RSSWe Want Max!
by Montana AFL-CIO
The Executive Board of the Montana State AFL-CIO, the state labor federation representing 35,000 members and 169 labor organizations, voted to endorse Senator Max Baucus in his campaign to serve a sixth term as Senator from Montana.
Executive Secretary Jim McGarvey said, “Senator Baucus is Chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee and improves the lives of working families everyday through this important position. His perseverance to boost Montana’s economy and create good paying jobs is evidenced in Montana’s low unemployment and new energy projects”.
He secured nearly $4 billion dollars to fund highway improvement projects in Montana, keeping our families safe and creating thousands of good-paying jobs. Montana gets more highway dollars per capita than any other state. Why? Two words: Max Baucus.
“Congress wouldn’t have passed an increase in the federal minimum wage without Senator Baucus. He achieved a difficult compromise between both sides of the aisle and broke a 10-year congressional stalemate when he ushered the minimum wage increase into law”, praised McGarvey.
Max supported and promoted the building of nearly 500 new military housing units in Montana that improved the quality of life for many dedicated military families.
McGarvey said, “Max knows healthcare costs are choking working families and seniors. He wants to move toward a plan that provides access to quality, affordable healthcare to all”. The Senator is working now to resolve the less accessible healthcare issues of rural Montana. Max has also introduced a measure that will allow the government to negotiate lower drug prices that will assist seniors in buying their prescription medication. He led the fight against privatizing Social Security because he understands the danger that privatization creates for seniors.
The Senator committed himself to promoting economic development and adequate healthcare for Montana’s tribal families. He ushered in $120 million to help Montana’s tribes. Max worked tirelessly to promote the expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which so many of our Montana children desperately rely on. Max achieved this expansion despite the President’s veto.
Max believes that all our students should receive a world class education. He helped bring $150 million to Montana’s Higher Education System.
Senator Baucus supported some of the most progressive tax relief low-income Americans have ever received by supporting the major tax cut of 2001 when the country enjoyed a record $2.4 trillion surplus. He used his seniority to tailor the bill. He created a new 10 percent tax bracket for low-income Montanans, doubled the child tax credit helping 34,000 Montanans and simplified the Earned Income Tax Credit designed to lift people out of poverty. In early 2008 he led the fight for an economic stimulus package that offers tax rebates to average Americans, not just big business.
Senator Baucus is an outdoorsman at heart. He was committed to protecting access to public lands and secured more than $63 million dollars to ensure our lands are open to sportsmen and women. He dedicated himself to an important bill signed into law that banned all new oil and gas development on the Rocky Mountain Front --forever.
Executive Secretary Jim McGarvey said, “For the first time in history, a Montanan chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee. We’ve never had that kind of clout before. Baucus’ take action mentality gets the job done for Montana, year after year. He is an unparalleled champion for Montana families and Montana values. The Montana AFL-CIO makes this endorsement with pride and enthusiasm”.
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