{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.daines.senate.gov/news/press-releases/daines-tester-bipartisan-bill-settling-century-long-montana-water-dispute-passes-senate-heads-to-presidents-desk", "Daines, Tester Bipartisan Bill Settling Century Long Montana Water Dispute Passes Senate, Heads to Presidents Desk", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "MT", "Steve Daines", "D000618", "www.daines.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.21.20\n\t\t\t Daines, Tester Bipartisan Bill Settling Century Long Montana Water Dispute Passes Senate, Heads to President's Desk \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tU.S. SENATE U.S.Senators Steve Daines and Jon Testertoday celebratedSenate passage of their bipartisanbill, theMontana Water Rights Protection Act. The bill will permanentlysettle the century long CSKT water dispute, support Montana jobs, modernize rural infrastructure and protectthe water rights of allMontanans.\r\nAfter years of hard work, the U.S. Senate just passed our bipartisan bill that permanently resolves the century long CSKT water dispute, and will soon become law. Without our bill, thousands of Montanans would be forced into very expensive litigation and our ag economy would've taken over a one billion dollar hit,Daines said.That's why we've worked so hard to pass our bill that protects thewater rights of all Montanans, saves taxpayer dollars, createsjobs, modernizes rural infrastructure projects, protectsMontana agriculture and prevents verycostly litigation. This is a win for all Montanans.\r\nThis victory has been decades in the making, and is a huge win for Montana taxpayers, ranchers, farmers, and the Tribes,Tester said.Water is among our most valuable resources, and ratifying this Compacthonors our trust responsibilities,creates jobsandinvests ininfrastructure whileproviding certainty to water users everywhere. I'm thankful we were able to work togetherto get this critical legislationacross the finish line.\r\nI am glad we were able to get this done to bring certainty to Montana's farmers, ranchers, the Salish and Kootenai tribes, and all the water users across the state, Congressman Greg Gianforte said. Thank you to my colleagues in the Senate for their work on this legislation.\r\nI cannot express how much we appreciate the hard work that the Montana Congressional Delegation put into this bill and now having it signed into law. From Senator Tester's initial introduction of the bill four years ago, to Senator Daines' introduction, amendments and work with the Trump Administration this year and to both of our Senators urging their respective leaders to include the bill in the omnibus appropriations bill, and to Congressman Gianforte's work with the Minority Leader in the House, all played pivotal roles and the residents of Montana should be thankful for their efforts. We certainly are grateful. We also express our appreciation to the many agriculture and conservation groups across Montana and even across the country who also helped advocate for passage of this truly historic and important bill. Shelly R. Fyant, Chairwoman, CSKT\r\nThe billpassed the House of Representatives earlier today and will now head to thePresident's deskto be signed into law.\r\nFor more background on the Montana Water Rights Protection Act,clickHERE and HERE.\r\nBack in June,in a U.S Senate hearing, the Trump administration expressed support for the bipartisan bill with the Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary Tim Petty discussing the benefits of the bill, including job creation and modernizing infrastructure needs.\r\nWithout the efforts of Senator Daines and Senator Tester, Montana's agriculture economy would face a $1.3 billion hit. Thousands of Montanans would be forced to litigate their water rights causing a substantial uncertainty for Montana's farmers and ranchers.\r\nFor more information on Daines' efforts related to the Montana Water Rights Protection Act,\" clickHERE. For more information on Tester's efforts related to the legislation, click HERE.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.daines.senate.gov/news/press-releases/daines-tester-bipartisan-bill-settling-century-long-montana-water-dispute-passes-senate-heads-to-presidents-desk"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8677053265273571, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}