Congressman Denny Rehberg

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today announced the U.S. Department of Treasury has awarded more than $1.8 million in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) funding to four community development organizations in Montana.

“This important funding program provides significant opportunities for Montana businesses and entrepreneurs and helps strengthen our communities,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.  “I support the CDFI program because it has a proven track record of providing needed training, expertise and financial assistance here in Montana.”

The CDFI program is funded annually by Congress and consists of Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance awards. In fiscal year 2008, Congress allocated $54.2 million in CDFI funding to 89 organizations from a pool of 225 applicants.  CDFI funds promote opportunities for rural communities and low-income assistance organizations through private, for-profit, and nonprofit community-based lending organizations known as Community Development Financial Institutions.

“This funding will help provide additional staff and more expertise, and ultimately increase our ability to finance and service loans,” said Kimberliegh Thiel-Schaaf, Community Asset Director for the Great Falls Development Authority, which serves nine counties in central Montana.  “This, in turn, allows us to better serve the business community in central Montana.”

“This funding will go right out into the community,” said Rosalie Sheehy Cates, Executive Director for the Montana community Development Corporation, which serves a five county area in western Montana.  “There is currently a great deal of demand and the CDFI funds will provide immediate business loans and technical assistance to businesses in our region.”

The four community development organizations receiving CDFI funding in Montana are: Montana Community Development Corporation, Missoula, $1,090,345; Wolf Point Federal Credit Union (a certified CDFI institution), $593,393; Great Falls Development Authority, $96,950; Butte Local Development Corporation, $22,808.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, returned to Washington, D.C. Friday for the second time in August to continue the call for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil and respond to America’s current energy crisis by reconvening Congress for an up-or-down vote on a comprehensive energy policy to lower gas prices.

“We already have bipartisan support for our comprehensive energy policy,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee.  “Now we need Speaker Pelosi to listen to what folks are saying in Montana and around the country.  Partisan sniping is all that stands between Montanans and lower prices at the pump.”

Today caps the third week of Republican action since House Democrats adjourned the House of Representatives for a five-week vacation.  More than 120 Republican members, including Rehberg, have returned to Washington, DC to speak on the House Floor in front of enthusiastic audiences about the urgent need for Congress to pass legislation to address the rising cost of gas.

House Republicans are pushing for Speaker Pelosi to allow an up or down vote on the American Energy Act, a balanced energy plan introduced last month that includes research and development in traditional fossil fuels, energy conservation, alternative energy sources, and energy technology.  Rehberg is a co-sponsor of the legislation (HR 6566).

Rehberg’s plan for energy independence can be viewed on his website at http://www.house.gov/rehberg/energyindependence/.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) today to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil and respond to America’s current energy crisis by calling a special session of Congress and passing comprehensive energy legislation to lower gas prices.

“America needs a Congress that will act now to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and work to lower gas prices,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “Speaker Pelosi closed up shop, left town, and is now on vacation signing autographs for her book, instead of displaying true leadership and helping to pass an energy plan.”

Rehberg and dozens of his Republican colleagues today continued their effort to force Speaker Pelosi to call the House back into session.  House Republicans, who last week rejected the decision to adjourn, have remained on the House floor, darkened and without cameras or microphones after the Democratic Leadership shut down the House for the August recess.  The members, joined by the American public, are discussing the effects high energy prices are having on families across the country.  On Wednesday, Rehberg is taking part in more than six hours of debate from the House floor.  Many current and former members of Congress, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and others, have joined the effort.

“It’s very heartening to see so much enthusiasm from my Republican colleagues and the general public in response to the call for relief at the gas pump,” Rehberg said.  “We need to send a strong message that the United States Congress will do everything it can to wean America from foreign oil.  If Congress acts now, I’m confident you’ll see a reduction in the price of gasoline. I’m going to continue to try to solve our energy problems.”

House Republicans are pushing for Speaker Pelosi to allow an up or down vote on the American Energy Act, a balanced energy plan introduced last month that includes research and development in traditional fossil fuels, energy conservation, alternative energy sources, and energy technology.  Rehberg is a co-sponsor of the legislation (HR 6566).   Following the call to action on the House floor today, Rehberg and House Republicans discussed further solutions to American’s energy problems in a meeting with officials from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Rehberg’s plan for energy independence can be viewed on his website at http://www.house.gov/rehberg/energyindependence/.

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Denny Returns to D.C. as Concerns from Dozens of Montanans Emphasize Vital Need for Energy Solutions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today flew from Logan International Airport in Billings to Washington, D.C. to join his Republican colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives in an effort to force Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call a special session of Congress in order to pass comprehensive energy legislation to lower gas prices.

“During the few days while I was back in Montana, I heard over and over from Montanans that Congress needs to solve the energy crisis, and solve it immediately,” said Rehberg, a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.  “I’ve seen the efforts of my colleagues who are standing on the House floor, calling for a vote, and I’m going to add Montana’s voice to the mix.  Montanans know Washington, D.C. is where the work needs to be done.  It can’t wait five weeks while Congress is on recess.”

Although the lights and the microphones have been turned off, House Republicans, joined by the American public, have spent the last several days speaking on the House floor about the need for a comprehensive energy plan.  During that time, many of the members have discussed the effect high prices are having on families back home. On Wednesday, Rehberg plans to take part in six hours of debate.

“Folks in Montana are suffering from a constant strain on their pocketbooks,” said Rehberg.  “They’ve asked me to come back and tell those stories.  So, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Rehberg’s plan for energy independence can be viewed on his website at http://www.house.gov/rehberg/energyindependence/.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, last night spoke on the House floor and successfully urged the Chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee to find a way to pass a provision which would allow Project 112 and SHAD veterans to receive care at VA facilities.  Chairman Chet Edwards (D-TX) responded to Rehberg’s request by assuring him he would help include the provision in must-pass legislation as soon as possible.

“The federal government has failed to provide SHAD veterans with basic healthcare for more than 40 years,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.  “Even worse, these veterans are suffering from illnesses the Department of Defense caused in the first place.  We’ve got to ensure these brave men and women, who were subject to secret chemical testing, have access to VA care and it’s a big step that the Chairman is willing to help get this passed.”

Project 112, which included Project SHAD, was conducted between 1963 and 1973 by the Department of Defense and other federal agencies.  During these projects, a number of weapons containing chemical and biological agents such as VX nerve gas, Sarin Nerve Gas, and E. Coli were tested on unknowing military personnel.

The existence of these tests was denied by the Department of Defense (DoD), despite reports from participating veterans that they were being stricken with unusual diseases.  Though the DoD now acknowledges the tests took place, the Veterans Administration (VA) will not provide these veterans with health benefits and compensation for their diseases.

The provision, which was included by Rehberg and Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) in last year’s Veterans’ Healthcare Improvement Act but was never passed by the Senate, would require the VA to provide care to Project 112 and SHAD veterans without proof of service connection.

“My constituent John Olson, a veteran of Project SHAD, spent all day Tuesday undergoing tests for a possible aneurysm,” said Rehberg on the House floor.  “This is the latest in a long line of his medical problems since leaving the service.  Yet, as my friend from California will state, the VA is approving claims at an embarrassingly low rate.  We can, and should, do all we can to take care of these veterans.”

Rehberg and Thompson have also led legislation which would require the VA to assume the toxins used in the weapons tests caused injury to the veterans, making them eligible for medical benefits and/or compensation for their conditions and instructs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, within 180 days of enactment, to notify all veterans of potential exposure to the biological or chemical weapons used in Project 112 and Project SHAD.

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