Latest news with #R-MT
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House Passes Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill'—but Federal Land Sale Provision Is Axed
President Donald Trump is one step closer to seeing his 'Big Beautiful Bill' become a reality, but it's not a complete celebration. The sweeping trillion-dollar tax and spending bill passed the House by just one vote, 215-214, with two Republicans joining the Democrats in their opposition. The vote in the overnight hours extends the president's tax cuts passed in 2017 (when Trump was first president), provides more money for the military and border security but cuts hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps). A provision that slipped into the May 6 revision of the bill was what to do with about 450,000 acres of undeveloped land in Nevada and Utah, owned by the federal government. Republicans were proposing selling that land to the respective state or private entities, possibly with the intent to build affordable housing. Nevada and Utah were singled out as the top two states, respectively, with the highest percentage of government-owned land. On the campaign trail in August last year, Trump pledged to make housing more affordable, saying: 'We're going to open up tracts of federal land for housing construction. We desperately need housing for people who can't afford what's going on now.' America faces a housing shortage that will take more than seven years to fix at the current rate of construction, according to a report on the housing supply gap from the economic research team. Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke (R) led the effort to get the provision removed and was successful when it was axed late Wednesday, May 21. 'This was my San Juan Hill; I do not support the widespread sale or transfer of public lands. Once the land is sold, we will never get it back. God isn't creating more land,' said Zinke. 'Public access, sportsmanship, grazing, tourism … our entire Montanan way of life is connected to our public lands. I don't yield to pressure; I only yield to higher principle. There is a process to making sure that our lands are being used for the best benefit of the people.' Zinke wasn't the only politician concerned about the land sale. The change was supported by Representatives Troy Downing (R-MT), Mike Simpson (R-ID) and hundreds of other members on both sides of the aisle, according to a press release from Zinke's office. The concerns were wide-ranging, including what might happen to the land if it was sold to private corporations, such as energy companies. 'The TRCP is encouraged to see provisions removed from the House budget reconciliation bill that would sell off public lands. Hunters and anglers stepped into the arena to make their voices heard, and members of Congress listened—thank you,' said Joel Pedersen, president and CEO of the Missoula, MT-based Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. The proposed land sales would open the door for developers to build affordable housing on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land outside Las Vegas and Reno, and in Utah, around the tourist town of St. George, but there was no guarantee that would be the outcome. In Nevada, the federal government manages most of state's land—over 85%. The state also has the largest special recreation permit. The federal government has controlled much of the state of Utah's land dating back to the 1800s, when Utah and other states were given up by Mexico as part of the treaty to end the war. Now, the Bureau of Land Management oversees nearly 23 acres. 'Public lands in Utah serve multiple purposes,' Jonathan Malloy with the Utah Bureau of Land Management tells 'Some areas support recreation and tourism; others are used for responsible resource development or infrastructure needs such as roads, pipelines, and transmission corridors.' The bill now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate, but GOPers have vowed to make changes. Congressional leaders want to send a final bill to Trump's desk by July 4. 'The Bachelorette' Star Jenn Tran Reveals Cute Miami Apartment Where She's Hunkering Down To Finally Finish Physician's Assistant Training Natalie Portman Reveals Real Reason She Quit Los Angeles To Raise Her 2 Kids in France Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy's Rivalry Is Heating Up—but Which of the PGA Championship Stars Has Hottest Home?
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposal to Keep Grizzlies on the Endangered Species List Is ‘Ludicrous,' Say Western Lawmakers
Nearly a dozen Western lawmakers sent a scathing letter Tuesday to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's acting director Paul Souza, urging the agency to revisit the agency's January decision to keep grizzly bears on the Endangered Species list, and accusing the USFWS of 'changing the playbook' guiding the species' recovery. This change lies at the heart of their concerns, as the federal agency proposed in January to establish a single recovery zone for grizzlies (what it calls a 'distinct population segment') and do away with the six distinct recovery zones that have guided grizzly bear management for decades. Led by U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), the group of 11 Congressmen and -women who sent the letter represent Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, the three states outside Alaska that hold sustainable populations of grizzly bears. (There is also a small population of grizzlies in northeastern Washington State, and more bears could be introduced into the North Cascades in the coming years.) 'We should be celebrating the recovery grizzly bears have made through the dedication and sacrifice of the people who must live with these bears in their backyards,' the letter reads. 'We strongly oppose the proposed [4(d) rule] and urge you to review the population data to acknowledge the recovery of grizzlies.' Read Next: Researchers Just Said California Could Support Up to 1,700 Grizzly Bears The lawmakers say this 'flawed' decision, which came during the final weeks of the Biden administration, is yet another example of the process being driven by politics instead of science. They contend that by moving back the goal posts for recovery, the agency is undermining the whole purpose of the Endangered Species Act and disregarding the achievements that have already been made in the Lower 48. 'This decision punishes Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho's successful grizzly bear recovery efforts,' the lawmakers write in the May 13 letter. 'As members who represent these states, we believe this flawed decision will severely damage trust in ESA listing decisions and undermine future recovery efforts.' Several of those lawmakers have long pushed for the Feds to delist grizzlies, citing the federal agency's own metrics for recovery that have clearly been met — in some cases, multiple times over. They point to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which now holds more than 1,000 bears, or more than double the goal of 500 bears that the USFWS had previously established. This should be viewed as a huge success story, according to agencies like Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks that have been working toward grizzly recovery at the state level. 'The recovery of that population is one of the greatest large carnivore success stories in North American history,' a former MFWP Director wrote in 2016. 'When the grizzly bear was put under federal protection in 1975, the GYE population was just 150 bears. The federal recovery goal then was 400 bears, later increased to 500 bears to make sure the population would be healthy and viable before delisting. The population reached that goal in 2002.' Read Next: Montana's New Grizzly Bear Plan Says It's Ready to Take Back Management from the Feds Other metrics help paint a fuller picture of how grizzlies are doing in the Northern Rockies. In 2024, grizzly bears set a new record in Wyoming for cattle depredations, while the Wyoming Game and Fish Department saw a near-record number of grizzlies killed by humans, according to reporting by WyoFile. But even with the loss of those 60-plus bears, Cowboy State managers said the grizzly population there is still growing. Already this year Montana has recorded at least two conflicts between grizzlies and humans, including a shed hunter who shot and killed a charging sow in self defense. Federal wildlife managers have also seen grizzly bears expanding and dispersing into the different recovery zones, including the first documented instance (since the bears were listed) of a male grizzly leaving one zone and breeding successfully in another. The USFWS called this a 'milestone' in a recent explainer article, which noted the 'remarkable success' of grizzly reintroduction — thanks in large part to the commitments from state and tribal agencies over the last 40 years. The USFWS, however, has used the same milestone to argue that managers should encourage this movement between recovery zones and continue to list the bears as threatened, with all the federal protections this entails under the Endangered Species Act, until they are all part of one big, interconnected population. Daines and other lawmakers say this is totally unrealistic and unachievable because the four-state region is no longer connected by viable grizzly habitat. And with more human development taking place in the West every year, the islands of habitat that can support grizzlies will only get farther apart. 'For FWS to take this remarkable recovery data and say that recovery is too effective to warrant delisting is ludicrous,' the letter reads. 'It is time to celebrate the recovery of grizzly bears by delisting them and returning management to the states where it belongs.' The timing of the letter is significant because the USFWS is still accepting public comment on its proposed grizzly bear rule until Friday. The original 60-day comment period was set to expire in March, but after canceling a series of in-person public hearings on the rule change in January, the agency decided to extend the public comment period until May 16.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
President Trump offers ‘Complete and Total Endorsement' of Daines
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) at the National Republican Senatorial Committee building on June 13, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Trump is visiting Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans and participate in additional meetings. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images) There are more than 19 months until the 2026 elections, but candidates are spinning up their campaign operations left and right. The latest of those machinations came on Tuesday when President Donald Trump endorsed Montana Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines on Truth Social. 'Steve Daines is a Great Man, and TREMENDOUS Senator, representing the Fantastic People of Montana. I love Montana, won every one of my Races there by a landslide, and would only recommend the best to represent you in the Senate!' the president wrote. 'Senator Steve Daines, of the Great State of Montana, has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!' Daines is Montana's senior senator, following the election of Republican Tim Sheehy last November. Since 2023 he has served as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), helping elect Republicans nationwide, including elevating Sheehy to victory over former Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. After first winning his seat in Congress in 2014 with 57.8% of the vote, Daines ran for re-election in 2020, facing termed-out Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. Daines defeated Bullock with 55.01% of the vote that year. While Daines has not yet officially announced his re-election, he thanked Trump for his endorsement on X, formerly Twitter, and is actively fundraising based on Federal Election Commission filings. Currently, FEC filings for the Steve Daines for Montana committee show he has $2.4 million in cash on hand, with nearly $1 million in contributions during the first quarter of the year. Montana used to be considered a purple state with Democrats serving in statewide elected offices for more than a century until the 2024 election. President Trump carried the state in all three of his elections, winning with increasingly high margins of 56.17%, 56.92%, and 58.39%. Trump visited Montana in 2024 to campaign for Sheehy, drawing thousands of people to a rally in Bozeman. Currently there are no clear frontrunners from the Democratic party to challenge Daines' re-election.
CNN
01-04-2025
- Politics
- CNN
GOP senator: ‘Absolutely going to be short-term pain' with tariffs
Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) joins CNN's Kaitlan Collins to discuss the "short-term pain" Americans will "absolutely" feel with President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Fox News
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
'IT'S GOING TO BE A CLOSE FINISH': Sen. Steve Daines Weighs in on GOP Tax Bill, Trump's Joint Address to Congress
Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) joined The Guy Benson Show today to share his reaction to Trump's speech before Congress, offering his take on the key moments from the speech, Democrat resistance to Trump's speech, and the tone of winning that Trump assumed. He also weighed in on the ongoing debate over extending Trump's tax cuts, the current state of reconciliation bills, and budget resolutions moving through the House and Senate. Listen to the full interview below! Listen to the full interview: Listen to the full podcast:
