Tester: Montanans Deserve Better

Senator Opposes 17-Day Budget that Doesn’t Include Health Care and Border Security Provisions

(U.S. Senate)-U.S. Senator Jon Tester issued the following statement after opposing a short-term 17-day budget bill that once again failed to provide certainty for Montana:

“Montanans deserve better. A short-term, 17-day budget is no way to run a household or business, and it certainly isn’t an acceptable way to run a government. We are once again seeing a failure of leadership in Washington and I will keep fighting tooth and nail for a long-term budget that funds Montana’s rural health clinics, strengthens border security, and provides our military with the certainty they need to keep our nation safe. While many people wanted to make this about immigration, this was always about Montana for me and I just won’t allow Washington to keep failing our state.”

Congress now only has until February 8th to agree on a long-term budget.

The 17-day budget did not include any funding for Montana’s Community Health Centers or additional resources for border security.

Tester, a longtime champion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), is the only member of Montana’s congressional delegation who sponsored bipartisan legislation reauthorizing the popular initiative.