Congressman Denny Rehberg

April 29, 2005

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, and a Montana delegation representing military and community backgrounds, this morning met with Gen. Lance Lord, presenting suggestions for future, expanded mission opportunities for Malmstrom Air Force Base, and its generous 11,500 ft. runway. The delegation also visited the U.S. Air Force Academy and had lunch with several Montana cadets.

“The delegation was able to present a case for adding a mission to Malmstrom, to discuss the importance of the base to national defense, as well as highlight its significance to the local community,” said Rehberg.

Gen. Lord is commander of the Air Force Space Command, which oversees Malmstrom’s current mission. Rehberg is a member of the House Military Quality of Life Appropriations subcommittee.

Accompanying Rehberg on the visit were Great Falls Mayor Randy Gray, Warren Wenz, a member of Great Falls Committee of 80 (a community based group in support of Malmstrom AFB), Retired Brigadier General Doug Henneman (Montana Air Guard), and aerospace industry official Dave Micheletti, of Butte, who is also a Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

The group also touched on the potential annexation of Malmstrom AFB by the city of Great Falls, and had lunch with several Montana Air Force Academy cadets.

“It was a real pleasure to visit with the Montana Air Force Academy cadets, and to be able to express how proud we are of them. They are all a real asset to their families and their communities,” said Rehberg.

Montana Air Force Academy Cadets:

Jacob Becker (2007), of Darby, Morgan N. Dolan (2008), of Helena, Griff R. Hofman (2007), of Stevensville, Zachery K. Lord (2007), of Missoula, Melissa R. Martin (2006), of Butte, Dakota S. Olsen (2008), of Florence, Whitney R. Salo (2008), of Bozeman, Jeff Shehan (2007), of Great Falls, Adam M. Wade (2007), of Missoula.

April 27, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today assailed efforts by a handful of U.S. Senators to block passage of the six-year, $284 billion highway bill that was approved by the House last month. Rehberg, a highway bill conferee last year, said changing the numbers this late will jeopardize the entire bill.

“We went through this last year, when several Senators decided to tinker with the numbers, and it cost us a bill,” Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said. “Last month, we passed another highway bill, and now they want to do it all over again. Montana is about to lose another construction season because of it, so I’m telling Senate obstructionists: ‘Stop messing with the highway bill.’”

President Bush has threatened to veto any version of the Highway Bill that exceeds the House-approved $284 billion – an amount that provides Montana with $1.931 billion over the six-year period. The measure stalled last year with the Senate insisting on a higher price tag, drawing the threat of a presidential veto.

“It took a long time to get the Administration and Senate leadership on the same page with us in order to complete this monumental measure,” said Rehberg, who helped write the legislation last year as a member of the Transportation Committee and the Highway bill House and Senate Conference Committee. “Now, however, all these Montana projects that are waiting to begin are about to be sidelined, thanks to a group of Senators who have decided once again to thumb their noses at the President and toy around with the numbers. At the end of the day, all we’ll have are construction delays and another year wasted.”

In the House version of the bill, Rehberg secured $12 million toward completion of highway 323, from Ekalaka to Alzada, plus $4 million for a downtown, Bozeman, parking garage.

“With more money for our state than the previous six-year highway bill, it’s a win-win for Montana, not only because of new roads and infrastructure improvements, but also because it translates in thousands of jobs for us,” Rehberg said. “Construction season is underway. It’s time to get moving.”

April, 27, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - Following a visit from Big Sky Airlines officials, Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today announced he plans to oppose an Administration proposal to change the funding formula for Essential Air Service. Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said he’ll fight for full-funding of Montana’s Essential Air Service (EAS) routes.

“I appreciate their taking the time to visit today and review the passenger numbers and revenue projections for the coming year,” Rehberg said of Big Sky Airlines President Fred deLeeuw and Executive Vice President Craig Denney. “They’re based in Montana, they’ve done a terrific job over the past 25 years, and they’re an asset to the whole Essential Air Service program.”

With its code-sharing agreements and connecting hub in Billings, Big Sky serves seven of Montana’s eight EAS points, including Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Lewistown, Miles City, Sidney, and Wolf Point. Sky West airlines provides Seasonal service to West Yellowstone, Montana’s other EAS point.

“Last year I helped successfully block the Administration’s matching local fund requirements out of Montana. This year, the Administration has come up with a new funding formula plan, and I’ll oppose it as well,” Rehberg said. “The point is, I intend to see that funding for Montana’s essential air service remains secure as long as I continue to serve as Montana’s Congressman.”

Congress authorized the EAS program to guarantee a minimum level of air carrier service to small communities. The Department of Transportation currently subsidizes air service to approximately 38 rural communities in the continental U.S.

April 27, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, is urging the U.S. National Park Service to expedite the final publication of the rules that allow personal watercraft back on Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area after a more than two-year ban.

“Recreationists and businesses have waited over two years for a final rule lifting the ban on personal watercraft,” Rehberg said in a letter to Fran Mainella, Director of the National Park Service. “Delaying publication until the fall would add another year onto the ban, placing an even greater and unnecessary burden on resource users and the local economy.”

Litigation in 2002 prompted the closure of all National Park Service (NPS) waters to personal watercrafts, pending environmental assessments. Since then, the NPS has conducted an environmental assessment for Bighorn Lake, and recommended a preferred alternative that reinstated the use of the watercrafts under certain restrictions and management guidelines. The public comment period concluded last summer and the final approval and publication of the rule now rests with the National Park Service, which Bighorn Canyon officials say may not be completed until the fall of this year.

“The work’s been done on this issue, and I’m encouraging the National Park Service to make this rule making process a top priority so the public can utilize this resource this recreation season,” said Rehberg, a Billings native, and member of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee.

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, and is a popular fishing and recreation destination in southeast Montana.

# # #

Letter Below

April 25, 2005

Fran Mainella

Director

National Park Service

1849 C Street NW

Washington, DC 20240

Dear Ms. Mainella:

Since November of 2002, personal watercraft use on Bighorn Lake in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area of southern Montana and northern Wyoming has been banned, detrimentally affecting recreationists and area businesses. National Park Service managers recently completed a final rules package that would open Bighorn Lake to limited watercraft use upon final publication in the Federal Register (36 CFR Part 7). I respectfully request your agency’s prompt approval of this regulation so that personal watercraft use can begin on Bighorn Lake this year.

Managers at Bighorn Canyon N.R.A. estimate that final publication of this rule may not be completed until fall of this year, while it awaits final approval by your agency. Recreationists and businesses have waited over two years for a final rule lifting the ban on personal watercraft. Delaying publication until the fall would add another year onto the ban, placing an even greater and unnecessary burden on resource users and the local economy.

By following the public participation requirements set forth in the National Environmental Policy Act and evaluating the area’s overall management objectives, the managers at Bighorn Canyon N.R.A. have deemed personal watercraft recreation to be an appropriate use of the Bighorn Lake resource. They have developed a rule that appropriately balances the needs of all users of the resource, while limiting or restricting watercraft use to protect public safety and environmentally or culturally sensitive areas. I urge you to make the final approval and publication of this rule a top priority, so that citizens will be able to utilize their resource this season.

Sincerely

Denny Rehberg

Montana’s Congressman

DRR: df

April 26, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, says he is “emphatically opposed” to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) plans to reclassify Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) borrowing authority, which could jeopardize BPA’s wildlife habitat, conservation, and alternative energy programs, and potentially raise electric rates.

Rehberg issued the statement in a letter to OMB Director Joshua Bolten, who heads the agency proposing to count BPA’s third-party financing against Bonneville’s federal borrowing authority. The proposal, which is contained in a White House draft federal budget document, would alter BPA’s current financial structure by limiting the amount of private sector financing the agency could obtain, possibly leading to cost-cutting measures or rate increases.

“The result of such a proposal would be devastating to the region,” Rehberg said in his letter. “Rest assured I will fight to ensure that Bonneville’s borrowing authority is protected.”

Rehberg is a member of the House Water and Energy Appropriations Subcommittee, which has budgeting authority over the Department of Energy. He was successful in a bi-partisan effort in March to thwart a separate budget proposal that would have forced the nation’s Power Marketing Authorities (PMA), to sell their electricity at market-based rates, which vary 30-40% higher than the cost production rates charged by the nation’s PMA’s.

“I want to reassure the electric ratepayers in Montana I will oppose these changes,” said Rehberg. “In addition, I will begin exploring the possibility of creating a task force to look into ways to keep electric rates low from the power generated by the west’s natural resources.”

# # #

Letter Below

April 25, 2005

Mr. Joshua Bolten

Director

Office of Management and Budget

Eisenhower Executive Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20503

Dear Director Bolten:

I remain emphatically opposed to the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2006 budget proposal to reclassify certain Bonneville Power Administration financial transactions as counting against its borrowing authority. Currently, Bonneville is able to finance infrastructure improvements by using federal borrowing authority as a means of raising revenue. This is critical to maintaining infrastructure and conservation programs in the capital-intensive utility industry.

OMB’s proposal to count third-party financing against Bonneville’s borrowing authority would drastically limit Bonneville’s ability to make necessary infrastructure improvements to the already stressed electricity grid in the Northwest. Because these system improvements simply must occur, Bonneville’s only option to finance grid improvements would be to raise revenue or cut important programs – or both.

The result of such a proposal would be devastating to the region as it would impair Bonneville’s ability to implement critical fish and wildlife conservation programs and utilize alternative energy sources, while raising rates in an already economically-stressed region. Neither of these options is good for the Northwest and I encourage you to abandon this proposal at the earliest opportunity.

It is my understanding that the Administration is currently drafting language to implement this proposal. Rest assured I will fight to maintain that Bonneville’s borrowing authority is protected.

Sincerely,

Denny Rehberg

Member of Congress

April 20, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today announced he will lead a Montana delegation to Colorado Springs, April 29, to discuss the importance of Malmstrom Air Force base with Gen. Lance Lord, commander of the Air Force Space Command, which oversees Malmstrom’s current mission. Rehberg, a member of the House Military Quality of Life Appropriations subcommittee, will also visit eleven Montana cadets at the United States Air Force Academy.

“This is our opportunity to press the importance of Malmstrom Air Force Base, not only to national security, but also to the economy of Great Falls and Montana,” Rehberg, a member of the House Military Quality of Life Appropriations subcommittee, said. “In addition to our desire to see the Air Force continue its ground-based nuclear missile deterrent, I want to see another mission added at Malmstrom. Our visit will give us an opportunity to showcase everything Malmstrom and the community have to offer.”

Accompanying Rehberg on the visit are Great Falls Mayor Randy Gray, Warren Wenz, a member of Great Falls Committee of 80 (a community based group in support of Malmstrom AFB), Retired Brigadier General Doug Henneman (Montana Air Guard), and aerospace industry official Dave Micheletti, of Butte, who is also a Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

The group will travel to the headquarters of the Air Force Space Command, April 29, Colorado Springs. The delegation will meet with General Lord and his staff to discuss the current and future deployment of missiles at Malmstrom.

“I’m also looking forward to visiting and having lunch with Montana’s Air Force Academy cadets,” Rehberg said of Montana cadets Michaela A. Garcia (Class of 2006), of Bozeman, David J. Gertiser (2006), of Livingston, Melissa R. Martin (2006), of Butte, Raegan J. McDowell (2006), of Florence, Griff R. Hofman (2007), of Stevensville, Caitlin C. Holiday (2007), Zachery K. Lord (2007), and Adam M. Wade (2007), of Missoula, Morgan N. Dolan (2008), of Helena, Dakota S. Olsen (2008), of Florence, and Whitney R. Salo (2008), of Bozeman.

April 20, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg (R), today hailed the decision by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to provide $500,000 for soil conservation practices for irrigators in the East Bench area of Madison and Beaverhead counties in southwest Montana. Rehberg sought funding from NRCS because the region has been hit hard by the extended drought.

“There are serious drought impacts all across Montana, and the East Bench area, struggling from persistently low water levels of Clark Canyon Reservoir, is of significant concern,” Rehberg, a member of the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, said. “It was frustrating to find the producers were unable to obtain any irrigation water last year, so I’m obviously pleased with the agency’s response to the concerns we raised.”

The East Bench is irrigated by water from the Clark Canyon Reservoir. Due to low water levels, producers received dramatically less water in 2003 than normal, seriously limiting the production of the area’s approximately 30,000 acres. The East Bench received no irrigation water in 2004.

“The timing of this program is good,” said Madison County Commissioner Dave Schulz (Phone: 406-843-4277). “Many of the family farms on the Bench have been in operation for generations, and have never experienced drought like this before. We appreciate Denny’s efforts on our behalf, and especially in the speedy nature of addressing our needs.”

Rehberg, who is also a Billings rancher, has held public meetings in the area and has pursued immediate drought-relief efforts through communication with the NRCS, which is part of the United States Department of Agriculture. In late March and early April, Rehberg sent agricultural specialists from his staff to meet again with local officials and producers, and to photograph the drought conditions. The Madison County Commissioners also sent Rehberg a letter April 13 seeking assistance.

The drought mitigation funds are available through a special sign-up from April 21 through April 29. According to the NRCS, a public meeting to discuss the program has been scheduled for Thursday evening in Twin Bridges. Contact the Dillon NRCS field office for more information at (406) 583-3800, or the Sheridan NRCS field office at (406) 842-5741.

April 19, 2005

BILLINGS, MT - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg (R-Montana), today announced more than $3.51 million in federal Airport Improvement Grants have been awarded to ten Montana airports. Rehberg is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

“From runway rehabilitation and snow removal upgrades, each of these projects are important both to the economies of the local communities and to Montana,” Rehberg explained.The grants announced today, under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP), include:

· $1,000,000 to rehabilitate runways and taxiway, and to install an automated weather observation system at Butte’s Bert Mooney Airport

· $469,560 to rehabilitate runways and taxiway, and acquire snow removal equipment at Frank Wiley Field, near Miles City

· $421,230 to rehabilitate the access road at Dillon Airport

· $367,351 to rehabilitate runways and taxiway, and acquire snow removal equipment at Wokal Field/Glasgow International Airport

· $307,800 to rehabilitate the runway and construct snow removal equipment building at Ravalli County Airport

· $296,937 to continue terminal building modifications, and rehabilitate the runway, apron, and taxiway at Havre City-County Airport

· $268,441 to rehabilitate the runway and make improvements to the snow removal equipment building at Lewistown Municipal Airport

· $123,500 to construct a snow removal equipment building at Shelby Airport

· $109,667 to rehabilitate the runway and construct a new fuel facility at White Sulphur Springs Airport

· $79,000 to update the master plan for Tillitt Field, near Forsyth, and

· $71,250 to construct a new fuel facility at Townsend Airport

“These grants are part of a larger, comprehensive effort to secure federal airport funding for a number of communities across Montana,” Rehberg said.

April 14, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg today introduced legislation requiring the U.S. Treasury Department to mark livestock imported into the U.S. The measure prevents the Treasury Department from exempting livestock from a 1930 law requiring the U.S. to mark the origin of imported products.

“Federal law already requires imports to be branded or marked with their country origin, but the Treasury Department has for years exempted livestock under its so-called ‘J list’ of imports that are excluded from the branding provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930,” Rehberg, a Billings rancher, explained. “My bill keeps livestock off the list of exemptions, thereby requiring the federal government to indelibly mark imports of meat from other countries.”

Currently, the Treasury Department classifies, under its “J list,” certain imported products it considers impractical to label with a country origin. Treasury’s “J list” includes items as diverse as art works, steel, sugar, and timber. Rehberg’s legislation removes livestock from that list, “providing a universal, indelible marking for all imported livestock.”

“The federal government has overlooked this exemption for years, but we need it now,” Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said. “It’s important to have imported livestock marked, for tracking and identification purposes, but especially to demonstrate to our international partners our cattle are complying with established U.S. rules for inspection and testing.”

Text of Rehberg’s Legislation is as follows:

A BILL

To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 with respect to the marking of imported live bovine animals.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. MARKING OF IMPORTED LIVE BOVINE ANIMALS.

(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304) is amended—

(1) by redesignating subsections (i), (j), (k), and (l) as subsections (j), (k), (l), and (m), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after subsection (h) the following new subsection:

‘‘(i) MARKING OF LIVE BOVINE ANIMALS.—

‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—No exception may be made under subsection (a)(3) with respect to live bovine animals, each of which shall be marked so as to identify the country of origin by means of branding or an equally permanent method of marking.

‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term ‘live bovine animals’ means animals provided for under any subheading of heading 0102 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.’’

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section shall apply to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

April 13, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today did not celebrate House passage of a permanent repeal of estate taxes: he’s waiting until the bill reaches the president’s desk before doing that. Rehberg, a sponsor of the measure, called the near century-old tax a “farm, ranch, and business killer.”

“Most people don’t realize it could happen to them,” Rehberg, a Billings rancher who comes from a family of agriculture producers, said. “In Montana, there are a lot of families who have their whole lives invested in the farm or their small business. Then tragedy strikes, parents pass away, leaving the children to sell the farm or business just to satisfy the IRS. I made a promise to Montana that I would fight to repeal the tax so it can no longer hurt Montana families.”

Rehberg and the U.S. House of Representatives voted today for a provision that makes repeal of the death tax permanent.

“It’s a bill I sponsored because time is running out on the temporary repeal of the death tax,” Rehberg said of 2001 legislation set to expire after 2010. “When I was first elected five years ago, we didn’t have the votes to make the repeal permanent. Today we do, because a number of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle now understand how much this tax hurts family-owned farms and businesses.”

From 1992-2002, the death tax cost Montana families more than $200 million in lost opportunity.

“That money should have stayed with the families, put to use to buy feed, provide equipment, expand businesses, plan for retirement, or pay for a child’s college education,” argues Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “I’m fighting for a climate that will spur businesses and farms, not kill them.”

Without the repeal, Rehberg pointed out, “the tax brings in only about one percent of federal revenue, making the death tax nothing more than a final insult to families during a time of personal loss.” Rehberg called on the Senate to pass his bill this month, because “taxes are on the mind of every American family.”

“I want the next generation of family farmers, ranchers and business owners to keep what their parents and grandparents have worked so hard to earn,” added Rehberg. “That’s what being free is all about. That’s the American dream.”