WASHINGTON, DC - Montana's Congressman, Denny Rehberg, voted for and the House approved the Transportation Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2004, which includes more than $291 million in federal highway funding for Montana. Rehberg also secured a commitment that funding will continue for Montana’s eight Essential Air Service (EAS) points.
“Transportation is vital to Montana's economy, and that’s one of the reasons I sit on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and why I was appointed to the Federal Aviation Administration Conference Committee this summer,” Rehberg said. “I was also able to secure a commitment from House Appropriations that they’ll work to fund Montana’s EAS communities when they sit down with Senate leaders to work out the details of this legislation.”
“I understand your concerns and I recognize the crucial nature of EAS to communities in Montana,” Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ernest Istook (R-OK) told Rehberg during a colloquy on the House floor this afternoon. “[L]et me assure [you] that I will work to obtain funding for EAS during conference on this bill.”
In July, Rehberg was able to secure language in the FAA authorizing legislation preserving continued funding with no local match requirement for Montana’s eight EAS localities, Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Lewistown, Miles City, Sidney, Wolf Point and, on a seasonal basis, West Yellowstone.
