"Big Beautiful Bill" a raw deal for Montanans

Northern Plains Resource Council is a 3,000-member grassroots conservation and family agriculture organization which was founded by Montana farm and ranch families in 1972. Northern Plains sent a letter to Montana’s congressional delegation last week citing concerns with H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” currently before the Senate.  

Northern Plains’ executive officers have requested a meeting with Senators Daines and Sheehy as well as Representatives Zinke and Downing to ensure that the delegation understands the on-the-ground impacts of the current bill draft to Montanans, especially those in rural communities.

Northern Plains believes that our country has never seen a bill of this size and severity introduced in the past, and Montanans of all backgrounds will experience deep impacts. It will radically undermine our rural hospitals and reduce health insurance coverage, take Montana’s growing and job-creating clean energy industry out at the knees, result in the loss of protections and public participation for projects that impact the land and water relied on by farmers and ranchers, and result in nine-million Americans losing access to food stamps, all while increasing our budget deficit by an estimated $2.3 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

“The deep cuts this bill makes to healthcare are really concerning for our rural and tribal communities,” said Jeanie Alderson, a cattle rancher from Birney, Montana, and board member of Northern Plains Resource Council.  “This bill would harm working and rural people and saddle future generations with massive debt, all for the purpose of extending tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.”

“Our land and water are among the most precious resources we have here in Montana. They are the true sources of wealth that drive our biggest industries of agriculture and tourism. But this bill gives corporations power on a scale we’ve never seen to extract our resources and hollow out our communities,” she added. “When did that become what Montana – what America – stands for?”

Hopefully our federal legislators will respond to Northern Plains’ request for a productive dialogue out of deep concern for our communities, and our families, friends and neighbors.

– Craig McClure, Polson

Executive Officer, Northern Plains Resource Council Board