Congressman Denny Rehberg

Washington, D.C. - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, released the following statement today regarding the Senate confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court:

“Montanans should be proud that a majority of Senators decided to set aside negative, partisan politics and confirm Judge Alito to the Supreme Court.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, released this statement tonight following President Bush’s State of The Union Speech:

“The President’s message tonight really spoke to Montana’s strengths and needs. We will create jobs and economic opportunity. That means developing our energy resources, which includes our coal reserves and alternatives like wind, ethanol, and hydrogen. This will enable us to provide the health care system Montanans expect and the education our children deserve.”

WASHINGTON, DC - Emphasizing the important role community development funding plays in rural and western communities, Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg urged President Bush to fully fund the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. Administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the funding provides for development efforts for state and local government housing and communities.

“Providing assistance for development and sustainability for Montana’s communities is essential,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “The program strengthens our communities and provides an opportunity for growth and development, which across parts of Montana, is a priority.”

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Rehberg has worked continuously to ensure funding for the program and to keep the CDBG housed at HUD. Rehberg and his colleagues expressed “strong support” for CDBG and reiterated its role in rebuilding communities, which the President mentioned in his recent speech in New Orleans.

“The CDBG program has been a vital tool in helping to rebuild communities for the last thirty years,” the lawmakers wrote. “CDBG is a proven program that delivers results, is valued by local leaders throughout the nation, and has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.”

“Montana communities have gained tremendously from CDBG, but building sustainable communities doesn’t happen immediately. It’s continuous, and that’s the reason why we so strongly support the program,” Rehberg said.

LETTER BELOW:

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WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today formally requested a hearing regarding the recent report released from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Inspector General. Rehberg today asked the House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte to schedule a full committee hearing on the report, which cited the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) was failing to properly enforce trade protection law.

“The United States’ free market-economy hinges on open and competitive markets,” wrote Rehberg who serves on the House Appropriations Committee.  “Any attempts to circumvent market protection laws must be dealt with and corrected immediately. A hearing would provide the proper public forum to discuss the issues and be a logical first step toward producing a solution.”

The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration is responsible for enforcing the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921. The Act ensures that fair trade practices are implemented and is the “best tool” to combat free-market violations. The report released earlier this month cited “mismanagement and lack of oversight within GIPSA.”

“I’m asking Chairman Goodlatte to acknowledge the priority and urgency of the recent report’s findings,” Rehberg said. “It’s the government’s responsibility to ensure fair trade practices, and in this situation, immediate attention is needed. Our producers deserve nothing less.”

Letter Below:

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Announcement follows Congressman’s tour of Golden Sunlight Mine

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today announced a $120,000 grant for Montana from the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration. The funding provides mine safety education and training for miners in 20 states. Rehberg made the announcement following a tour of the Golden Sunlight mine in Whitehall.

“With the recent tragedy at the Sago Mine in West Virginia, it’s important that states are given the funding to provide sufficient training and education for miners,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “The funding is much-needed for the hard working miners who often operate in risky working environments.”

The Department of Labor announced $4 million in grants to miners in 20 states nationwide, and Montana will receive $120,373. The funding provides federally mandated training of coal, metal and nonmetal mine workers.

“I respect the work and sacrifice miners undertake each day and mine safety training and education cannot be overlooked,” Rehberg said. “I appreciate the Labor Department’s attention to the safety and proper training of miners.”

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, released the following statement regarding Osama Bin Laden’s audio tape which aired today:

“Osama Bin Laden can’t be trusted and Americans know that. He’s a murderer, pure and simple, both on our soil and abroad.  I’ve visited Afghanistan and most recently, Iraq, and we are making significant progress on the ground in rooting out Bin Laden’s terrorist network.  His threats today further demonstrate why we must win the war on terror.”

Rehberg is a member of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee.

HELENA, MT - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today said he’ll fight federal plans to cut the Army National Guard’s payroll.  Rehberg’s comments came in reaction to a Pentagon news conference today, in which Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey said the U.S. may reduce the number of Army National Guard brigade combat teams to 28 from 34.

“This number is 17,000 soldiers less than authorized by Congress,” Rehberg said in a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. “I urge you to consider the negative impacts of this proposal on Montana and the nation as a whole.”

Rehberg said he’ll meet next week with Gen. Randy Mosley, adjutant general of the Montana National Guard, “to discuss and strategize” against the proposed cuts. “I’m very concerned about the negative effect of these cuts on the Montana National Guard, and I’m going to fight this,” Rehberg, a member of the House Military Quality of Life Appropriations subcommittee, explained.

“The Montana Army National Guard has operated in theaters around the world, and is valiantly serving in the War on Terror,” Rehberg said in his letter to Rumsfeld. “At this point, more than 40 percent of the Montana National Guard Force have been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have serious concerns that further troop reductions would negatively impact both military and homeland security missions, as well as regional deployments such as fighting wildfires in states like Montana.”

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg (R), said today’s decision by South Korea to resume U.S. beef imports “is an acknowledgement of the hard work we’ve done in pressing Korea and Japan to recognize the unrivaled safety standards of the U.S. beef industry.”  The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative are releasing details of the agreement reached today in South Korea.

“Getting these trade restrictions removed has been an on-going process for over two years, but we kept working knowing full well that U.S. safety standards are the best in the world.  That hard work has paid off.” Rehberg said.

Full details of the agreement are yet to be released, but the U.S. Embassy is reporting that South Korean has agreed to resume U.S. beef imports, by the end of March, from cows under 30 months old.  In 2003, the country had imported nearly $850 million of U.S. beef (nearly 200,000 tons) prior to closing its borders in December, after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was announced.  South Korea was America’s second-largest foreign market for beef, after Japan.

“As I predicted last year, our hard work in getting Japan to re-open it’s borders would cause other trading partners to follow the lead,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, who introduced legislation last October imposing trade sanctions on Japan unless the country resumed U.S. beef trade.  In December, the Japanese Food Safety Commission cleared U.S. beef for import into the country.

“Montana’s beef industry accounts for about $2 billion annually, so this decision will directly benefit our economy, but there’s still more work to be done, we have a number of countries still shutting out our beef,” Rehberg said.  “We’ll continue working to get all of our trading partners to resume full trade for U.S. beef.”

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, has enlisted a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in the fight against federal plans to phase out funding of three Indian museums operated by the U.S. Department of the Interior.  Writing to White House budget director Josh Bolton, Rehberg and a group of colleagues urged in their letter to the Administration to restore funding to the program. The Plains museum in Browning attracts over 15,000 tourists annually.

“I wanted to follow up on the issue and really let the Administration know that we are serious about this issue,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “The letter is just the first step in addressing the museums’ concerns, and we plan to keep on working on this issue.”

The role of the three museums is to properly house the Native American artifacts and to enforce the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, which helps Indian artists and craftsmen protect the authenticity of their art from counterfeit replicas. Rehberg said a meeting with Interior is next on the list for his coalition, which includes Senator Tim Johnson, Representative Tom Cole, Representative Frank Lucas, and Representative Stephanie Herseth.

“Forcing these museums to close and ship their collections to a national museum thousands of miles away would deal a severe blow to the communities and cultures the museums serve,” Rehberg said. “The federal government cannot simply walk away from its responsibility to preserve valuable historical artifacts.  American Indians, and indeed all Americans, have a right to expect even a small government investment in the protection of these treasures.”

LETTER BELOW:

January 12, 2006

The Honorable Josh Bolton
Director
Office of Management and Budget
Washington, DC  20503

Dear Director Bolton,

We are writing to express our concern with the federal funding of the three Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) museums of the Department of the Interior. Although we understand that the Budget Office has no intention of closing the museums in 2006, The Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning, Montana, The Sioux Indian Museum in Rapid City, South Dakota, and The Southern Plains Indian Museum in Anadarko, Oklahoma, are threatened with closure in fiscal year 2007 if these museums are not properly funded. We strongly support these museums and will vigorously oppose any attempts to undermine their important mission.

The museums promote Native American art through the housing and preservation of valuable Native American historical artifacts that are centuries old. The IACB’s additional responsibility is to enforce the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, which was created to protect Indian arts, crafts and culture from an increase in sales of counterfeit Indian arts and crafts.  The IACB currently has a budget of $1.1 million. It costs only $400,000 to run all three museums. The IACB believes that it does not receive proper funding to fulfill its obligation to the museums’ legacy and to continue to enforce the Act to restrain counterfeit Indian artistry and craftsmanship. However, we believe the IACB’s mission of promoting Native American art through the operation of these museums should not be abandoned.

The Indian art and collections at each of the three museums are very unique and rare. An array of historical artifacts, tools, jewelry, and clothing are visual reminders of the region’s cultural history. The region-specific exhibits attract tourists interested in the artifacts of the particular tribes and their traditions. If the museums are forced to close in 2007, an attempt is sure to be made to relocate the rare and unique treasures they house to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.  Forcing these museums to close and ship their collections to a national museum thousands of miles away would deal a severe blow to the communities and cultures the museums serve.

The federal government cannot simply walk away from its responsibility to preserve valuable historical artifacts.  American Indians, and indeed all Americans, have a right to expect even a small government investment in the protection of these treasures.  We look forward to working with you during the budget process to ensure the continued operation of these important historical and cultural museums.  Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

Sincerely,

Congressman Denny Rehberg
Congressman Frank Lucas
Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth
Senator Tim Johnson
Congressman Tom Cole

cc:  Gale Norton, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior

BILLINGS, MT - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg (R), today hailed the decision by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF) to decrease its eastbound grain shipping rates for Montana producers.  The company informed Rehberg of its decision today.

“Producers in Montana are really at the mercy of BNSF when it comes to rail shipping costs,” said Rehberg.  “So this is really welcome news, and should provide some much needed relief for Montana farmers.”

BNSF says the rate decrease will likely range from $70 to $270 per car, depending on origin and destination.  Rehberg has been urging BNSF officials to lower the shipping rates they charge Montana producers, and was an original co-sponsor of The Railroad Competition Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (H.R. 2047), which would, among other things, require the Surface Transportation Board to adopt new methods for determining the reasonableness of rates.  The measure would also require the arbitration of rail rate disputes, and establish the Office of Rail Customer Advocacy.  The bill was introduced in the House last May, and has been referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads.

“I’ve been working with Montana producers for years to try and persuade BNSF to lower its rates, which many of us believe are unreasonably high,” Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said.  “While BNSF certainly enjoys a competitive advantage in Montana, it is regulated by the federal government, so it’s important for them to remain responsive to our concerns.”