Tester talks infrastructure, border closure, COVID and ag

Sen. Jon Tester provided an update on his activities in congress during a rural press call Thursday morning, addressing the situation with the infrastructure bill, the Canadian border and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tester said it's been an extremely busy week in Congress between the continuing resolution, debt ceiling, reconciliation, country of origin labeling bill, the Cost of War Act and the infrastructure bill.

He said the infrastructure bill in particular is a vital piece of legislation for the people of Montana and the U.S. who have been using the infrastructure of their parents for too long.

He pushed back on the idea brought forward by progressive Democrats that the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act effectively be voted on together, saying it puts the infrastructure bill in danger of not passing.

Tester said those in the House need to look at the bill and see if it benefits the people they serve, and if it does vote for it.

"If you like it vote yes, if you don't like it vote no," he said. "If everyone does that this bill will pass."

Tester also addressed the matter of the ongoing Canadian border closure, which he has urged the Biden administration to end.

He said he understands the president's concern that the U.S.' vaccination rate, being as low as it is, makes the prospect of opening the border a concerning one with the pandemic still going on, and he urged everyone in the U.S. who can to get vaccinated.

However, he said, he still favors opening the border given the economic benefits it brings to the people of Montana, especially those in the north.

Tester said Canada is the U.S.' biggest trading partner, and if they can open their side of the border the U.S. can do the same.

He also addressed the matter of Biden's recent mandate that businesses with over 100 employees require them to be vaccinated or tested weekly.

Tester said he's not a big fan of mandates, but he's also not a fan of a deadly disease spreading through the nation unchecked.

He said it's unfortunate that the situation in the U.S. has reached a point where so many are more comfortable taking horse de-wormer than a proven safe and effective vaccine.

Tester also addressed the concern of ag groups that have voiced opposition to his mandatory country of origin beef labeling bill fearing the loss of trade partners.

He said the bill was written with that concern in mind and that it's designed in a way that that shouldn't be a concern, but he sympathizes with the concern, especially in the wake of the Trump administration's trade wars breeding animosity in the way they did.

However, he said, the fact that nearly every product sold in the U.S. has a label showing where it's from for the sake of consumer transparency is something that should be extended to beef.