Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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In response to a request for feedback by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) on the development of coronavirus response programs, the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) submitted specific recommendations the Department could implement in a food purchase and distribution program to truly benefit American livestock producers and processors. Current beef and pork labeling regulations allow for imported product to be labeled “Product of U.S.A.” if the beef or pork product is trimmed, repacka...
Governor Greg Gianforte announced March 29th that Montana is one of four states selected to participate in the National Governors Association’s (NGA) 2021 Policy Academy to Advance Whole-of-State Cybersecurity. In the new policy academy, Montana will work with the NGA on developing and implementing cybersecurity workforce development plans. “As one of four states selected for this critical project, we’re focused on building a talented cybersecurity workforce as well as ensuring Montanans’ personal information and data are safe, secure, and pro...
As the regulatory agency for the insurance industry in Montana, we are tasked to review health insurance rates offered by commercial plans, like Blue Cross or Pacific Source. One clear and unchanging trend is that health insurance plans spend a tremendous amount of money paying for prescription drugs for enrollees. CMS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has projected that spending on retail prescription drugs is growing faster than any other health category and will continue to do so for the remainder of this decade. During the la...
One year into this pandemic, Montanans are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our vaccines are safe and effective, COVID cases are falling thanks to the tireless efforts of our frontline health care workers, and Spring is on the horizon. But even with this good news, we still have work to do before we get through the worst public health and economic crisis in generations. Over the past year I’ve had hundreds of conversations with families, workers, doctors, educators, veterans, farmers, Tribes, and small businesses f...
On March 24th, U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill to require each U.S. meat processing facility that slaughters over 125,000 head of cattle each year to purchase fifty percent of their weekly volume of beef slaughter on the open or ‘spot’ market. Other co-sponsors of the bill include Senators Tina Smith (D-MN); Ron Wyden (D-OR); Cory Booker (D-NJ); John Hoeven (R-ND); Joni Ernst (R-IA); Mike Rounds (R-SD); and Steve Daines (R-MT). United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) President Brooke Mille...
Montana’s unemployment rate dropped in February to 3.9%, after falling to 4.0% in January. The unemployment rate for the U.S. was 6.2% in February. “Montana’s unemployment rate continues its downward trend, but too many of our businesses are struggling to find workers,” Governor Greg Gianforte said. “Getting Montanans back to work in good-paying jobs and improving access to trades education and apprenticeships are top priorities as we get Montana open for business.” Governor Gianforte has worked with the legislature to address the growing ski...
Every election cycle, you can count on Republican candidates promising to reduce the size and cost of government, and in general, getting government out of our businesses and out of our daily lives. Yet as every session of the legislature demonstrates, that pledge – for the majority of Republican lawmakers – has a distinctly hollow ring. Not unlike their Democratic counterparts, the GOP’s commitment to controlling government and reducing welfare dependency is highly selective. For their friends, the free money game continues unabated. One o...
Over the course of 2020, Congress passed five bipartisan COVID-19 relief packages. Republicans were in the majority in the Senate and President Trump was in office. As Republicans, we committed to working in a bipartisan manner to deliver needed relief to Montanans and all Americans struggling because of this historic pandemic. We thought President Biden was on board with this mission. He campaigned on a promise of bipartisanship and unity, but he threw that out the window as soon as he finished his inaugural address and chose to jam a $1.9...
Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) officials announced today the state now has 19 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 virus variant strains. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notified DPHHS late yesterday (March 16) and today (March 17) of 11 additional variant cases that match two California variant strains and a New York variant strain. These cases involve specimens of Montana residents that were submitted for testing dating back from January to early March 2021. These 11 cases are from Beaverhead,...
Montanans who purchase their health insurance through healthcare.gov may be eligible for premium savings. Montana Insurance Commissioner Troy Downing advises anyone enrolled in these health plans to review their policies following the recent passage of the American Rescue Plan. “Individuals enrolled in a healthcare.gov plan will not automatically receive the additional subsidies in their monthly premium unless they update their application to receive a reduction of their monthly payment.” said Downing, “If the enrollee does not update their...
Passage of SB 215, with a shadow title of “Establish the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” opens the door for advancing discrimination in Montana, changing us from a courageous and tolerant state to one of bigotry and intolerance. Let’s look at history. Twenty-nine years ago, Billings set the standard for rejection of hatred and bigotry by saying “NO” to racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic ultra-right-wing extremist behavior. Billings’ actions made me proud of them and Montana. The Northwest United Skinheads and elements of the Ku Klux Kla...
Picture yourself standing on a scenic overlook, overlooking the Rio Grande at four in the morning in the Texas town of Roma. Next to you is a Counterterrorism Specialist. Across the river is the town of Miguel Aleman, Mexico and you can hear the rapid fire of automatic weapons, the boom of grenades and smaller caliber weapons mixed in. It is a war zone. It sounds intense and long lasting. This a is a battle for control between two rival cartels, The Gulf Cartel and the Las Zeta Cartel. This is not the scene from a movie. This is a segment from...
For the 2021 fire season, the writing is on the wall. The West, despite a few days of intense winter, is far drier than it was leading up to last year's record-breaking fires. As a hotshot crewmember, the reality of what's to come fills me with two distinct thoughts: money and dread. With my financial stability tied to overtime pay, I know that my pockets will be full when I am laid off next winter. But the unrelenting fires that stand between now and then make me nervous. I also know that I am...
In his first prime-time presidential address, President Joe Biden said on March 11th that he would order states to make coronavirus vaccines available to all American adults by May 1, in an effort to accelerate the mass vaccination effort critical to ending the pandemic. Coming on the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic, Biden used the speech to pay tribute to those affected — nearly 530,000 lives lost and countless more impacted — while pointing to the United States’ success in ramped-up vaccinations and looking forward to what...
Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning issued the following statement on the latest employment numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: “The last month of President Trump’s economic miracle was February 2020. Today’s release of employment data for February 2021 provides a snapshot of where America’s economic recovery stands compared to the beyond full employment America that existed before the China Virus resulting in more than half a million deaths and economic devastation. “Today’s unemployment rate is 6.2 percent...
Montana hunters are being shut out of major decisions on future access to elk. The new approach in Helena, led by Speaker Wylie Galt and Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Hank Worsech, is to spring legislation on us. Making major wildlife management changes without public input benefits few and hurts Montana hunters. I never thought it would happen here, but we must meet this full-on effort to limit public hunter involvement in wildlife management decisions if we are to maintain the title of the “Last Best Place.” For decades, wildlife man...
The Bureau of Land Management is planning several prescribed burns in Madison County during the upcoming spring months. Smoke from the burn activity may be visible to the public from U.S. Highway 287, State Highway 287, County Route 248, and the communities of Ennis, Virginia City, Alder, Sheridan, Twin Bridges, and Dillon. The burns are planned for the following areas: • South Tobacco Roots, about five miles north of Virginia City. The burn areas are north of the Granite Creek road, specifically in Mill and Granite creeks, consisting of a...
Elk management in Montana is broken. FWP’s estimated elk numbers exceed sustainable population objectives in three-quarters of hunting districts, and have for years. It’s not uncommon for hunting districts to have five times the number of elk that they should. Over the last decade FWP has done far too little to bring elk populations down to sustainable levels. And in some districts they’ve intentionally limited hunting opportunity, for instance by limiting permits, despite chronically over-objective populations. In fact, these limited permit di...
Governor Greg Gianforte signed the TEACH Act into law at Sacajawea Elementary School in Great Falls on Friday, March 3, 2021. The TEACH Act, or Tomorrow's Educators Are Coming Home Act, provides $2.5 million in incentives to improve starting teacher pay. Currently, Montana has the lowest average starting teacher pay in the country. "This new law will help increase starting teacher pay and make it easier for tomorrow's educators to stay in Montana or come back home," Governor Gianforte said. "Dem...
HB251 and “right-to-work” legislation was defeated in the Montana State House by a vote of 62-38. Thousands of workers from across our state joined together over the last couple months to let their representatives know that defending Montana’s workers should be their first priority. Throughout our state’s history unions have protected workers, so they can get home safely, earn a good wage to spend in their communities, and fought against out-of-state corporations looking to extract wealth from our state. “Right-to-work states experienc...
U.S. Senator Steve Daines today introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to make the 20 percent pass-through small business tax deduction permanent. His bill, the “Main Street Tax Certainty Act,” will support small businesses, help create jobs and strengthen our economy. Without congressional action the tax deduction will expire at the end of 2025. “Montana small businesses help our communities thrive and prosper--they’re what make our hometowns feel like home,” Daines said. “Making this main street tax relief permanent will provide the...
On Tuesday, February 23, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), joined by Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to support small meat and poultry processors. The Strengthening Local Processing Act will increase options for local livestock and poultry producers and assist smaller facilities as they adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and expand to meet consumer demand. The legislation is also cosponsored by Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-N.H.) and...
Farmington, a city of 45,000 in the northwestern corner of New Mexico, has run on a fossil fuel economy for a century. It is one of the only places on the planet where a 26-kiloton nuclear device was detonated underground to free up natural gas from the rock. The city’s baseball team was called the Frackers, and a home run hit out of their practice park was likely to land next to a pack of gas wells. The community’s economy and identity are so tied up with fossil fuels that the place should probably try a new name like Carbonton, Met...
Governor Greg Gianforte, pursuant to President Joe Biden’s proclamation honoring 500,000 Americans and more than 1,300 Montanans who have lost their lives to COVID-19, has ordered all flags flown in the State of Montana to be flown at half-staff until sunset on February 26. The Governor’s proclamation follows and can be found HERE: I hereby order all flags flown in the State of Montana to be flown at half-staff on Monday, February 22, 2021 until sunset on Friday, February 26, 2021 to honor the 500,000 Americans who have lost their lives to COV...
On February 16, workers from across the state came together to oppose HB251 and “right-to-work” legislation in front of the House Business and Labor Committee. “Right-to-work” laws have proven to depress wages, working conditions and safety on the job. Study after study have shown that “right-to-work” laws do not create jobs and employers do not prioritize it when considering whether to relocate. Two of Montana’s largest private sector employers attended the hearing to oppose “right to work” because they recognize the benefits unions p...
