{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://zinke.house.gov/media/press-releases/zinke-daines-sheehy-downing-urge-ustr-address-unfair-trade-practices-montana", "Zinke, Daines, Sheehy, Downing Urge USTR to Address Unfair Trade Practices on Montana-Alberta Tie Line", "2025-07-08", "2025", "2025-07", "Republican", "House", "MT", "Ryan K. Zinke", "Z000018", "zinke.house.gov", "zinke", "https://zinke.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, along with Representatives Ryan Zinke (MT-01) and Troy Downing (MT-02) today sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer drawing attention to trade barriers on the Montana-Alberta Tie Line (MATL).\n\n\u201cWe write to call to your attention ongoing and escalating discriminating trade practices imposed by the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) against Montana energy firms trading in the Alberta electricity market. If unaddressed, these measures may impose significant economic harm on American energy producers, jeopardize the reliability of cross-border electricity infrastructure, and perpetuate discriminatory trade practices that undermine domestic energy security\u2026\n\n\u2026Unfortunately, the AESO\u2019s current rules and practices flatly discriminate against U.S. electricity imports. Furthermore, the AESO is currently proposing potential changes to the Alberta electricity market design that would worsen existing protectionist practices by further excluding U.S. energy imports. This will result in diminished market access by imposing unfair costs on American producers and putting them at a distinct disadvantage to deliver reliable and affordable electricity\u2026\n\nWe request that you employ all available tools at your disposal to bring about a swift resolution to this ongoing issue,\u201dthey wrote in the letter.\n\nRead the full letter HERE.\n\nBackground:\n\nThe Montana-Alberta Tie Line interconnects Montana and Alberta\u2019s electricity grids. The Alberta government and the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) have enacted regulations that discriminate specifically against Montana electricity exports, which if left unaddressed would threaten the stability of Montana\u2019s electric grid and harm the state\u2019s energy producers.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T14:40:33Z"]], "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://zinke.house.gov/media/press-releases/zinke-daines-sheehy-downing-urge-ustr-address-unfair-trade-practices-montana"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.332327188923955, "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"}