Congressman Denny Rehberg

October 21, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman Denny Rehberg continued to stress the importance of Montana’s agricultural and recreational interests to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the Corps released its plan to mitigate the effects of a pro-longed drought in the Missouri River Basin.

“Some areas of Montana are under the stress of seven years of drought, and it’s time for the Corps to take an even more active approach,” said Rehberg.

A member of the U.S. House Agriculture, Resources, and Transportation Committees, Rehberg has been critical of the Corps’ Missouri River management plan for favoring the barge shipping industry of downstream states over the needs of Montana.

“The drought is having wide-ranging effects on a number of Montana’s key industries - farming, ranching, forestry, tourism and recreation. These industries are the heart and soul of our Montana communities, and I’ll continue to push the Corps to implement measures that will have a more meaningful impact,” Rehberg said.

Rehberg’s statement came in response to specific measures the Corps recently announced it was taking to control the conditions related to declining water levels in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Those measures include:

Monitoring of public water intakes
Spraying / Monitoring of noxious weeds
Monitoring of public lake access
Preservation of exposed sensitive cultural resources
For more information on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan, call Tom O’Hara in the Omaha District Public Affairs Office at 402-221-3917.

October 15, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today released this statement on the decision by U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer to lift the ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park:
“With today’s clean, quiet snowmobiles, we don’t have to choose between protecting the environment and providing multiple use access to our national parks,” said Rehberg. “I hope today’s decision will begin the process of settling into some sense of economic stability for the park’s gateway communities.”

Rehberg, a member of the House Resources Committee, helped establish the West Yellowstone Community Advisory Committee, a group of local civic and business leaders organized to ensure economic vitality. Rehberg also helped secure a $40,000 Commerce Department grant for the West Yellowstone community for economic development and planning.

October 12, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today hailed the inclusion of Rehberg-sponsored legislation in the 2005 National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House. The measure, waiting for the President’s signature, includes language to eliminate the “Widows’ Tax” on surviving spouses of military retirees.

“Our legislation addressed and corrected the inequity experienced by the vast majority of military survivors,” Rehberg said. “I’m pleased to say that language has been folded into the final Defense Authorization bill, restoring Survivor Benefit Plan payments to military widows.”

Crafted from the original bill, the amendment phases out the reduction in benefits in the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) with which a vast majority of military survivors faced a reduction from 55% to 35% in their SBP annuities at age 62. The amendment restores payments to surviving spouses over the next 31/2 years.

“For a long time, I have been concerned that this benefit to military spouses hasn’t measured up to what Congress intended; it’s not what SBP enrollees were promised,” Rehberg explained. “The program is supposed to provide the kind of financial protection military survivors need and deserve. The language added to the National Defense Authorization Act fixes that shortfall.”

Retirees who were asked to sign up for the program in the 1970s and early 1980s weren’t informed of the drop in benefits after age 62. As a result, large numbers of retirees and survivors feel betrayed by having been asked to sign an irrevocable contract to pay lifetime SBP premiums without being told what annuity level they were actually buying.

“This is about fairness and equity,” Rehberg said. “Today, we’ve sent a clear message to our servicemen and women that we appreciate your sacrifice and we intend to keep our promise to honor that service.”

October 7, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, joined a bi-partisan majority of the House of Representatives in voting to aid state efforts to eradicate harmful, nonnative weeds invading the West. The measure, identical to Rehberg’s “Harmful Invasive Weed Control Act” was approved this week.

“In Montana alone, more than six million acres of rangeland are suffering from an infestation of noxious weeds, which diminish livestock forage, displace native plants, and reduce wildlife habitat,” Rehberg, a member of the House Agriculture and Resources Committees, said.

Noxious weeds – including various forms of knapweed, leafy spurge, musk thistle, and toadflax – are rapidly spreading across the West. Often stimulated by devastating wildfires, their proliferation increases soil erosion and stream sedimentation, undermining healthy and productive ecosystems.

“We’re just starting to see signs of invasive plants eroding the banks of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. We simply have to get this problem under control before it’s too late,” Rehberg said. “Our legislation gives states like Montana the help they need to manage and eradicate these invasive and harmful weeds.”

The bill approved by Congress requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program assisting afflicted states with efforts designed to control and eradicate harmful, nonnative weeds on public and private land. The measure authorizes federal funds for states and Indian tribes to carry out various noxious weed control projects.

“The state of Montana has a good program fighting against this infestation. What they need now is added federal funds and support to carry out that program,” Rehberg said. “That’s the purpose of this legislation.”

October 5, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today voted for and the House approved an amendment that would split the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals into three separate courts. The measure would put Montana into a new Circuit with three other states.

“This is something that Montana has been calling for since the early eighties,” Rehberg said. “The biggest problems that we have in the state of Montana are federal problems that need to be addressed as locally as possible.”

Based in San Francisco, the 9th Circuit’s population base comprises eight states, including Montana. Of the eleven Circuit Courts, the 9th represents 57 million Americans – one fifth of the nation’s population.

“The state of California would love nothing more than to create the Supreme Court West. What social and economic ties does Montana have to California other than the fact they’re coming up and buying our property?” Rehberg asked. “When we finally got an appointment to the 9th Circuit from Montana, we threw a party. We hadn’t had one since the Kennedy era.”

The amendment approved today would reduce the size of the 9th Circuit Court to include only California, Hawaii, Guam & the Northern Marianas, putting Montana, Idaho, Arizona and Nevada into a newly-created 12th Circuit. The bill would create a 13th Circuit Court to included Oregon, Washington & Alaska.

“I’m not going to make the argument that I don’t like the decisions they make. In fact, I don’t have to make the argument – the U.S. Supreme Court made the argument when they overturned 24 of 25 9th Circuit cases in one year alone.”