WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced that the United States Treasury Department has finally provided Montana with $1.25 billion in funds for the State-Local Coronavirus Relief fund for the state of Montana. "Communities across Montana are in need of this critical support, and these funds will help our frontline workers combating the virus keep our communities safe," said Tester. "With this pandemic, proper prep  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced that Montana will receive more than $5.5 million in coronavirus relief to support senior citizens and folks with disabilities across the state. The $5,524,714 in Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds will provide grants for home-delivered meals, caregiver support, Centers for Independent Living, and other supportive services for seniors and Monta  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: After pressure from U.S. Senator Jon Tester, the U.S. Treasury Department expanded eligibility for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to include Tribal gaming enterprises and all taverns, casinos, and bars with fewer than 500 employees. Tester pushed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza to amend the rule to include business that are essential to Montana's econ  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: As local governments lose revenue in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak, U.S. Senator Jon Tester is pushing for a permanent fix for two programs that provide critical funding for rural Montana counties. Tester and a bipartisan group of his colleagues wrote a letter to Senate leadership calling for a long-term funding solution for two programs that provide counties with funding for essential services--Payments  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) released the following joint statement after the Treasury Department and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clarified that eligible veterans who do not file income taxes will receive their stimulus checks: "We're glad that the Treasury Department answered our call to provide veterans and survivors--  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, issued the following news release: Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) recently recognized Dan Ohl of Malta with his Spirit of Montana commendation for going above and beyond the call of duty by personally flying life-saving blood platelets to his local hospital. In December 2019, Phillips County Hospital contacted Montana Highway Patrol for help getting blood from Great Falls to their clinic in Malta. When a plan for delivery didn't com  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, issued the following news release on April 23: Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) spoke on the House floor in support of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as a lifeline to Montana small businesses and workers. Later today, Gianforte will vote for the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act which increases funding for the PPP, supports hospitals and health care providers, and expands COVID-19 testing. "I rise tod  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, issued the following news release: Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) urged officials in the Trump administration and leaders of the House Agriculture Committee to promote and protect Montana beef producers. Gianforte's efforts focused on investigating the beef industry for anti-competitive practices that disadvantage and harm producers as well as improving "Product of USA" labeling. First, Gianforte asked U.S. Agriculture (USDA) Secre  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, issued the following news release on April 24: Congressman Greg Gianforte and U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced that Montana's 2,400 bars and taverns which employ 40,000 Montanans are now eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides $350 billion in 100 percent forgivable loans (grants) to small businesses impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic if they maintain or rehire their employees. "Small businesses across Montana hav  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced that $3,457,033 will be directed to the Montana Board of Crime Control and $47,182 to Lewis and Clark County to help law enforcement respond to a potential increase of crime that may occur following the Coronavirus outbreak. "This funding will play a critical role to ensure our law enforcement on the front lines have the resources they need to protect our communities dur  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release on April 23: U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced $2.5 million will be directed to the University of Montana to begin COVID-19 vaccine development. "Well I'm here at the University of Montana in Missoula today. We have some exciting news. The NIH, the National Institute of Health, just announced a $2.5 million grant for this university that allows our scientists here in Missoula to accelerate the development  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release on April 21: U.S. Senator Steve Daines secured a boost of over $480 billion in funding for testing, hospitals, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) to provide more relief for Montana small businesses, workers, families and healthcare professionals in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. This is not Phase Four of Congress' response to the coronavirus outbr  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced that $5,524,715 will be directed to Montana to fund programs that provide home-delivered meals, care services in the home, respite care and other support services to help meet the needs of older Montanans and individuals with disabilities during the COVID-19 emergency. "This is about ensuring we get the folks most at risk during this Coronavirus pandemic the help and sup  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be directing $4,047,216 to Montana State University to support small rural hospitals in Montana through expansions of telehealth, more purchases of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and boosting testing capacity. "This funding will help our health experts at MSU support our critical access hospitals and r  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced $5,075,000 will be directed to Montana through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand the state's capacity for testing, contact tracing, and containment to strengthen Montana's transition to safely reopen. "This funding will help ensure our state has the testing and tools needed to keep Montanans healthy and safe as our state begins to safely reop  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release on April 24: U.S. Senator Steve Daines secured $642,118 for Shodair Children's Hospital amid the Coronavirus pandemic. This follows Daines request to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Azar urging the next round of hospital and provider funding under the Phase Three Coronavirus Economic Recovery Package to target the needs of Montana's rural providers and children's hospitals, including Shodair C  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following statement after President Trump signed a bipartisan deal into law that provides $480 billion in additional relief for the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program for small businesses, testing and hospitals in light of the coronavirus pandemic: "A big thank you to President Trump for signing that important legislation we passed in Congress this week,". "It's going to allow us to help ou  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Steve Daines sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Azar urging the next round of hospital and provider funding under the Coronavirus Economic Recovery Package to target the needs of Montana's rural providers and children's hospitals, including Shodair Children's Hospital in Helena. "I am concerned that a number of critically important providers in Montana are still i  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release on April 24: U.S. Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Greg Gianforte announced that Montana's 2,400 bars and taverns which employ 40,000 Montanans are now eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides $350 billion in 100 percent forgivable loans (grants) to small businesses impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic if they maintain or rehire their employees. "Montana's 2,400 taverns and bars have  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release on April 21: U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced that Montana's farmers, ranchers and ag businesses will be eligible for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Today's announcement follows Daines' request to the Small Business Association urging them to grant farms, ranches and ag businesses the opportunity to apply for the EIDL program. "This is great news  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced $5,075,000 in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funds allocated through the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for Montana to help expand testing capacity in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. "In order for Montana to slow the spread of this virus and start to safely reopen our economy, we need to test, test, test," said Tester. "T  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced $3,457,033 in Department of Justice funding for the Montana Board of Crime Patrol to help bolster Montana law enforcement's preparedness to combat the coronavirus pandemic. "Members of Montana law enforcement are going above and beyond to help protect Montana communities from the spread of this pandemic," said Tester. "They are fundamental to the success of Montana's respons  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Sen. John Tester, D-Montana, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news release: To better protect veterans, health care professionals, and all Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Jon Tester is leading 15 colleagues in calling on the Administration and its Coronavirus Task Force to make full use of the Defense Production Act (DPA). The depletion of medical su  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: To better protect veterans, health care professionals, and all Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Jon Tester is leading 15 colleagues in calling on the Administration and its Coronavirus Task Force to make full use of the Defense Production Act (DPA). The depletion of medical supplies nationally and a broken federal procurement and distribution pr  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following statement: U.S. Senator Jon Tester sent a bipartisan letter and released the following statement following news that the Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will require social security, railroad retirement, and veterans benefit recipients--who have dependents and did not file a 2018 or 2019 tax return--to file additional information by Wednesday, April 22, 2020 in order to receive $500 per child in a  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: As a part of his ongoing fight to help family farms and ranches weather the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today secured $19 billion in funds for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. "Ag is the backbone of our state's economy, and Montana family farms and ranches were hurting even before this pandemic," said Tester. "I'm proud to have secured these funds because we need to do everything we  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: Continuing his push to make sure Montana's family farms and ranches receive relief during the global pandemic, U.S. Senator Jon Tester secured an expansion of the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Relief Loan and Emergency Economic Injury Grant Programs to include ag businesses, farms, and ranches with fewer than 500 employees. This expansion was not included in Senator Mitch McConnell  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced that he secured $4,047,216 for 48 Montana hospitals to support pandemic preparedness through the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP). The funding was allocated through the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and will go toward assisting eligible hospitals in meeting the costs of implementing critical data systems. "Folks in rural Montana   more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following statement: U.S. Senator Jon Tester released the following statement on Senate passage of the more than $480 billion interim package to shore up critical pandemic relief programs for Montana small businesses and health care workers: "I'm supporting this bipartisan bill to get more resources to our small businesses and our brave nurses and doctors on the frontlines protecting our communities. We need to slow the spread of t  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following statement on President Trump signed into law the $480 billion interim package to shore up critical pandemic relief programs for Montana small businesses and health care workers: "I'm glad the President quickly signed into law this bipartisan bill to get more resources to our small businesses and our brave nurses and doctors on the front lines protecting our communities. "Now we need to make sure that these resources get   more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jon Tester demanded that Attorney General William Barr, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, open an investigation into reports of price fixing in the cattle market in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. "The profit discrepancies between packers and independent ranchers is egregious, and merits a long-overdue antitrust investigation into the consolidated meat packing indust  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. John Tester, D-Montana, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news release: The U.S. Senate passed bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, that will allow student veterans to continue receiving certain education and training benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that would be reduced or halted due to programs unable to c  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: The U.S. Senate passed bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, that will allow student veterans to continue receiving certain education and training benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that would be reduced or halted due to programs unable to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. "As the ongoing COVID-19 pandem  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Gary Peters (D-Mich), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sent a letter with 74 bipartisan cosigners to the Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Russell Vought to support radio and televisions broadcasters and local newspapers during the Coronavirus pandemic. "Our radio and television broadcasters a  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester sent a bipartisan letter urging support for Montana's radio and televisions broadcasters and local newspapers during the Coronavirus pandemic. "Our radio and television broadcasters and rural newspapers provide local and national news, emergency alerts, educational programs, and more to all corners of the United States. "In many rural areas, broadcast stations ar  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sens. John Tester, D-Montana, and Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, ranking Democratic member and chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following joint statement after the Treasury and Veterans Affairs departments clarified that eligible veterans who do not file income taxes will receive their stimulus checks: "We're glad that the Treasury Department answered our call to provide veterans and survivors--who aren't normally required to file annual tax returns  more