Missoulian: Montana’s advocate for accountability
It was a little more than two years ago that Jon Tester won the opportunity to represent Montana in the U.S. Senate by a margin of fewer than 3,000 votes. At the time, incumbent Sen. Conrad Burns made a point of reminding Montanans of his influence on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. At the same time, then-Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid, now the Senate Majority Leader, made a point of promising to seat Tester on that same committee “as soon as possible.”
“As soon as possible” turned out to be this past week, when partway through Tester’s first term he was finally given that promised seat. If his past performance is any indication, Tester will be a fine addition to the Appropriations Committee. However, even as we congratulate Tester and wish him well in his new duties, we have to note that he hasn’t exactly spent the past two years sitting on his hands. In fact, while we might quibble with a few of his decisions, his overall performance on the Veteran’s Affairs, Indian Affairs and Banking committees has been downright impressive…
