Fund the agencies and programs that care for public lands
Ensure public access to public lands
Improve forest management on federal lands
Involve local communities in public land decisions
“When Elon Musk tried to gut the Forest Service and public land agencies, Ryan Zinke didn’t stand up for Montanans — but Sam did. As Vice President of his union’s local, Sam organized against Musk’s cuts and rallied Montanans around the real-life impacts of Congress’ inaction.”
“Strengthen and streamline environmental regulations in a way that engages with local communities on a timeline that works for everyone. We can do this by creating and enforcing reasonable timelines for the enforcement and litigation of environmental regulations like NEPA, balancing responsible development with important environmental protections. Reforms like this would help us tackle a backlog of forest management needs and actively care for our public lands, while protecting jobs in the industries we need as we tackle a housing crisis.”
“Rebuild and expand our public lands agencies by fully staffing our public lands agencies and significantly expanding investments in forest management and fuels mitigation. This will create job opportunities to get people working proactively on the wildfire crisis, create good-paying jobs in Montana, and save taxpayers money over the long term by ending our crisis-response approach to forest management.”
“Invest in responsible timber harvest and modernized milling capacity here in Western Montana. We can responsibly harvest the timber we need to address a housing crisis without jeopardizing crucial environmental protections.”
“I’ll fight in Congress to make the federal government work for Montana’s tribal communities. That needs to include honoring our trust and treaty obligations, respecting our government-to-government relationship with tribal nations, and empowering constituents throughout Montana to enact the change they want to see in places where the federal government has fallen short for too long.”
“Tackle the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) crisis by fixing gaps in jurisdiction within tribal borders so that non-members who commit crimes aren’t beyond accountability, expand funding for tribal law enforcement, and hold the federal government accountable when they fail to investigate.”
“Support the efforts of Tribal Nations to continue to manage, protect and conserve their natural resources, water, environment and cultural resources.”
“Continue the fight to bring justice for Boarding School survivors and victims of other historical traumas. Provide an opportunity for healing in tribal communities and to right the wrongs of failed federal Indian policies.”
“Propose legislation that protects government-to-government relationship and requires good faith consultations with the rollout of federally funded programs on tribal lands. Promote programs that provide tribes the right to self-management of tribal affairs. Fight to ensure that federal funding meets the needs of tribal nations to carry out programs successfully.”
Restore Roe v. Wade's abortion rights nationwide in federal law
Protect abortion rights and access
Fund Planned Parenthood and family planning providers
“Protect access to abortion and reproductive health by codifying Roe v. Wade, expanding funding for family planning providers, and reversing Ryan Zinke’s Medicaid cuts that prevent Medicaid from being used with certain reproductive healthcare providers.”
Lower health care costs, including premiums and out-of-pocket costs
Extend or restore the enhanced ACA premium tax credits
“Restore and expand the enhanced ACA subsidies to ensure access to free health coverage for anyone making $70,000 or less and affordable healthcare for everyone.”
“Sam will give every Montanan the choice of free Medicare for working people, expand it to cover dental, vision, and hearing, and let Medicare negotiate all drug prices.”
Expand Medicare, such as to cover dental, vision and hearing
Let Medicare negotiate drug prices
Give people under 65 the option of joining Medicare
Keep Medicare public and oppose privatizing it
“Sam will give every Montanan the choice of free Medicare for working people, expand it to cover dental, vision, and hearing, and let Medicare negotiate all drug prices.”
“Sam will give every Montanan the choice of free Medicare for working people, expand it to cover dental, vision, and hearing, and let Medicare negotiate all drug prices.”
“Give everyone the choice to join Medicare – and make it free for working people. Right now, Medicare serves the people who can access it a whole lot better than private health insurance corporations’ plans that so many of us are stuck paying for. I’ll fight to give every Montanan access to Medicare with expanded subsidies to give working Montanans the choice of free, quality health care.”
“Rebuild our mental healthcare system by expanding funding for community-based mental health care, case management, and peer support services, and expanding mental health services covered under Medicaid.”
“Restore and expand the enhanced ACA subsidies to ensure access to free health coverage for anyone making $70,000 or less and affordable healthcare for everyone.”
Cover mental health care in Medicaid, Medicare and other public programs
Fund community clinics, local services and telehealth for mental health
“Rebuild our mental healthcare system by expanding funding for community-based mental health care, case management, and peer support services, and expanding mental health services covered under Medicaid.”
“Expand healthcare access by increasing funding for the Indian Health Service (IHS) and grants for Urban Indian Organizations and health centers, including targeted funding to expand care that is available in tribal communities, including expanding access to tele-health care so that tribal members aren’t forced to travel long distances to access critical, specialized healthcare.”
“Use tariffs responsibly. When administered thoughtfully, tariffs can be a powerful tool for encouraging domestic production and protecting American jobs–but what we’ve seen over the past couple years has been a reckless, destructive tariff policy that’s hurt Montana farmers and ranchers, and injected harmful volatility into global markets. We should use tariffs to discourage our companies from offshoring jobs and other countries from cheating–while creating protections for critical industries like Montana’s ag producers. We should not use tariffs to punish our allies and create pointless chaos that raises costs for working families.”
“Give workers a permanent seat at the table by mandating that whenever the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is negotiating a deal, the committee must include union representatives whose input is equal to other stakeholders. Far too often, labor advocates are sidelined while corporate appointees write our deals.”
“Actually enforce labor and environmental standards in all our trade deals, so that countries can’t take advantage of our markets while using child labor, promoting other unsafe work practices, or creating environmental catastrophes. America should reassert its role as a responsible global leader, and leverage our markets to help create a safer, cleaner world.”
Bar members of Congress from becoming lobbyists after they leave
“Sam will overturn Citizens United, lower contribution limits, ban members of Congress from trading stocks, and stop former members from becoming lobbyists.”
Ban corporate PAC donations and corporate election spending
Ban super PACs
Set limits on campaign contributions and spending
“Sam will overturn Citizens United, lower contribution limits, ban members of Congress from trading stocks, and stop former members from becoming lobbyists.”
“Ban corporate election spending and get rid of Super PACs by passing a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. Money is not speech, corporations are not people, and the limitless flow of funding into our elections poses a threat to working people’s ability to make government work for us.”
“Set strict, lower contribution limits to reduce the amount of money an individual can give to a federal campaign. Politics should be a battle of ideas, not of resources, and reducing the amount of money at all levels would help us get back to that.”
“When Elon Musk tried to gut the Forest Service and public land agencies, Ryan Zinke didn’t stand up for Montanans — but Sam did. As Vice President of his union’s local, Sam organized against Musk’s cuts and rallied Montanans around the real-life impacts of Congress’ inaction.”
“Fix federal hiring by granting direct hiring authority to federal agencies where appropriate, and revamp federal hiring through USAJobs so that agencies aren’t forced into an inefficient, ineffective process where hiring a single position takes 9 – 12 months.”
“Revamp and modernize outdated platforms that are still being used for federal hiring, human resource management, payroll, and workers’ comp. When our federal agencies operate using outdated software, we all end up paying more for less.”
“Create and fund a Government Efficiency Commission to provide a systematic, good faith set of solutions at making our government work more efficiently while it tackles the big problems working people are facing. That should include direct consultation with people on the ground, a strict timeline for the Commission’s Work, and a commitment to providing recommendations that aren’t weakened or misdirected by corporate interests.”
Require judicial warrants for immigration arrests and searches
Respect due process and constitutional rights in immigration enforcement
Hold ICE and its agents accountable for abuses
“We need a positive vision for how we fix our immigration system so that it actually helps working people, protects all of our basic constitutional rights, and includes accountability and oversight for immigration agents, just like any other public employee.”
“Demand accountability for federal immigration agents. The problems that led to scenes of terror in American streets are bigger than ICE. It’s a fundamental failure of leadership at DHS. Anyone in the chain of command that violated the law and peoples’ basic rights during enforcement or detention should be held to account with criminal prosecution and congressional investigations.”
“Restructuring, reform, and oversight. Enforcing the law cannot come at the expense of our constitutional rights or the safety of our neighbors and communities.”
Give undocumented immigrants a path to legal status or citizenship
“Finally pass real, bipartisan immigration reform. Both parties have failed to reform our immigration system to the point that legal pathways to citizenship have become near-impossible to navigate. We need sweeping, comprehensive reform that provides an achievable pathway to legal status and citizenship.”
Fix the immigration system through comprehensive reform
Create a path to citizenship for immigrants living here
Hold immigration agents accountable to due process and oversight
“We need a positive vision for how we fix our immigration system so that it actually helps working people, protects all of our basic constitutional rights, and includes accountability and oversight for immigration agents, just like any other public employee.”
“Finally pass real, bipartisan immigration reform. Both parties have failed to reform our immigration system to the point that legal pathways to citizenship have become near-impossible to navigate. We need sweeping, comprehensive reform that provides an achievable pathway to legal status and citizenship.”
“Make immigration courts independent and fund them adequately so that they can administer the law impartially and process our backlog of cases in a timely fashion.”
Set binding safety rules for the most powerful AI models
Protect children from AI harms
Protect privacy and limit AI surveillance
“The advent of powerful artificial intelligence models is perhaps the most pressing issue facing our country. These technologies have the potential to concentrate an incredible amount of power in the hands of a few unelected executives, and Congress needs to act with urgency to pass commonsense oversight and regulation of AI companies to ensure our privacy, our children, and the future of our economy are protected as the technology develops.”
“Rein in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Companies. This technology has the potential to pose an existential risk to our economy and to humanity itself. This is one of the most pressing issues that our country needs to face, and we need to create federal oversight and regulation of this industry now!”
“Protect Americans’ privacy by giving every American the option to opt out of having their data used by AI companies and enshrine states’ ability to regulate or restrict invasive technologies like facial recognition software.”
“Reign in social media companies’ use of algorithms that drive outrage, feed on anger, and target advertising to children. We can limit the harmful design of some social media platforms without censoring content or restricting free speech.”
Raise income tax rates on millionaires and top earners
Raise taxes on capital gains and investment income of the wealthy
“We can afford to fix big problems in this country, and we don’t have to go deeper into debt to do it. We just need the richest people in this country to carry their own weight, just like the rest of us.”
“Repeal Congressional Republicans’ tax cuts for the ultra-rich. The vast majority of the benefits in the “Big Beautiful Bill” went to corporations and the ultra-wealthy. Let’s repeal those provisions, keep the parts that help working people, like no taxes on overtime and tips, and use those resources to start fixing housing, healthcare, and childcare.”
“Pass a minimum tax rate for millionaires by establishing a minimum marginal tax rate of 30% for income over $1 million per year, also known as the “Buffett Rule.””
“Enact a Billionaire Tax of 5% on fortunes over $1 billion. This will help alleviate the unprecedented concentration of wealth that we’re seeing in this country, incentivize reinvestment of capital, and generate the revenue we need to invest in public services without going further into debt.”
“Repeal Congressional Republicans’ tax cuts for the ultra-rich. The vast majority of the benefits in the “Big Beautiful Bill” went to corporations and the ultra-wealthy. Let’s repeal those provisions, keep the parts that help working people, like no taxes on overtime and tips, and use those resources to start fixing housing, healthcare, and childcare.”
Stop tax breaks and loopholes for big corporations
End tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas
“Repeal Congressional Republicans’ tax cuts for the ultra-rich. The vast majority of the benefits in the “Big Beautiful Bill” went to corporations and the ultra-wealthy. Let’s repeal those provisions, keep the parts that help working people, like no taxes on overtime and tips, and use those resources to start fixing housing, healthcare, and childcare.”
“Make corporations carry their own weight by raising the corporate income tax rate to 35%. This would restore the corporate tax rate to where it was just a decade ago and ensure that corporations are paying their fair share.”
“Stop incentivizing corporations to offshore. Right now, we let companies calculate tax deductions based on assets held abroad, which lets corporations increase their profits by moving American factories and jobs overseas–to say nothing of the loopholes that make it easy for American-headquartered multinationals to avoid paying their fair share of federal income tax. It’s past time to close these loopholes, bring these jobs back home, and rebuild our domestic manufacturing capacity.”
Require companies and public projects to hire local workers
Create good-paying union jobs
“For a lot of us in Montana, costs have reached crisis levels. Every Montanan should be able to work a job that pays well enough to afford housing, healthcare, childcare, and a good retirement.”
Invest in community colleges, trade schools and vocational education
“Expand apprenticeships and trade school opportunities and dramatically increase the number of good, union jobs available in construction and the trades.”
Tie the minimum wage to inflation so it keeps pace
Make sure full-time work pays a living wage
“For a lot of us in Montana, costs have reached crisis levels. Every Montanan should be able to work a job that pays well enough to afford housing, healthcare, childcare, and a good retirement.”
“Pass the PRO Act to guarantee workers everywhere have the freedom to organize and join a union if they want, and fight back against corporations that engage in union-busting.”
“When considering any element of America’s international trade policy, the first question our government officials should ask themselves is: does this benefit the American worker and working families?”
“Stop incentivizing corporations to offshore. Right now, we let companies calculate tax deductions based on assets held abroad, which lets corporations increase their profits by moving American factories and jobs overseas–to say nothing of the loopholes that make it easy for American-headquartered multinationals to avoid paying their fair share of federal income tax. It’s past time to close these loopholes, bring these jobs back home, and rebuild our domestic manufacturing capacity.”
“Use tariffs responsibly. When administered thoughtfully, tariffs can be a powerful tool for encouraging domestic production and protecting American jobs–but what we’ve seen over the past couple years has been a reckless, destructive tariff policy that’s hurt Montana farmers and ranchers, and injected harmful volatility into global markets. We should use tariffs to discourage our companies from offshoring jobs and other countries from cheating–while creating protections for critical industries like Montana’s ag producers. We should not use tariffs to punish our allies and create pointless chaos that raises costs for working families.”
“Pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act to restore collective bargaining rights to over 1 million public servants in the VA, the Bureau of Land Management, and about 30 other federal agencies where that basic right was stripped away.”
“Fix the “private contractor” loophole in the National Labor Relations Act that lets corporations treat employees poorly and drives wages and protections down for everyone else.”
“Achieve universal free childcare by expanding investments in quality childcare to make sure that every Montanan who wants to start and raise a family can find free, quality childcare, regardless of where they live or how much they make.”
Shore up Social Security's finances for the long term
“Save Social Security by just having everyone pay their fair share. Social Security is set to face solvency issues in the next decade, but the fix is simple. Eliminating the Social Security payroll tax cap would mean that the top 6% of earners pay their fair share of Social Security payroll taxes just like the other 94% of us. That alone would make Social Security solvent for the next 75 years.”
“Expand Social Security benefits for seniors who need it most. I’ll support legislation like the Social Security Expansion Act, which would increase benefits for seniors by an average of $2,400 per year while keeping the program solvent well into the future.”
Stop large investors from outbidding families for homes
“Sam will make federal housing investments that match the crisis, reform outdated zoning, ban hedge funds from buying up our homes, and restore the first-time homebuyer credit.”
Attach conditions to housing money, like lasting affordability
Fund nonprofit and community groups that build housing, like land trusts
“Sam will make federal housing investments that match the crisis, reform outdated zoning, ban hedge funds from buying up our homes, and restore the first-time homebuyer credit.”
“Deliver significant federal investment in affordable housing that’s equal in scale to the housing crisis we’re facing. That means large-scale, targeted investments to build more homes in the places we need them, and deliver rentals and houses that Montanans can afford, in the places we need them. We can do this by investing in models like community land trusts, deed-restricted housing, and subsidies for building dense, infill housing with rent restrictions to make sure that public investment results in affordable rents.”
“Sam will make federal housing investments that match the crisis, reform outdated zoning, ban hedge funds from buying up our homes, and restore the first-time homebuyer credit.”
“End corporate home ownership by banning the purchase of residential property by hedge funds and private equity firms, and eliminating tax breaks for institutional investors and corporations.”
Reform zoning rules to allow more homes to be built
Tie federal funding to places that allow and build more housing
“Sam will make federal housing investments that match the crisis, reform outdated zoning, ban hedge funds from buying up our homes, and restore the first-time homebuyer credit.”
“Incentivize zoning and regulatory reform in places where onerous and outdated zoning restrictions are standing in the way of building housing where working people need it most.”
Make environmental rules simpler and less burdensome
“Strengthen and streamline environmental regulations in a way that engages with local communities on a timeline that works for everyone. We can do this by creating and enforcing reasonable timelines for the enforcement and litigation of environmental regulations like NEPA, balancing responsible development with important environmental protections. Reforms like this would help us tackle a backlog of forest management needs and actively care for our public lands, while protecting jobs in the industries we need as we tackle a housing crisis.”
“Fix our approach to appeals, litigation, and NEPA enforcement by investing resources up front in fully-staffed scientific positions & community collaboration programs, and creating clear, enforceable timelines when disagreements arise to make sure we can process challenges in a timely manner without eliminating the public’s right to comment and object.”
“Water Usage: Require that any new installations use the most advanced, water-efficient cooling systems. These companies can afford it, and we can’t afford to waste our most precious resource to juice their own profits.”
“I’ll fight to give Montana’s producers the support and consistency they need and be an ally in Congress so that they can continue serving our state by growing and raising affordable, local food.”
“Require Country of Origin Labeling for the broadest possible list of farm and ranch products so that American consumers know where the food they buy is sourced.”
“Lower costs and help Montana’s small- and mid-scale food producers compete with corporations by expanding investments in federal meat inspectors and in technical assistance to small-scale, local meat packing, and incentives to support agricultural cooperatives.”
“Support programs and resources to help young Montanans take over family farms and ranches or start their own, so that our state’s agricultural industry can feed the next generation.”
“Expand apprenticeships and trade school opportunities and dramatically increase the number of good, union jobs available in construction and the trades.”
Make pre-K and early learning affordable for families
Raise pay for early childhood educators
“Invest in universal Pre-K by expanding investments in programs like Head Start and public school-based pre-K to make sure that Montana kids’ access to early education doesn’t depend on how much their parents make.”
“Increase teacher pay by investing in federal matching grants to make sure that every public school teacher, educational support staff, and early educator makes a living wage.”
Raise pay and protections for school support staff and paraprofessionals
Set a national minimum salary for teachers
Use federal money to help raise teacher pay
“Increase teacher pay by investing in federal matching grants to make sure that every public school teacher, educational support staff, and early educator makes a living wage.”
Make college and trade school affordable and available to all
Expand Pell Grants and other grants and scholarships
Make college aid available regardless of income
“Increase Pell Grant funding so that Montanans who don’t come from money can choose to pursue a college education without being shackled by debt, and so that cost doesn’t stand in the way of attending community college or trade school.”
“Expand education access by increasing funding for tribal colleges and libraries and eliminating the ‘financial need’ requirement for tribal tuition waivers.”
Let students attend college without going into debt
“Increase Pell Grant funding so that Montanans who don’t come from money can choose to pursue a college education without being shackled by debt, and so that cost doesn’t stand in the way of attending community college or trade school.”
Expand early education so access does not depend on family income
“Invest in universal Pre-K by expanding investments in programs like Head Start and public school-based pre-K to make sure that Montana kids’ access to early education doesn’t depend on how much their parents make.”
Other things the site says about education and culture (1)
“I spent a decade organizing and fighting between fire seasons for public education and libraries, housing and healthcare, reforming our justice system and defending our civil liberties.”
“We deserve a Congressperson who’s ready to stand up for all of our constitutional rights. I’ll fight to do just that, and to build on programs that support responsible gun ownership and the safety of our communities. Here’s how:”
“Defend our constitutional rights. Whether it’s the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, or Article II of the Montana Constitution, I’ll always fight to defend those rights and our way of life. Period.”
“Invest in voluntary safe storage programs to help make sure that Montanans undergoing a mental health crisis have access to resources including crisis response, counseling, and third party temporary storage.”
Focus enforcement on traffickers and cartels, not immigrant families
“We can have an immigration system that keeps violent criminals and dangerous drugs off our streets without compromising our basic constitutional freedoms, terrorizing American cities, and tearing children from their families.”
“Taking care of the men and women who serve our country in war isn’t an option, it’s our duty. We need to make sure the people who served this country get the care they need, not start new wars that we don’t need.”
“Protect Voter Access by fighting for full funding of Election Assistance Commission grants to elections offices in Indian Country, and making sure that Montanans living on a reservation have access to satellite offices that make it easy to exercise their right to vote.”
Make data centers pay their own power, grid and water costs
Keep data centers from raising household utility bills
Set binding standards and rules for data centers
“Data Centers: We need strict federal requirements on the construction of any new data centers ensuring that they can only be built if they meet 3 strict criteria”
“Providing their own power: Require any new data centers to construct enough new energy capacity to generate as much as power they’ll use so that all of us aren’t left paying even more for power to subsidize their product.”
Keep data centers and other big power users from raising household bills
“Providing their own power: Require any new data centers to construct enough new energy capacity to generate as much as power they’ll use so that all of us aren’t left paying even more for power to subsidize their product.”
“For a lot of us in Montana, costs have reached crisis levels. Every Montanan should be able to work a job that pays well enough to afford housing, healthcare, childcare, and a good retirement.”
Make the wealthy and corporations pay more to cut the debt
“We can afford to fix big problems in this country, and we don’t have to go deeper into debt to do it. We just need the richest people in this country to carry their own weight, just like the rest of us.”
Avoid unnecessary wars, using force only as a last resort
“Taking care of the men and women who serve our country in war isn’t an option, it’s our duty. We need to make sure the people who served this country get the care they need, not start new wars that we don’t need.”
