Hello Montana Democrats! Welcome to our August Democratic Newsletter, which we send to stakeholders once a month to keep you up-to-date on all the important work Montana Democrats are doing.

Our 2022 Platform Convention

Thank you to all who joined us in Butte the last weekend of July. The convention was a smooth two-day event, with Democrats from across the state coming together to update our Party Platform. The proceedings were well attended, timely and cooperative, led by legislators, board members, and presiding chair Mary Moe. Much was debated and updated– including inserting the first explicit call for protecting abortion rights in our platform in recent history.

Montana Democrats Have a Strong Plan for Montana Working Families

At the platform convention, Montana Democratic legislative candidates introduced the “Core of the Platform,” a distilled version of the platform’s values, vision, and unwavering optimism for Montana’s future, and a six-point promise to voters. Having listened to what the party and its delegates advocated for during the convention and from the very planks that were agreed upon, Democratic Legislative candidates pulled together a brief summary of some of the most resonant and pressing issues that are facing the state.

The Democrats will champion working people and our local economies and defend and deliver solutions for the housing affordability crisis, property tax relief, affordable child care, accessible mental health care, and the defense of the Montana state constitution.

“Democrats came together from across the state to reaffirm our commitment to Montana’s working families. We are united moving into November.” said Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. “The recent Republican convention revealed internal strife and a radical agenda. This weekend, the Democrats laid out a very different vision for Montana– one that champions working families, fights for solutions, and invests for the future of the Last Best Place.”

Sen. Tester’s Historic PACT Act Passes, Despite Senator Daines Dragging His Feet

It Took Sen. Daines 96 Hours (+ One Fist Bump) To Finally Do the Right Thing for Our Veterans

Earlier this month, Senator Tester’s PACT Act passed the Senate, marking a historic and critical investment in veterans’ health care. 96 hours after first voting no and fist bumping Sen. Ted Cruz to celebrate the no vote— and 96 hours of ignoring protesting veterans camped out on the steps of the Capitol— Republican Senator Steve Daines finally reversed course and joined Senator Tester in voting yes on the historic bill to provide veterans’ healthcare. His office insisted in statements to Montana reporters that his original opposition was a principled decision, and not a blatantly petty and political stance in response to the announcement of a separate bill to reduce the deficit and lower costs for families. There was not a single difference between the bill that Daines voted no on last week and the bill he voted yes on yesterday.

Senator Daines made national news when reporters shared video footage of him fistbumping Senator Ted Cruz in celebration after voting no. Understandably, folks were upset:

• “Callous GOP Fist-Bump After Holding Up Aid For Burn-Pit Veterans Sparks Fury”
• Guest View: “Daines is playing with veterans lives”
• “The Fist Bump from Hell”
• “Daines is every bit as bad, just not anywhere near as smart. Only these guys would fist bump when screwing over vets.”

“Daines tried playing a political stunt with veterans’ lives on the line,” said Sheila Hogan, Executive Director of the Montana Democratic Party. “All I can say is, thank God Montana Veterans have Senator Tester to put politics aside and get the work done.”

---

HISTORIC Inflation Reduction Act Passed

This week, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The new law will help pay down our national debt by hundreds of billions of dollars according the the Congressional Budget Office, lower costs for Montana families, cut prescription drug prices, and unleash American energy while decreasing our reliance on foreign adversaries like Russia to power our country – and does all of this without raising taxes for working Montanans.

“The Democrats are laser focused on taking on special interests to lower costs for working families, and the Inflation Reduction Act is going to do just that. Montana Democrats are tackling working families’ top concerns – and we’re doing it by making huge corporations pay their fair share and without raising taxes on Montana workers,” said Sheila Hogan, Executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. “This is a perfect illustration of the differing priorities of the Montana Democrats and Montana Republicans: Senator Tester voted to cut prescription drug costs and hold corporations accountable, while Senator Daines and Representative Rosendale sided with Big Pharma and voted no.”

The Inflation Reduction Act:

• Lowers prescription drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and capping out-of-pocket costs for seniors to $2,000.
• Lowers energy costs by hundreds of dollars on average for many families, increases cleaner energy production, and helps reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent in less than 10 years.
• Locks in lower health insurance cost– $800 on average– for 13 million Americans who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
• Fights inflation by reducing the national debt.
• Makes the tax code fairer by cracking down on the ultra-wealthy and large corporations so they pay their fair share in taxes.
• Does not raise taxes on families making $400,000 or less.

FACT SHEET: Inflation Reduction Act in Montana

Thank you for being a part of this fight. November is just around the corner!