Congressman Denny Rehberg

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today offered an amendment during the initial stages of next year’s Energy and Water Appropriations Bill reducing the cost to the taxpayer by $1.2 billion.

“While talking about spending freezes next year, House Democrats are blowing up the spending this year to compensate,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee.  “This slight of hand is at best ineffective and at worst completely dishonest and cynical.  This freeze is empty rhetoric because it won’t actually reduce spending, or even hold it steady.  Montanans expect better.  My amendment essentially implements the spending freeze a year early – locking last year’s funding level in place.”

The national debt has grown to more than $13 trillion, which is more than $42,000 for every man, woman and child in America.  Despite not passing a budget for the coming year, the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee has requested $34.7 billion for next year.  That figure was $33.5 billion this year.  Rehberg’s Amendment reduces the 2011 funding figure to the 2010 level.

“I’ve joined Republicans in forgoing earmarks this year, promising it was the first step toward true comprehensive spending reform,” said Rehberg.  “My amendment gave my Democratic colleagues a chance to actually put taxpayers money where their mouths are, and they said no.  When it comes to fiscal reform, the distinction couldn’t be more clear.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar expressing concerns about proposals to designate between 2.5 and 4.1 million acres of Montana lands as National Monuments.  He also urged him to include all impacted Montanans in the discussions long before such a designation is ever made.
 
“I want Secretary Salazar to understand that the concerns of thousands of Montanans are much deeper than what some have called mere politics,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Western Caucus.  “We’ve been down this road before, long before he was in the driver’s seat, and we know where it leads.  If the course of action is already determined, as some suspect it is, then going through the motions of public input is a waste of time.  Montanans deserve more than a voice. We also have a right to say no if we don’t like the federal government’s plan for our land.”
 
In the eleventh hour of the outgoing Clinton Administration, the President used his authority granted in the Antiquities Act to create the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, despite outright opposition from Montanans across the state.  So when a secret memo was discovered laying out a vision for millions of new acres for designation under the same authority, Rehberg and other members of the House Western Caucus started asking questions.  Most of those questions have not been answered.
 
It’s since become evident that high ranking officials within the Department of the Interior have been working closely with select members of powerful special interest groups, while most Montanans have been left out of the process.  Rehberg has posted hundreds of pages of emails and documents on his website at http://rehberg.house.gov.
 
“Montanans expect a high level of transparency when it comes to their government’s plans,” said Rehberg.  “But even more important than transparency, they expect to have a say in the end result.  I’m inviting Secretary Salazar to join me in listening to what Montanans have to say.”

The complete letter is below:

Dear Secretary Salazar:

Earlier this year, a Department of the Interior (DOI) memo recommending 13 million acres for designation as new National Monuments was leaked to members of Congress.  The document included 2.5 million acres in Montana, with an additional 4.1 million acres mentioned in related emails between your agency and the World Wildlife Fund.

Unfortunately, this proposed land grab is neither surprising nor unprecedented.  In the waning hours of the Clinton Administration, federal bureaucrats locked up tens of thousands of acres in Montana when it created the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.  At the time, officials claimed to have listened to Montanans prior to making that decision, a decision that ultimately was very controversial. 

As a result, Montanans remain skeptical when they hear similar promises from the federal government today.  You echoed these promises during a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations, where you guaranteed a “conversation and a dialogue” with local citizens before decisions are made regarding new National Monuments.

With this in mind, I encourage you to visit the lands referenced in the leaked document, the so-called Montana’s Northern Prairie, to start a dialogue with Montanans who are rightfully concerned about the future of their lands.  I’d like to extend an invitation, on behalf of all those who were left out of the discussions, asking you to make an official visit to our great state to meet with my constituents and me.

The current Administration claims to be the most open and transparent in history, yet it blatantly excluded affected landowners, ranchers, farmers, elected officials, outdoor recreationists and hunters from these discussions.  Instead, the Administration chose to exclusively seek the advice of powerful special interest groups, and it refuses to make public thousands of pages of public documents. 

While we don’t always see eye-to-eye, I think we can both agree that Montanans should have a seat at the table when decisions are made that affect our public lands.  Thank you for your consideration of this request, and please don’t hesitate to contact my office if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, has cosponsored the National Monument Designation Transparency and Accountability Act with members of the Congressional Western Caucus.  In conjunction with legislation he’s already introduced that would require congressional approval of any National Monument designation in Montana, this legislation would enact additional reforms intended to modernize the original 1906 legislation to meet public expectations of transparency and accountability.

“Montanans expect and deserve a new level of government transparency that wasn’t possible when the Antiquities Act was first created more than a century ago,” said Rehberg, a member of the Congressional Western Caucus.  “The Antiquities Act is a relic of a time when politicians worked far from the scrutiny of public attention – often days of travel by train from the voters they represented.  The secrecy that this distance afforded simply doesn’t fly anymore.  Voters deserve to know what their government is doing, and they deserve to have a say in it.  Modern technology makes it possible, and it’s the responsibility of every elected official to ensure it happens.”

The National Monument Designation Transparency and Accountability Act includes several provisions that will modernize the Antiquities Act.  By changing the size restriction of land the President can designate from “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the object to be protected,” to “the smallest area essential to ensure the proper care and management of the objects to be protected,” it reduces the amount of land the President can designate as a national monument.  This simple change has become necessary following the audacity of the recently leaked secret plans being crafted by the Department of the Interior to designate more than 13 million acres as new National Monuments.

In addition, the process by which a National Monument is designated is also updated in the bill, with new requirements for transparency and accountability added before and after any monument designation.  For example, 30 days before making a decision, the President would be required to provide the language of the proposed proclamation to all government officials with authority over the land located within the proposed National Monument.  This includes state, local and tribal officials.  The Secretary of the Interior would then be required, by the law, to hold a public meeting, take public comments and make the draft and comments available online.

The legislation also creates a role for congressional oversight once the President designates the monument.  Within one year of a new designation, the Administration would have to produce a report that examines the monument designation across several criteria: economic impact of the local communities, impact on domestic energy production, and the impact on other interests, rights and uses of the land – including water rights, hunting, grazing, timber production, forest health, off-road vehicle use, hiking, horseback riding, and mineral and energy leases, claims, and permits.  Once the report is completed, the designation must be approved by an Act of Congress within two years.  Without such an approval, the proclamation would be undone.

“The Clinton Administration invented the abuse of the Antiquities Act with the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument and the Obama Administration seems intent on perfecting it,” said Rehberg.  “The Secretary of the Interior has already promised an open and transparent system – this legislation ensures the Department keeps its promise.  Transparency is the antidote to government abuse.”

WASHINGTON ,D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today released the following statement regarding comments attributed to Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, which were then distributed by Senator Jon Tester following a Senate hearing.  In reference to a federal land-grab in Montana that was repeatedly mentioned in secret Department of Interior emails and documents, the Secretary is reported to have said: “I think it is folks fanning the flames.  We hope that we move forward with a conservation agenda. But it involves listening to the people and it doesn’t involve the heavy hand of government coming in and imposing the monument authority.”

“In the closing hours of the Clinton Administration, federal bureaucrats locked up tens of thousands of acres in Montana as a National Monument.  At the time, officials also claimed to have listened to Montanans prior to making that decision – a decision that ultimately was very controversial in Montana.   So forgive me for continuing to be very skeptical of Washington bureaucrats who claim to know what’s best for Montana.   If Secretary Salazar were sincere about his willingness to be open and transparent, he could settle the matter in an instant by releasing the document that his agency has decided to keep a secret.  This includes the missing pages of the original memo and the more than 2,000 pages of emails and attachments referenced in the 300-pages that I have posted on my website.  If I had the fortune of publicly questioning the Secretary about this matter you can bet that I would put Montana’s interest in managing our land ahead of the Department of Interior’s interest in covering its tracks.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, released the following statement in advance of President Obama’s Oval Office address on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Like all Montanans, I’m deeply concerned with the short and long-term effects of this environmental disaster.  This situation was avoidable, and those who are responsible must be held accountable.  Unfortunately, many have decided to use this spill as an excuse to cut back our domestic energy production.  That merely shifts energy production to foreign shores of the Middle East, Russia and Venezuela.  No one wants a repeat of what happened in the Gulf, and the best chance of succeeding in that goal is to keep the energy production right here at home, where the will to protect the environment meets the technological ability to make it happen.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today joined House Republican colleagues in unveiling America Speaking Out.  By providing an online forum for Montanans to voice their opinions in setting priorities for a national agenda, this initiative mirrors the public input that Rehberg has solicited at 44 public listening sessions and through online social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

“Montanans are sick and tired of the vote-first-ask-questions-later approach to lawmaking that Speaker Pelosi has adopted.  It’s a recipe for bad laws, and worse, it’s a sign of an unresponsive government that serves its own interests before the interests of the people.  That’s why I hosted 44 public listening sessions.  That’s why I asked for 30 days to come back to Montana and listen before any vote on a health care bill.  That’s why, on a daily basis, I interact with thousands of Montanans on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  It’s time Washington, D.C. listens to the people.  We want to know what you think.  And that’s what America Speaking Out is all about.”

America Speaking Out is the first legislative website of its kind.  Using modern online tools, it empowers users to submit their own ideas or weigh in on the ideas of others.  It creates a one-of-a-kind pipeline to Washington, D.C. that will help make Congress look a lot more like Montana.  Montanans can access America Speaking Out online at http://www.americaspeakingout.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, has posted online 383 previously unreleased pages from the Department of Interior regarding ongoing plans to declare millions of acres as National Monuments.  Using email and social media, he asked Montanans to review the materials and report anything of interest that they found. 

“Transparency in government is the first principle of rule by the people,” said Rehberg, a member of the Congressional Western Caucus.  “While some have gone to great lengths to keep these documents secret, and others have suggested there was no reason to see them, I think we ought to let Montanans see for themselves what their government is doing.  It’s not going to be easy to sneak this one past almost a million Montanans.”

Although Rehberg posted the new pages – mostly emails – on his website, the DOI continues to withhold at least 2,016 pages, including the missing pages of the internal memo that was discovered earlier this year.  Rehberg has cosponsored a resolution that would compel all of these missing pages to be released.  He has also sponsored legislation that would require congressional approval of new National Monument designations in Montana.

“These documents clearly reveal that other DOI agencies including the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Reclamation have been involved,” said Rehberg in his email to Montanans.  “Powerful environmental interest groups have also been invited to the table.  The more we learn, the more urgent it becomes to pass legislation preventing a repeat of the gross abuse of power we saw in the waning days of the Clinton Administration.  I will do everything in my power to prevent the federalization of Montana land.”

The documents can be downloaded online from here: http://rehberg.house.gov/uploads/DeptofInterior.zip

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Denny Rehberg (MT-AL) and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD-AL) have joined forces in introducing the bipartisan Limit Executive Actions Suspending Energy (LEASE) Act of 2010.  This legislation would prevent the executive branch from circumventing Congress to create laws with regard to climate change regulation.  Most recently, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) unilaterally suspended oil and gas leases in three Western states.

“An unelected bureaucrat doesn’t have the authority to make policy over the objections of the American people and Congress,” said Rehberg, a member of the Congressional Western Caucus.  “While protecting the environment is important, so is protecting the economy, and the last thing we need is Washington picking winners and losers in an already struggling economy.”

“Once again, we are seeing one-size-fits-all policy being crafted by some in Washington who don’t understand the unique needs and strengths of South Dakota,” Herseth Sandlin said. “This legislation will ensure that until Congress acts, rural communities are protected from agencies acting on their own and issuing regulations that could harm our energy and agricultural producers, and other industries.”

The LEASE Act prevents the head of federal agencies from taking administrative actions to regulate greenhouse gas emissions without express statutory authorization from Congress.  Prohibited actions include issuing secretarial orders or regulations and monitoring, mitigating, predicting or documenting so-called greenhouse gas emissions.

Earlier this year, BLM settled a lawsuit filed by several well-funded special interest groups to suspend 61 oil and gas lease sales in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.  The lawsuit alleged that BLM did not analyze the impacts of climate change as would be required by Secretarial Order 3226, which was issued by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in the final days of the Clinton Administration.  BLM also postponed all of its upcoming 2010 lease sales after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar decided to incorporate climate change evaluation into all decision-making at the Department of Interior (DOI).  These regulatory decisions were made without consulting Congress.

An economic analysis by Montana State University Billings concluded that oil and gas development has a total impact of more than $8.6 billion in Montana and supports more than 12,000 jobs.  A similar study undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that the total direct impact of the oil and gas industry in South Dakota accounts for more than 8,000 jobs.  These delays disproportionately affect independent producers, who supply 68 percent of American oil and 82 percent of American natural gas.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today released the following statement in response to the introduction of Cap and Trade legislation in the United States Senate.

“Cap and tax isn’t a partisan issue.  In the House, I joined 212 Members of Congress, including 44 Democrats, in voting against similar legislation.  This is an issue that pits the interests of rural states against the power of urban ones.  That’s why not a single Representative, Republican or Democrat, from Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, North Dakota or South Dakota voted for it.  In the House, where members are apportioned by population, urban states like California can force their will on less populated states.  Fortunately, in the Senate, rural interests can’t be ignored.  I hope that the Senate continues to stand firm against any energy tax that’s designed to not only increase energy prices but destroy Montana jobs.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, has been recognized for promoting “the principles of liberty and the strength of the Constitution,” by the American Conservative Union (ACU), the nation’s oldest and largest conservative grassroots organization.  Rehberg was named an “ACU Conservative” with a 92% percent rating in 2009 based on 25 votes covering government bailouts, wasteful spending, taxes, and health care reform.  Rehberg has a 90% lifetime rating with the ACU.

“I voted with Montanans who believe that government isn’t the solution to all our problems and that government is most effective when it empowers individuals with freedom and opportunity,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Liberty Caucus.  “It’s these ideals, shaped by the input from Montanans at 44 listening sessions that shape my voting record.”

The American Conservative Union was founded in 1964 as a grassroots organization promoting traditional values, a market economy, a strong national defense, and the doctrines of the Constitution.  The ACU has published an annual rating of Congress since 1971 based on 25 votes each in the House and Senate.  Key issues in the first session of the 111th Congress included the financial industry bailouts, stimulus spending, energy policy, federal abortion funding, and health care reform.  Rehberg is the only member of the Montana delegation to vote against every bailout and the $1 trillion so-called stimulus package.

“This award is a reflection of Representative Denny Rehberg’s consistent support of conservative principles on a wide range of issues of concern to grass roots conservatives in 2009,” said David A. Keene, Chairman of the American Conservative Union.  “At a challenging time when the fundamental principles on which the American system of government are being challenged, Representative Denny Rehberg stands with those who are trying to preserve those principles.”