Daines looks at defense authorization

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., discussed in a telephonic press conference Thursday the National Defense Authorization Act, what the act contains and what he would like to see added to it before it is passed.

The Senate was working on the authorization Thursday.

Daines said the bill is not an appropriation, but an authorization for funding the nation's military and how that money can and cannot be used.

He said much of the details of the bill need to be hashed out within and between the Senate and the House of Representatives, but there are a number of elements contained in the base bill that he considers a victory for Montana and the U.S. broadly.

He said one of the biggest victories is a provision that will allow Montana National Guard and reserve service members to be reimbursed for their mileage going to and from their drill commitments.

Daines said that, under the current setup, only lodging is paid for, but with high gas prices and very long commutes in Montana, this is a huge win for service members.

He said the people doing this have sacrificed a lot and they shouldn't have to spend the compensation they get for fulfilling their drill commitments on getting too and from those same commitments.

He said it also contains a 5.2 percent pay increase for service members, which he is very happy about.

He said the bill also includes a requirement for the North American Aerospace Defense Command to have its capabilities studied and examined for weaknesses and deficiencies.

Daines said by plugging any holes that are found he hopes to prevent another incident like the one earlier this year when a Chinese spy balloon was found floating over Montana and had to be shot down.

"We must prevent this from happening again," he said.

Another potential amendment would sanction companies associated with the Chinese spy balloon, he later said.

He said the base bill also includes provisions to prevent foreign adversaries from buying farmland near military installations.

Daines said it also cracks down on fentanyl trafficking in Montana and prevents the Department of Defense from discriminating based on race or gender.

Despite these victories, he said, there are still amendments he would like to see added to the bill including one to protect service members from vaccine mandates, which he said hurt morale, recruitment and retention, and called "unconstitutional."

He said another amendment would mandate that the Department of Defense study heart conditions in vaccinated service members.

The National Institutes of Health has said that while myocarditis is a very rare side effect of COVID-19 vaccines, COVID-19 itself is far more likely than the vaccine to cause myocarditis and that those cases caused by the virus are usually far more severe and far more likely to result in a serious health condition or death.

The most talked about potential amendment, however, was one that would prevent military installations from promoting drag shows being held on their bases or facilities.

A substantial amount of the call was spent talking about a drag show that was recently held at Malmstrom Air Force Base, which Daines said is "distracting from the mission of the military" and "divisive."

He said such shows have no business being promoted on official military social media and many active service members he has spoken with believe that such shows have no place in the military at all.

He also criticized the show for offering goodie bags to children who attended, which he called "shocking."

During the call Daines also talked about issues going on within the state, including this year's fire season which he said appears to have begun in earnest with wildfires igniting across the state.

He said he wanted to thank the state's firefighters and other first responders for their work in trying to address these fires and advocated for the state to begin using more active forest management practices, which he said will decrease the severity and risk posed by these fires.

He said he also wanted to address the fact that Montana has seen three train derailments since the start of summer, two of which were in Hill County in just the past week.

On July 21, a few miles east of Havre, a freight train derailed sending 11 cars off the tracks with many breaking open and spilling their contents, albeit none of it hazardous, across the area on either side of the tracks next to U.S. Highway 2.

There were no reported injuries in this derailment.

A second derailment happened this Monday with the car of an eastbound Amtrak passenger train seeing a pair of wheels lose contact with the track just a few miles west of the Havre station.

The Havre Fire Department reported that two people were treated for minor injuries and waived transportation to the hospital.

The passengers were moved to another train to proceed after the derailment and repairs were completed after about three-and-a-half hours.

Another derailment took place last month in Stillwater County which saw chemicals leak into the Yellowstone River.

Daines praised the quick work of those who responded to these derailments but said this trend is very concerning to him and he is pushing the Joe Biden administration and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to examine and address the matter.

He said he is also pushing Biden and Buttigieg to approve SkyWest Airlines application to save flight service to West Yellowstone and Butte, which he said they are dragging their feet on.

He said effective transportation is vital to economic growth and he will keep fighting for it.

"I depend on air service every week to get back and forth to do my job in Washington." he said. "Montanan's depend on it. Our tourism industry depends on it. It's very important."

During the press call Daines was also asked about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell freezing mid-sentence during a press conference Wednesday and having to be escorted away from the podium after 20 seconds of silence.

Daines said he suspects McConnell was dehydrated and said that the Senate Minority Leader did return to the conference after some time and seems fine now.