Montana Senator Jon Tester says he is determined to level a business playing field that appears to favor big business in big cities. Today, according to Tester’s office, the senator introduced legislation to give small businesses a fair shot at competing for federal contracts and creating jobs in Montana.
HELENA – In an exchange with U.S. Sen. Jon Tester on Tuesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said his agency has no plans to create a new national monument in Montana or buy up private land in the Missouri Breaks area east of Fort Benton.
“There have been no directions from the White House that we move forward on monument designation,” Salazar told Tester at a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Interior Subcommittee.
The exchange stems from publicity last week over an Interior Department internal memo on potential monument designations and acquisitions, part of which was leaked last week.
Clean water goes down easy; it’s the bill that’s hard to swallow.
Few in Circle would have disputed that the town’s water was bad. The salt content was so high it killed grass; the fluoride so concentrated it discolored teeth.
But when the Safe Drinking Water Act forced the community to do something about it, Circle’s 365 bill-paying customers took a big gulp. The solution was a $2.82 million reverse-osmosis treatment system to pull out the fluoride salt and other elements of concern.
No plans are in place to create a national monument in Montana, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana during a Senate hearing Tuesday.
Salazar also confirmed that there are no plans for the government to pursue land purchases along the Missouri River Breaks.
Tester questioned Salazar during a Senate hearing, asking about a recently leaked Interior Department memo which listed possible ideas for monument designations.
Sen. Jon Tester and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack “saw every tree in Montana” during their effort Saturday to promote a collaborative approach to forest restoration and job creation in the state.
After stops in Helena and Deer Lodge, they sat down in front of a crowd of over 100 people at Longfellow Elementary School to discuss the Farm to School program, which is designed to bring healthier foods and an understanding of local agriculture to schools across the country.
