Congressman Denny Rehberg

 WASHINGTON, DC - Upon recently visiting Iraq and witnessing the positive progression towards sovereignty, Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, commended the Iraqi people for their dedication to democratic principles.
 
      “Having just recently returned from Iraq, I know the Iraqi people are excited to participate in their democracy,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations. “I saw first-hand their enthusiasm to show the world their personal dedication to a democratic form of government by staining their index finger with purple ink and casting a vote.”

      On his Congressional trip to Iraq earlier this month, Rehberg and five of his colleagues met with U.S. military leaders and with Iraq’s deputy Prime Minister Rowsh Shawis and Defense Minister Sadoun Al Dulame.  The group also met with U.S. troops to ensure they have the proper equipment and supplies.

      “The people of Iraq should be applauded for enthusiastically embracing the opportunity to vote, and ensuring that yet another election takes place in Iraq,” Rehberg said. “I saw this in their faces and actions while I was visiting Iraq, and the American people need to understand how supportive the Iraqis are of sovereignty.”

      Iraqi voters today will select the 275 individuals who will serve four-year terms as members of the national Council of Representatives.  The Council of Representatives will select a presidency council and a cabinet of ministers.  The new government is expected to be seated by December 31, 2005.

      “I saw the economic progress in Iraq, and this landmark election is right on track with the President’s plan for victory in Iraq,” Rehberg said.

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 WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, announced his support for border control legislation, scheduled for a House vote, tomorrow.  The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437) cracks down on illegal immigration by addressing penalties for human traffickers, protecting America’s border and economy, and making the government accountable for controlling this problem.

            “A country that doesn’t control its own borders doesn’t control its own destiny. I understand the anxiety that the American public has about our quality of life being impacted by illegal immigration,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “That’s why we need to crack down on human traffickers and impose some real penalties on employers who hire illegal aliens.”

            The measure bolsters U.S. border patrol and surveillance capabilities, ends the federal government’s “catch and release” policy, and deports illegal aliens who commit crimes in the U.S.  Montana has over 500 miles of international border.

            “The American people deserve accountability from their federal government,” Rehberg said. “Illegal aliens are crowding schools, filling emergency rooms, and draining social service dollars that should be going to those in need who are living in America lawfully. This bill is a good first step, but more must be done.”

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  WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today said supporters of the controversial mining and land use provision in the Budget legislation got it right when they stripped the measure from the bill.

“While some were blustering for political purposes about a single vote on a measure that was still in its infancy, I decided to roll up my sleeves and work with folks on both sides of the aisle to protect the rights of those of us who love to hunt and fish.  I told the authors of this provision all along that if they didn’t make changes to protect access to hunting and fishing then I would not support the final version of the budget bill.  Ultimately, they decided to strip the mining provision from the bill altogether, which is a huge victory for outdoorsmen,” Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said.

In a letter, last week, to House and Senate conferees handling the budget reconciliation, Rehberg said he was “concerned that the Mining Provision, as written in the House version of the Deficit Reduction Act, could negatively impact access to hunting and fishing opportunities in Montana.”

“While I voted in favor of the overall bill that contained the Mining Provision, I did so only under the condition that the final version of the bill, as negotiated by a House-Senate Conference Committee, contain language specifically protecting access to hunting and fishing.  Simply put, my position has been, and will continue to be, that I will vote against any final version of this legislation that does not contain protections for sportsmen and sportswomen,” Rehberg warned in the letter, which was dated December 7.

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  WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today said he was pleased to rural health provisions restored in the 2006 Labor-HHS appropriations bill.  With Rehberg’s vote, the House today passed the measure, 215 - 213.

“We’re pretty happy with how the labor bill is ending up. We saw an increase in Title 1 for Montana. We saw an increase in IDEA, which is for disabled children, and we were successful in revisiting rural health and reestablishing the money that was taken away during the appropriations process.  It’s a good bill and I’m pretty pleased with it,” Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said.

The legislation boosts rural spending by $90 million, including a $25 million increase in rural-specific health training funding and a $65 million increase in rural health funding grants, research, and area health education centers.  In addition the legislation provides about $29.3 million for outreach grants, which fund public health departments, Community Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics, mental health providers, and other community based organizations.

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WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today hailed a decision by Japan to lift its two-year ban on U.S. beef.  The decision, announced today, allows Japan to resume imports of products from U.S. beef, aged 20 months or less. Rehberg had sponsored legislation imposing trade sanctions unless Japan resumed beef trade before December 15. 

      “Obviously we’re thrilled that the Japanese would recognize not only the quality, but the health safety of American beef.  This being the holiday season, I can’t think of a better Christmas present to Montana farmers and ranchers than the substantial economic opportunity created by this decision.  Christmas is about families; Montana Agriculture families are going to have a little extra under the tree,” Rehberg, a Billings rancher, said. “Now we will begin negotiating for the opportunity of exporting livestock over 20 months. It’s critical that the Japanese allow free and fair access to their consumers who hunger for Montana beef.”

      On October 28, Rehberg and Rep. John Salazar (D-Colorado) introduced the Trade Accountability Act (H.R. 4179), directing the U.S. Treasury Department to impose tariffs on Japanese products in an amount equal to the $2.7 billion annual loss endured by U.S. beef producers from Japan’s U.S. beef embargo, if Japan failed to resume trade by December 15.

      “As the Japanese government now recognizes, we provide the safest and highest quality beef in the world – reason enough to reestablish U.S. beef imports,” Rehberg said.

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  WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, and Representative Mike Thompson (D-California) today formally requested a hearing for legislation they introduced last month to help veterans impacted by Pentagon experiments on U.S. servicemen three decades ago.  Rehberg and Thompson today asked the House Committee on Armed Services to schedule a hearing on the Veterans Right to Know Act, saying their legislation “deserves immediate attention.”

“Many of the vets who participated in Shipboard Hazard and Defense Project (SHAD) testing were unknowingly exposed to harmful chemicals.  We don’t know how many suffer from serious medical conditions as a result,” said Rehberg who serves on the Military Quality Life Appropriation Subcommittee.  “We’re asking the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee to acknowledge the priority and urgency of our legislation.”

The “Veterans Right to Know Act” would create an independent commission to investigate the SHAD tests the Defense Department performed on nearly 6,000 American troops between 1962 and 1974. The letter to the House Armed Services Chairman explains the horrors of the SHAD tests and the how the legislation would investigate the project further.

“We have introduced the Veterans’ Right to Know Act to establish an independent effort to identify exposed veterans and get them proper medical care,” Rehberg and Thompson wrote. “Veterans deserve to know the extent of their exposure to harmful agents and any related long-term health effects.”

The bipartisan legislation has support from numerous veterans’ groups and organizations.

“Our veterans have earned the right to a thorough investigation,” Rehberg said. “They deserve answers and this bill will help provide those answers.”

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 WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, says he expects Japanese officials to resume American beef imports next week, following the favorable report on the U.S. Beef Industry by the Japanese Food Safety Commission. 

“All along, we’ve stood by our legislation to exact sanctions against the Japanese if they don’t reverse the ban this month.  But it looks like the final hurdle has been cleared. I think Japan will officially announce a lifting of the ban next week,” said Rehberg, a Billings rancher. “I’ve been in contact with Japanese trade officials since the import ban began almost two years ago.  I’ve diligently made the case about the unmatched safety standards of the U.S. beef industry.  As evidenced by their Food Safety Commission, that persistence has paid off.”

Japan enacted a ban on U.S. beef imports following the confirmed discovery of a single case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a Canadian-born diary cow in Washington State in December 2003.  Earlier that year, in May, the Canadian government confirmed a case of BSE in Alberta, Canada, causing the U.S. to enact an immediate ban on Canadian beef imports.  The Canadian beef ban has since been lifted in the U.S. under strict conditions. 

“We challenged the Japanese trade officials to truly investigate every level of our American beef safety system,” Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said, “We knew that once they looked into our safety standards, we’d stand head and shoulders above the rest of the world, and that’s just what happened.”

Rehberg’s Action On Japan Beef Embargo:

(Click on the link for more information, or go to http://www.house.gov/rehberg/)

November 2005 — Met with U.S. Trade Representative and pledged to keep trade sanction bill on the table:

“While I’m glad Japan’s Food Safety Commission has agreed to recognize that U.S. beef is perfectly safe, we’re not ready to pull our bill until Japan ends this ridiculous embargo against our government, our beef and our producers.”

October 2005 — Introduced Trade Accountability Act, which directs Treasury Department to impose tariffs on Japan in amount equal to $2.7 billion annual loss to US beef industry due to unfair trade practices of the Japanese beef embargo:

“U.S. beef easily meets and exceeds World Trade Organization health standards.  The excuse of ensuring consumer safety is a fig leaf behind which Japan can no longer hide.  With so many new U.S. food and animal safety and testing standards put in place since 2003, our beef is arguably the safest in the world.”

September 2005 — Urged Bush Administration to make lifting Japanese beef embargo top trade priority:

“The U.S. cattle and beef industries are losing $100 million each month that Japan remains closed to beef.  The beef industry is a pivotal economic component of many rural communities, and we know the U.S. has the safest food supply in the world.”
 
 – More –-

Rehberg’s Action On Japan Beef Embargo (Con’t):

(Click on the link for more information, or go to http://www.house.gov/rehberg/)

June 2005 — Renewed calls for National Animal Identification Program

April 2005 — Hailed resumption of Taiwan beef trade, urged Japan and South Korea officials to follow suit

March 2005 — Requested a scheduled House vote in favor of blocking USDA from reopening Canadian border

February 2005  –
-Contacted Japanese Ambassador Kato to call for recognition of U.S. testing and safety precautions, and to resume beef trade with the United States.  (More)
-Urged President Bush to persuade Japan to resume trade during flight with President aboard Air Force One en-route to Great Falls. (More)

January 2005 — Urged caution in opening U.S. border to Canadian beef in light of Japan beef embargo

November 2004 — Called for investigating BSE testing procedures

September 2004 — Contacted Japanese Minister of Agriculture to hail US testing standards and call for immediate resumption of beef imports     

July 2004 — Criticized USDA for inconclusive BSE reports

April 2004 — Introduced Consumer and Producer Protection Act

February 2004 — Sponsored National Livestock ID Legislation

January 2004 — Urged additional USDA hearings on BSE response

August 2003 — Contacted UDSA to ensure Meat safety and market stability

May 2003 — Contacted Canadian Ag Minister to express concern over country’s BSE measures

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 WASHINGTON, DC - The Chairman of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation says legislation is needed to clarify water rights for the tribe.  Tribal Chairman John Morales, testifying before the House Resources Committee, Wednesday, endorsed legislation introduced by Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg.  The measure, identical to companion legislation introduced in the Senate by Conrad Burns, clears legal hurdles needed to complete Northeast Montana’s Fort Peck Indian Reservation and Dry Prairie Rural Water System.

“The water quality within the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and within the Dry Prairie service area had once ranked as among the poorest in the country,” Rehberg said of the project that will bring quality drinking water from a new intake and treatment plant on the Missouri River, near Wolf Point.

Rehberg and Burns, Montana’s two Congressional appropriators, included $13 million in the 2006 Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee for the Water System, which combines separate ventures involving the Dry Prairie Rural Water Authority and the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System, which lies on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

Morales told the panel Rehberg’s legislation is needed “to address any possible questions regarding the Tribes’ grant of use” of the water to Dry Prairie, and that the measure “which was drafted by the Tribes, Dry Prairie and the Department of the Interior, does this.”

I’m proud of the work that’s being done and progress were seeing on this vital water project. These communities deserve nothing less than our goal of providing each with a safe and dependable drinking water supply,” Rehberg said. “The Fort Peck and Dry Prairie Water System is truly a congressional success story for the people of northeastern Montana,” Rehberg said of the water project that will provide clean water for nearly 30,000 residents over 7,800 square miles.

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 WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, released the following statement in response today’s Resources’ Committee Hearing on the Indian Trust Reform Act of 2005. Eloise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the so-called Cobell Indian trust fund dispute, testified at the hearing on the proposed legislation to provide a settlement of the accounting claims in the Cobell v. Norton lawsuit and improve the Department of Interior’s management of assets and accounts held in trust for Native Americans. 

“The accounting problems uncovered in this case are unacceptable,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “A banker or an accountant would be held liable and suffer serious penalties for mismanaging a client’s funds the way the Interior Department mismanaged these trust funds.

Rehberg, as a previous member of the Resources Committee, held a field hearing in Billings two years ago to resolve the Cobell Indian trust fund dispute.

“It’s understandable that those involved in the Cobell lawsuit don’t have any confidence in the federal government’s ability to manage their trust accounts,” Rehberg said.  “It’s our job now to mend the broken trust, address the accounting problems, and provide a fair solution.” 

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 WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005 (H.R. 4297).

      “This legislation will prevent the federal government from raising taxes. That’s why I voted for it. We should not be raising taxes on hard-working Montanans,” Rehberg said. “The various tax relief measures enacted over last few years are set to expire. That means tax rates are going to increase. That’s not what our economy needs. America’s economy is very strong right now with over four and a half million new jobs created since 2003. And Washington taking even more money from taxpayers will hurt our economy. It’s that simple.”

      The key provisions in the legislation include extending:

·        Allowance for personal tax credits, such as the dependent care, Hope and Lifetime Learning credits, to offset Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) liability

·        Income tax deduction for State and local sales taxes

·        Research and development (R&D) tax credit.  In addition to the extension, the credit is enhanced by providing an alternative method for calculating the credit

·        Above-the-line deduction for higher education expenses.

·        Above-the-line deduction for out-of-pocket teacher classroom expenses.

·        Authority to issue Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs) for school modernization, equipment and teacher training in high-poverty areas

·        Enhanced charitable deduction for computer donations to schools and public libraries

·        Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) for hiring individuals who face barriers to employment.  In addition to the extension, the age limit for eligible food stamp recipients is increased from 25 to 35

·        Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit for hiring individuals who have received public assistance for an extended period of time

·        Incentives for business activity on Indian reservations

·        Saver’s tax credit” for lower income workers who contribute to retirement savings accounts

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