Jon Tester for U.S. Senate

Tester brings “Real Change, Real Vision for Montana” to Missoula

As the campaign for U.S. Senate enters its final days, Big Sandy farmer Jon Tester today released his “Real Change, Real Vision for Montana” plan. Tester outlined his six-point plan on the steps of the Missoula County Courthouse.

“This is the right plan for Montana’s future because it was developed in Montana by Montanans,” said Tester, who farms the same land his grandparents homesteaded nearly 100 years ago. “Montanans deserve an honest government that will make healthcare more affordable, protect our freedoms, our public lands, our kids’ future, keep the promise to our seniors and veterans, give our troops in the field all that they need to be safe and successful and give a little money back to middle class families along the way.”

More than a year on the road listening to thousands of Montanans across the state went into developing Tester’s six-point plan. The “Real Change, Real Vision for Montana” plan includes:

Integrity: Bringing Montana Values to Washington, D.C.

Independence: Investing in America’s Energy Independence

Security: Protecting America’s Freedom and Way of Life

Fairness: Middle-Class Tax Cuts

Responsibility: Supporting our Families, Seniors, and Veterans

Opportunity: Education and Economic Development

“Sen. Burns would like us to believe this seat belongs to him; it doesn’t. This senate seat belongs to the people of Montana. Mike Mansfield knew that and when I get to Washington, I’ll never forget that it’s the people of Montana that I really work for,” Tester said.

While Brian Schweitzer and Jon Tester cut taxes and balanced the budget, Sen. Burns supports a 23% tax on everything Montana families buy. Burns even supports eliminating the mortgage deduction.

Click here to read more about Sen. Burns’ tax plan.

Click here to watch the latest TV Ad: “Everything”.

Click here to read Jon Tester’s plan to cut taxes for Montana families.

Burns said body armor for troops would “bust the budget”

Sen. Conrad Burns said yesterday in Havre that funding for adequate body armor would “just bust the budget,” but voted for a $20 million post-war party commemorating “success” in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Sen. Burns’ has no plan for success in Iraq and is opposed to body armor for troops in the field, but he does seem to have a plan for a big surprise party and plenty of money to pay for it,” said Tester spokesman Matt McKenna. “It’s a disgrace that Burns is more concerned with party planning than the reality that the country is at war with no plan, no exit strategy and U.S. troops are being sent to war without the armor and equipment they need to be safe and successful.”

According to the New York Times, tucked away in fine print in a military spending bill for this past year was $20 million to pay for a celebration in the nation’s capital “for commemoration of success” in Iraq and Afghanistan. A paragraph written into spending legislation and approved by the Senate and House allows the $20 million to be rolled over into 2007 as the money was obviously not spent this year.

A new poll shows that American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are vastly under-equipped and overextended. A VoteVets Action Fund poll of 450 returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans showed that a clear majority feels the Army and Marines are overextended and nearly half said their equipment did not meet military standards.

Burns has repeatedly voted to deny American troops in battle more effective, safer equipment:

• Burns voted AGAINST $47 billion to repair equipment for U.S. troops.
• Burns voted AGAINST $361 million to armor military vehicles.
• Burns voted AGAINST increased funding for protective gear, including body armor.
• Burns voted AGAINST $1 billion for National Guard Reserve equipment.
• Burns voted AGAINST prioritizing equipment repairs over tax breaks for millionaires.

Last week, Jon Tester released his Plan to Strengthen the U.S. Military, which focuses on making the needed investments in equipment and manpower for American troops to be safe and successful. Tester’s plan will guarantee that soldiers have the protective gear, equipment, and training they need and are never sent to war without accurate intelligence and a strategy for success.

Burns’ fear that funding adequate equipment for troops would “bust the budget” comes after release of a secret Pentagon study showing that better body armor could have saved 80 percent of the Marines in Iraq who died of wounds to the upper body.

Montana Senate President Jon Tester today called on Sen. Conrad Burns to fight the war on meth on all fronts and stop playing election year politics with Montana families.

“Sen. Burns is trying to fight the war on meth with press releases and government studies,” said Tester spokesman Matt McKenna. “It’s time for our junior senator to stop putting the interests of lobbyists ahead of Montana’s fight against meth.”

The Tester campaign was referring to a proposed amendment touted by Burns that would require federal agencies to study how meth is being imported into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada. But according to a 2002 Department of Justice Report, Burns supported relaxed federal control over the Northern Mariana Islands which led to an explosion of meth importation into the United States.

“Sen. Burns has been in Washington so long that he thinks we’re going to win the war on meth by having a bunch of federal bureaucrats turn out a study every six months or so,” said McKenna. “Jon Tester and everyone in Montana know that the way we’re going to win this fight is in Montana, with law enforcement, not in Washington, D.C. with another study.”

In 2001 Burns voted against strengthening immigration and labor standards from the Marianas after receiving at least $12,000 from convicted felon and super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and an Abramoff client who had extensive holdings on the Northern Mariana Islands. Before taking the contributions, Burns had supported legislation to increase federal control over the Mariana Islands.

The DOJ report shows that the Mariana Islands are pivotal sites for meth smuggling into the United States. The Marianas have almost 932 miles of coast line but no assigned Federal or territorial coastal patrol capability.

“Sen. Burns would like folks to believe he’s tough on meth, but his record shows that he’s more interested in delivering for Jack Abramoff than in protecting our kids. Burns had the opportunity to shut down this huge meth pipeline into our country but with Jack Abramoff looking over his shoulder, he couldn’t pull the trigger,” said McKenna.

Burns’ split personality disorder on this issue is nothing new; in a June debate between Burns and Tester, Burns admitted that offshore meth smuggling into the U.S. is a problem, despite his vote against preventing it. Last November, the same day Burns voted for a 34 percent cut in funding for Montana’s drug task forces, he announced he was joining the Senate’s Anti-Meth Caucus.

Because of the leadership of Jon Tester in the Montana Senate, meth labs in Montana were reduced by 66%. In April 2005, Tester voted for passage of SB 287, which regulates the meth materials ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. The bill requires that products containing an ingredient of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine must be sold in a licensed pharmacy or a retail establishment under restricted conditions and in limited quantities; and creates a voluntary retailer methamphetamine watch program. Burns opposed the same program in the U.S. Senate. The bill also requires the Department of Justice to provide grants for drug task forces.

All Montanans are saddened by the news of the death of Governor Tom Judge. First as State Representative and State Senator and then as Lieutenant Governor and Governor, Tom served the people of our state with honor and distinction.

Tom Judge’s tenure as governor came at a particularly critical time in Montana’s history, and thanks to his leadership and vision, today Montanans enjoy some of the most comprehensive and conservation and public lands protections in the nation.

As we mourn the passing of Governor Judge, we also celebrate his many contributions to our state, our land and our people.