  more

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, teamed up with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to introduce bipartisan legislation to expand research on birth defects among descendants of toxic-exposed veterans. Named after a Montanan with spina bifida, a condition related to her father's exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, the Senators' Molly R. Loomis Research for   more

WASHINGTON, March 16 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: Following years of legislative efforts and his work to hold himself to heightened ethical standards to promote transparency and accountability in government, U.S. Senator Jon Tester was awarded the inaugural Ethics and Transparency Trailblazer Award from End Citizens United - a leading grassroots organization fighting to protect democracy, crackdown on corruption in government, and get big money out of politi  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on March 12, 2024: As part of his continued focus on addressing accessible housing shortages across Montana, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today questioned policy experts during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on the most effective ways for the federal government to bring down costs and boost the supply of housing in rural communities. During his remarks, Tester emphasized that he frequently hears about challeng  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on March 11, 2024: U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced today that he has received the 2024 Rural Health Champion Award from the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). Each year, NRHA presents this award to one Senator and one Representative to showcase champions working to addressing the most pressing health care issues in rural communities. The NRHA named Tester as the recipient of this annual award citing  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on March 12, 2024: As a direct result of his bipartisan infrastructure law, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today secured $24,000,000 to update the Highway 200 corridor to improve connections between Missoula and East Missoula. This corridor is an outdated rural highway with a history of severe and fatal crashes. Tester secured this grant through his Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Tester worked with f  more

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: As part of his continued efforts to defend Montana and honor the commitment we've made to our nation's veterans, U.S. Senator Jon Tester secured major victories for Montana in a package of annual government funding appropriations bills that passed the U.S. Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. Tester voted to pass a bipartisan package of appropriations bills that will keep several agencies, including   more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release on March 12, 2024: As a direct result of his bipartisan infrastructure law, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today secured $74,872,287 to reconstruct US 93 from south of Kicking Horse Road to Brooke Lane to provide two-travel lanes, a multimodal path, wildlife fencing, new bridges, and wildlife undercrossings. This funding comes from the Neighborhood Access and Equity (NAE) program, which Tester established through his  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news: Continuing his efforts to ensure Montanans' freedom to make their own personal health care decisions, U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, is backing legislation to protect veterans and servicemembers' access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other family-building assistance. The Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2023  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news on March 13, 2024: At the last of three joint Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearings with the nation's leading Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) today, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester spoke with leaders of The American Legion about his legislative effort to hold predatory claims sharks looking to exploit veterans seeking assi  more

WASHINGTON, March 16 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news: U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) are teaming up to introduce bipartisan legislation to expand research on birth defects among descendants of toxic-exposed veterans. Named after the daughter of a toxic-exposed veteran battling spina bifida, a condition related to her father's  more