Open letter to Sen. Daines

by Chris Daum, Stevensville

 I’ve gotten a couple of ‘auto responders’ to e-mails I have sent you and feel the need to further express my opinion on several subjects. For starters, at the bottom of each one a question is asked, but the links to answer do not ever work. It’s almost like you don’t really want to know how I feel about a given topic!

 Regarding the appointment of Energy Secretary Chris Wright: I’m not sure if you were paying attention, but under Biden and the Obama administration, they had an ‘all of the above’ approach to energy generation. American oil and gas production has NEVER been higher in the history of fossil fuel production than right now (so that ‘drill baby drill’ schtick could just be dropped). For starters, since, in theory, oil and gas production has been around for over 100 years – perhaps we could do away with the huge tax breaks and incentives that they continue to receive, since it is quite a mature industry. Folks keep saying that renewables ‘get the incentives’, but in truth, they’re a drop in the bucket compared to what the fossil fuel industries receive, and continue to receive.  n reality, the U.S. IS already the world’s biggest oil producer.

 And in terms of American jobs – fossil fuel jobs are in severe decline while renewables are ramping up; there are over 3.5 million jobs in the clean energy sector (including EV development), with 560,000 in renewable generation, and 410,000 in solar and wind power development alone.   Fossil fuels employ (these figures from last year) 170,000, including coal.  Simply put, the clean energy sector –which is, by the way, less costly and certainly less polluting than fossil fuels – is growing significantly faster that the fossil fuel sector. You can do a bit of research and verify these numbers. By the way, I’ve been in the solar power industry since 1989, and had my own business since 1999, and a lot of energy information comes across my desk. The least costly form of new electrical generation is wind and solar power – just ask Texas utilities, if you do not believe me.  

 Next, you sent me an e-mail about DOGE (hah, that I refer to as ‘dodgy’).  You talk about ‘out of control’ spending. Have you been paying attention to what political parties and administrations contribute the most to our national debt? Undoubtedly there is room for greater efficiencies and less waste and fraud; but I am concerned that some of these cuts will harm the Americans who need assistance the most; we have too many families and children in poverty, and I have no problem with my tax dollars going to assist those in need. But to cut these needed programs to fund more tax breaks for the wealthiest? That should be a crime. And, the UNELECTED richest man in the world should not be running our country, or taking food from children, making for less educational opportunities, and removing medical assistance from those who need it.    

 There are also some loan guarantees for good projects that have been put on hold; the delay of these funds is harming families, businesses and job opportunities. This short-sighted approach to ‘fiscal responsibility’ appears to be putting more people at risk of poverty. Initially, you opposed the IRA – then claimed credit for a Montana Renewables (Calumet) project that finally got its funds. Doh!  Businesses need good policies and not guesswork about where funds may come from for any given project. I know, I’ve been in business for myself for 26 years, and was manager at two other businesses before that. I don’t think that it’s a good idea to run government like a business, especially when the guy doing it (felon47), had what? Six bankruptcies? Stole from a child’s cancer charity? Ugh.  Anyway, back to the IRA; it’s anticipated to deliver a fantastic economic boost of over four times its investment cost! Now why wouldn’t someone want that for American energy, manufacturing and related jobs? And these benefits extend across the entire energy sector, including renewables, gas, oil, hydrogen, nuclear, transportation, battery technology – the list just goes on and on.  

 Anyway, Musk has also fired a bunch of BPA employees—something like at least 600 of ‘em (that are NOT employed by the federal government).  These folks help keep the power on all over the Northwest. It serves several co-ops in Montana. BPA is funded by ratepayers, not Congress. This chaotic approach to ‘cutting waste’ does not bode well for the safety of many communities. Where are our legislators to fight for our behalf?  What’s going to happen in fire season – and for some segments of the Northwest flood season? And there are also cuts to the National Park Service – not only do Montanans depend on those jobs, those jobs are important to keep our forests safe and maintained. Lack of Forest Service personnel will most certainly make our fire seasons worse!

 Not everyone has the golden parachute that many of our legislators have, in fact, very few of us do. And we did not elect you to solicit/receive funds from lobbyists or corporations. Our democracy is being damaged but it’s not gone yet. If you want to represent me, you need to help get it back, so that legit votes are not being suppressed, people can make medical decisions for themselves, and that America becomes that beacon of freedom that has given us wondrous diversity. The way things are going now, those values are headed down the drain. I await your response.