Empower the People

By Carefully Reviewing Regulations

Sign The Letter

Dear Official(s),

I’m writing to ask you to support the Montana REINS Act. State agencies create new rules each year that impact businesses, families, and workers—often without approval from elected representatives. This unchecked power has caused devastating economic consequences.
The REINS Act is essential for Montana:
- Stop Unchecked Regulation: Excessive rules have destroyed jobs in industries like logging, mining, and energy while burdening businesses statewide.
- Protect Our Economy: Montana ranks 48th in GDP, with excessive red tape driving businesses away and slowing job growth.
- Restore Accountability: The REINS Act requires legislative approval for major regulations with significant economic impact, giving Montanans a voice.
In the 1980s, industries like logging and mining provided thousands of good-paying jobs. Logging wages were 20-30% above the state average, and mining jobs offered wages 40% higher. Today, those jobs are largely gone:
- Logging mills have dropped from over 50 to just two, devastating rural communities.
- Projects like the Montanore Mine, offering hundreds of jobs, have been stalled for decades by bureaucratic delays.
- The Keystone XL Pipeline, which could have brought thousands of jobs, was canceled after years of regulatory hurdles.
This decline has contributed to Montana ranking 46th in household income—far below our 25th rank in the early 2000s. Montanans deserve better.
The REINS Act ensures that regulations impacting our economy and way of life are decided through a democratic process by elected leaders who answer to the people—not unelected bureaucrats.
Thank you for standing up for Montana.
I’m writing to ask you to support the Montana REINS Act. State agencies create new rules each year that impact businesses, families, and workers—often without approval from elected representatives. This unchecked power has caused devastating economic consequences.

Sincerely

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Montana's economy and heritage have been eroded by unelected federal bureaucrats imposing heavy-handed regulations that have devastated our logging, mining, and energy industries. The impacts are staggering:

Logging Industry Collapse: Montana has gone from over 50 operational lumber mills in the 1990s to just 2 today. Once employing 12,000 workers, fewer than 1,000 jobs remain.
Declining Wages: Montana ranks 46th in median household income, down from 24th in the early 2000s, with many communities unable to recover from lost high-paying jobs.
Colstrip Threatened: The EPA’s new Mercury Air Toxics Standards (MATS) could force Colstrip’s closure by 2026, jeopardizing hundreds of jobs and threatening power outages that could leave families freezing in winter.

The shift from high-paying industrial jobs to lower-wage tourism positions has further strained Montana's economy. In the early 2000s, jobs in the logging and mining industries offered average annual salaries of approximately $80,000 in today's dollars, providing families with financial stability and supporting local economies. In contrast, the tourism sector, while contributing to the state's economy, typically offers lower wages, with many positions being seasonal and lacking benefits. For instance, the average salary in Montana's hospitality and tourism sector is around $48,500 per year.

This forced transition has left many Montanans struggling to make ends meet, highlighting the need for legislative action to restore economic opportunities in our traditional industries.

The REINS Act would stop unelected bureaucrats from making these catastrophic decisions without Congressional approval. By requiring major regulations—those with an economic impact of $100 million or more—to be approved by Congress, the REINS Act ensures decisions that impact Montana’s future are made by elected representatives who are accountable to us.