Gianforte campaigns in Chinook

U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., touted the accomplishments of the Republican-led Congress and sought to mobilize voters for the coming midterm election when he spoke at the Blaine and Hill county Republican central committees' annual Lincoln-Reagan dinner Sunday.  

Gianforte thanked local Republicans for their help in last year's special election for Montana's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Gianforte, the retired founder of RightNow Technologies, won the race to replace Ryan Zinke who resigned from the U.S. House to serve as President Donald Trump's Secretary of the Interior.

"I could not have done it alone and I know we had a lot of supporters up here, and I just want to say thank you from the beginning," he said.

The first two months after being sworn in, Gianforte said, he has done events in all 56 counties in the state.

Gianforte said that immediately after getting elected he introduced bills to withhold the pay of lawmakers if they can't balance the federal budget, a Constitutional amendment  to balance the federal budget, legislation that would put in place term limits on members of Congress and that would ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists.   

"This is all part of bringing the people's voice back to Washington, D.C," he said.

Gianforte said Congress is beginning work on a farm bill, and he has sought input from organizations that represent agriculture producers.

"My promise to you is that we will make sure Montana's fingerprints are on the farm bill," he said.   The bill will be in committee within the next 45 days and something will be passed before the current farm bill is set to expire later this year.

Gianforte said he has heard from people how important it is that federal crop insurance is kept intact, which is vital to support younger farmers who are just getting started.

Gianforte also touted the Tax and Jobs Act of 2017, the landmark tax law signed by President Donald Trump.  

"I have to say as a business guy, I think this is the single biggest thing we can do," he said.

Big business and small business alike, Gianforte said, have told him that they are  hiring more and wages are increasing and bonuses are getting paid,

He said that Blaine County Republican Central Committee Chair and Richman Insurance owner Don Richman has given all his employees a raise and hired another person.

The U.S. military must have the tools they need to keep America safe, Gianforte said. He added that on three occasions he voted for a boost in spending on the military and to give members of the military the largest raise they have had in eight years, including $250 million for rural veterans health care.

The U.S. House has passed more than 500 bills in the last year, but more than 400 are sitting in the Senate.

"And this is why this election in November is so important," he said.

Gianforte said that Tester has voted against the tax bill, voted to prioritize illegal immigrants over U.S. troops by voting against a bill to fund the government and voted against the confirmation of  Supreme Court Neil Gorsuch to the bench.

"(Sen.) Steve Daines and I would like to have a new partner in the Senate who will help us with these issues, so we can do what you sent us there to do," he said.

A campaign spokesman for Tester said the senator will continue to work to serve Montanans.

"Jon Tester has worked with President Trump to pass 12 bills into law for Montana, and he won't stop fighting for better schools and jobs, and for Montana's veterans," spokesman Chris Meagher said in an email this morning. "Jon will keep holding government accountable to Montana, and defending the Montana that three generations of his family have called home."

Daines, who is not up for re-election, was not able to attend Sunday's event, but Hill County Republican Central Committee Chair Andrew Brekke read aloud from a letter from the senator.

"Dear friends, let me start out by stating one thing: thank God for President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence," Brekke read.

The letter said that, in the past 12 months, Trump has worked to unravel the policies put in place during the Obama administration,

"Thanks to President Trump and the United States Senate we now have added Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court."

He listed the confirmation of Gorsuch, the approval of 12 circuit court judges, the repeal of the individual mandate that requires people without health insurance to pay a fine and the passage of tax reform as accomplishments.

Daines also listed the approval of the Keystone pipeline and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been opened for drilling for the first time in 40 years and repeal of regulations.

"In fact, we have repealed more regulations than any other Congress in history," he said,

"The federal register is now 35 percent smaller because we have cut 4500 pages of regulations that killed jobs and stifle innovation."

He said  that ensuring public lands are accessible to all members of the public has been a top priority of the Trump administration, including freeing 45,000 acres locked up in wilderness study areas.

Daines defended his vote against the budget passed by Congress last week, saying it grew government by 13 percent and was the largest increase in spending since 2009 and because it raises the debt ceiling.

"Our national debt is already over $20 trillion and will only continue to increase. Washington is addicted to spending. It has a spending problem, not a revenue problem."

Daines said that when he was first elected to Congress in 2012, Republicans only held one of eight offices that were on the ballot in Montana, whereas today they have all but two.

Daines said it is critically important that Gianforte be re-elected, and that Montana elected a senator who will stand with he, Gianforte and Trump.