Steve Daines

They just don't make any sense for us on the ground back home.

It serves an important purpose, to protect our outdoor heritage and, certainly, the unmatched landscapes we have.

That is the exemption, the carve-out that we are looking for that would be helpful.

The problem we have now with our timber folks back home is they are giving up because of the uncertainty.

I really think the States could take the lead in this issue.

I think requiring all projects to go through a pre-decision objections process was a good step, but events on the ground in Montana suggest it is not sufficient.

What we would like to see is let's take that 100 million up to maybe 200 million, maybe 300 million board feet, off of our Federal lands.

It is shocking talking to the mill operators. When I asked where are you getting your logs today?

I'm looking where this all heads for kids and grandkids because I think we've got something very, very special here in America, which is this free and open Internet.

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, March 18; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to…

if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 6:33 p.m., adjourned until Wednesday, March 18, 2015, at 9:30 a.m.

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Bringing Montana Solutions to Washington

it is an incredible honor to represent Montana in the Senate. More than 150 years ago, a young Norwegian woman named Karine Dyrud immigrated to this country. She came in search of freedom and opportunity. She came to a nation where…

But too often the change in generation sources is brought by misguided federal policies.

I think it's important to remember that we're here to serve the people, not the other way around.

Well, I'd be happy to get our farmers together here and chat, because it was a great concern as we're looking at backing up here and not seeing an end as the port we shut down for 5 weeks.

So we were just curious why they were not these plans put in place when this disruption of inspections occurred.

The Crow Tribe, for example, their unemployment rate today is 50 percent.

The tax revenue of coal production in Montana is $118 million a year.

I think it's relevant. To me, it's relevant to grain growers across Montana that the USDA's decisions are transparent and held to account, and I would ask you to release those reports for review as soon as possible.

What I think would helpful is I know some of my Montana producers have expressed concerns that the Department simply played out the clock by not identifying the mitigations until after the labor dispute was resolved.

These proposed EPA clean power plant rules could threaten operations at Colstrip.

Last summer, the USDA failed to conduct federally mandated grain inspections at the Port of Vancouver.

Last summer, the USDA failed to conduct federally mandated grain inspections at the Port of Vancouver.

I voiced concerns I've heard regarding the President's proposal to consolidate food safety agencies into a new agency entirely within HHS.