Wyoming

Senate Coalition Report Shows Missile Force Crucial to U.S. Security

November 6, 2009 -- Washington – Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Michael Enzi (R-WY) today released a comprehensive study on the importance of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force to America’s national security. The 23 page report, entitled “The Long Pole of the Nuclear Umbrella,” concludes that ICBMs are the most stabilizing part of the nation’s nuclear triad and validates the need to maintain an ICBM force of 450 missiles.    » read more »

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal urged U. S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to convene a regional discussion on management of the unprecedented bark beetle epidemic that is taking a heavy toll across the West.

"The condition of Wyoming’s national forests is increasingly causing alarm," Freudenthal wrote in a letter to Vilsack yesterday.    » read more »

June 17, 2009 -- CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Wyoming has been left out in the cold by the U.S. Forest Service as that agency allocated federal economic stimulus dollars to western states for wildland fire mitigation projects, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal said today in a sharply worded letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The Governor criticized the agency for allocating millions in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 based on inaccurate data and a model that he said the Forest Service is unwilling to disclose to the states.    » read more »

June 4, 2009 -- CHEYENNE, Wyo. - The state must reduce spending now to address forecasts of significantly lower revenues over the next three years, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal said today in announcing $231.6 million in budget cuts for the fiscal year which begins next month.

The reductions reflect efforts to cut ten percent of state agency budgets, with a particular emphasis on reducing ongoing operating expenses.

"These are significant, often painful cuts," Freudenthal said. "You can't cut more than $230 million out of one fiscal year's budget without affecting worthwhile programs, but it needs to be done. Wyoming has been fortunate to experience dramatic increases in revenues in recent years, but we have to tighten our belts to address changes in revenues."    » read more »

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - At a news conference on Wednesday, May 27, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal said he planned to go ahead with five to ten percent cuts for state agency budgets despite optimistic projections released Friday by the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group.

The state’s economic analysts said Friday the reduction would be approximately $19 million for the rest of the 2009-10 biennium.

The Governor said he would move cautiously, noting that the revenue projections had changed dramatically in the last year.    » read more »

Legislation Would Improve Quality and Access to Care in Rural Areas

May 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C – In an effort to improve the quality of health care available to rural Americans, a bipartisan group of four senators introduced legislation that would make improve Medicare reimbursement formulas for rural health care providers.

The bill is called the Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Providers Equity Act of 2009, or R-HoPE. It is named after the former senator from Wyoming, a co-sponsor of the original bill who passed away in 2007 after complications from leukemia.

The legislation, introduced late Thursday, is now co-sponsored by Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and John Barrasso, R-Wyo. It is listed as S.1157.    » read more »

May 21, 2009 -- CHEYENNE - U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal today concluded a two day tour of several major energy production regions in Wyoming.

Gov. Freudenthal invited the Administrator to visit Wyoming and see first-hand the production of traditional and renewable energy resources.

Wyoming is currently the nation's largest net exporter of energy. The state also has some of the best wind energy potential in North America, with highly-rated wind production areas stretching from the western border with Utah to the state’s eastern plains.    » read more »

May 20, 2009 -- CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Questions surrounding the long-term liability of sequestered carbon dioxide remain a key challenge, Gov. Dave Freudenthal said this week in a letter to U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The Governor expressed strong support for Chairman Bingaman’s bill, S.1013, “Department of Energy -Carbon Capture and Sequestration Program Amendments Act of 2009,” and encouraged the committee to continue to address the question of long-term liability of sequestered carbon.    » read more »

May 19, 2009 -- CHEYENNE, Wyo. - The “gold rush” of wind energy development currently underway in Wyoming presents great possibilities but also problems for the state, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal said this week in a detailed letter to Sen. Jim Anderson and the members of the Wyoming Legislature’s Wind Energy Task Force.    » read more »

Additional areas can be added as damage assessments continue

May 15, 2009 -- CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin and state emergency management officials late this afternoon received word that President Obama has approved the governor’s request for a federal disaster declaration for southern West Virginia, following severe storms, flooding, mudslides and landslides that occurred last weekend.

This designation enables federal funding and personnel to be allocated to the flood-ravaged areas to assist with cleanup efforts and to provide additional assistance to those who were directly affected by the flooding and storms.    » read more »

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal expressed his “unequivocal opposition” today to a proposed federal bill known as the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act.

In a letter to U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., on Tuesday, May 12, 2009, the Governor criticized H.B. 980 that would designate 23 million acres of public land in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington and Oregon as wilderness.

“I have no doubt that the sponsors of H.B. 980 are well-intentioned. But even the best of intentions, when ill-conceived and poorly informed, can have a devastating impact on those of us that must live and work in their wake,” he wrote. “Please communicate to your colleagues that this legislation should be soundly defeated in the event it is even granted further hearing.”    » read more »

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - At a special meeting today, the Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) allocated nearly $40 million in federal economic stimulus funds to communities across Wyoming for water and sewer improvements.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal said he’s encouraged by the diverse list of 43 Wyoming projects that will be funded by federal stimulus money.

“I commend the staff, and the communities that moved quickly to take advantage of the stimulus funding that was available," he said. "Those funds should be put to work around the state this summer, and hopefully we’ll see people who might have jobs who otherwise might not have them. We will also accomplish the task of meeting some of the unmet needs in the communities and the counties throughout Wyoming.”    » read more »

May 6, 2009 -- CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The Governors of Idaho and Wyoming expressed their concern to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on what they say is an “ill-conceived and hastily contrived” approach to eliminate brucellosis.

Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter of Idaho and Gov. Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming wrote to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding the proposed National Brucellosis Elimination Zone (NBEZ), which they say would further impede the progress of disease eradication.    » read more »

March 25, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.- The biggest public lands bill in decades cleared its final hurdle today, when the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass it. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 safeguards millions of acres of new wilderness, protects hundreds of miles of rivers, expands trails, and keeps critical habitat in Wyoming safe from oil and gas leasing.    » read more »

New Analysis Ranks "Filthy 15" States by Coal Ash Produced by Proposed Plants

Washington, D.C. (March 12, 2009) -- Proposed coal plants across the United States would produce nearly 18 million tons of dangerous waste, including toxic metals, each year. Nearly 130 million tons of coal waste from existing plants is being produced annually, most of which is disposed of in largely unregulated landfills, ponds and other locations, posing serious public health and environmental risks.

According to a new analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the 15 states that would be the biggest polluters -- the “Filthy 15” -- have proposals for 54 coal plants and would create nearly 14 million tons of dangerous waste.    » read more »