Congressman Denny Rehberg

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman Denny Rehberg today announced Montana’s US 93 corridor has been placed on a project priority list to receive expedited environmental reviews for highway construction projects under development.

“This is great news for western Montana, which needs this rare accelerated environmental review process to begin crucial construction projects along US 93 from Ravalli County and Missoula, as far north as Kalispell,” Rehberg said. “Making improvements along this vital Montana corridor is important in terms of safety and mobility, as well as beneficial to local economies in western Montana,” he stated.

The Montana US 93 corridor is one of only six projects on a project priority list created as a result of a Sept. 18 presidential executive order that called for a Cabinet-level task force to ensure projects are not unnecessarily held up by inefficient review procedures. Chaired by U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, the task force selected the Montana US 93 corridor from among 70 transportation construction projects nominated for expedited environmental review.

“Montana’s US 93 corridor is a perfect fit for a speed-up construction process committed to both environmental stewardship and public safety,” Rehberg said.

Rehberg is a member of the House Transportation Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines.

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman Denny Rehberg (R) today supported legislation that ensures federal funding for vital county services. Rehberg today introduced the “PILT (Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes) and Refuge Revenue Sharing Permanent Funding Act.”

“PILT payments are important to Montana school districts and counties and it has been woefully under-funded in the past few years,” Rehberg said. “This bill remedies that oversight.”

The PILT program is designed to compensate counties for lost tax revenue due to federal land ownership that would otherwise fund schools, emergency services, county roads, and the like. Currently, local residents must make up any shortfalls in PILT funding for county governments.

“Last year Montana received about $16 million in federal PILT payments,” Rehberg said. “With over 30 percent of Montana’s land in federal ownership, PILT funds are especially important to our counties. Every penny translates directly into a benefit at the local level.”

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers General David Fastabend to Attend

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R), is hosting an informational forum with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers General David Fastabend in Rehberg’s Billings District Office on Monday, February 17, 2003. The discussion will focus on the Corps’ management of Fort Peck Lake as a part of the Missouri River System, where the river’s downstream barge industry often competes for water with upstream recreation.

“A big part of Montana’s economy and quality of life relies on the great recreational opportunities found in our landscapes,” Rehberg said. “While Fort Peck Lake plays a vital role in the Missouri River System, it’s value to eastern Montana is immeasurable, and it’s important that Montanans come together on the crucial issue of preserving Fort Peck’s lake levels,” stated Rehberg.

Following the discussion with General Fastabend, Representative Rehberg will conduct a Missouri Breaks/Fort Peck Community Meeting in the northeastern Montana community of Wolf Point to discuss the morning’s meeting and gather further comment from the public. The Missouri Breaks/Fort Peck Community Meeting will take place at 7:00 pm at the Sherman Motor Inn, 200 East Main Street.

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R), today said he is pleased with the authorization of $3.1 billion in emergency agricultural assistance, which includes $2.1 billion for crop disaster assistance, and $350 million in livestock assistance. The appropriation was part of a $397.4 billion omnibus spending measure passed this past week by Congress.

“I’m real happy we were able to accomplish what we began in the year 2001, and that was to provide this drought assistance to Montana’s farmers and ranchers,” Rehberg said, adding, “We’re going to try and get this assistance out in the next 90 days, which will help our producers in making spring planting and range decisions.”

Rehberg, a member of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, was part of a bi-partisan effort in Congress that helped secure the funding. Last October, Rehberg helped organize a Washington D.C. “Drought Summit” with several other members of Congress, who included Rep. Barbara Cubin (WY), Rep. John Thune (SD), Rep. Bob Schaffer (CO), and Rep. Tom Osborne (NE). Producers from across the country, including Carter, Montana farmer Dale Schuler, were invited to share their first-hand testimony as to the drought’s effects. According to USDA statistics, the drought has been felt in over half the country.

Last Thursday, the House voted 338 to 83 in favor of the omnibus bill, which then passed the Senate, 76-20, after a joint conference committee previously hammered-out many of the details in the 3,000-page document. After the Senate vote, President Bush issued a statement saying he looks forward to signing the measure into law.

More specific details of the disaster aid can be found at: http://agriculture.house.gov/disaster.html

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R), added his name to legislation introduced today to extend the wind-energy tax credit.

“With our vast wind resources, Montana stands to be at the forefront in the development of wind energy, and this bill goes a long way toward supporting that effort,” Rehberg said. “This legislation will provide a real shot in the arm to projects such as the one proposed in the Judith Gap basin.”

The bill, introduced today by Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) would amend the United States Tax Code “to provide a 5-year extension of the credit for electricity produced from wind.”

The wind energy production tax credit (PTC) was originally enacted as part of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, providing an inflation-adjusted 1.5 cents/kilowatt-hour credit for electricity produced with wind power equipment for the first ten years of a project’s life. Unless extended, that credit will expire at the end of this year.

“One thing we’ll never run out of in Montana is wind, and this tax incentive provides the impetus necessary for Montana’s wind-energy projects, now and in the future,” Rehberg said.