Jon Tester for U.S. Senate

Background:

I was born in Havre, MT on August 21, 1956 and raised on the family farm my grandparents homesteaded in 1916. Today, I operate an organic farm with my wife Sharla on the same family land. We raise wheat, barley, lentils and other grains and recently closed a custom butcher shop we operated along with the farm. My wife and I have a son, Shon, a daughter, Christine, a son in law, James, and one grandchild, Kilikina. I am a former classroom music teacher and hold a B.S. degree from the University of Great Falls in Music.

Public service is central to my life--I have chaired my local school board, served on my local soil conservation board, and represented my community in the Montana Legislature. In 1998, I was elected to the Montana Senate in a predominantly Republican district. The Democratic caucus elected me Minority Whip in 2001 and Minority Leader in 2003. After more than a decade in the minority, Montana Democrats won control of the Montana Senate in 2004 and I was honored to serve as President of the Montana Senate for the 2005 legislative session.

Along with Governor Schweitzer, we passed an ambitious legislative agenda, including a better funding plan for our schools, full funding for children's health insurance, and protection of wildlife habitat and public lands. I sponsored groundbreaking legislation signed into law by Governor Schweitzer to start a prescription drug plan for Montana seniors and to establish a wind energy tax credit and a renewable portfolio standard.

We accomplished all of this, and much more, while balancing the state's budget and without raising taxes.

Goals:

I enjoy my quality of life farming in rural Montana. I wake up to the High Plains out my front door and work on family land in a job that I truly love. . If it weren't for the state of affairs in Washington, D.C., I'd stay home and continue farming with my wife. I'm running for the U.S. Senate because I think our country is headed in the wrong direction and we need strong leadership to turn things around.

Republicans in Congress and President George W. Bush have driven a corrupt, unsustainable agenda that hurts seniors, kids, and the most needy among us. Conrad Burns and his dealings with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff have tarnished the reputation of the U.S. Senate seat Mike Mansfield once held. I aim to return responsible leadership and dignity to that seat.

My specific goals are many but they all boil down to a simple mission: to restore Montanans' and Americans' values and trust in government. My goals are to bring the federal budget to a sensible, sustainable balance, promote affordable, renewable energy and access to quality health care, and to serve Montanans with honor and dignity in the U.S. Senate. It's time to end the culture of corruption in Washington, D.C.

Issues:

Restoring Montanans' and Americans' values and trust in government starts with operating an office in which Montanans can take pride by cleaning up the pay-to-play atmosphere in Washington, D.C. I've put together a strong ethics plan that I intend to follow, available on my campaign website. This plan includes bans on secret meetings and special travel, and openness in my office.

As I travel the state, I hear from people of all ages concerned about paying for basic health care needs. Seniors are confused about changes to Medicare and concerned about coming up short on prescription drug and other health care bills. Working families struggle to afford insurance coverage. And children across the state go without quality health care. I've proposed sweeping reform to our health care system, including prescription drug price negotiation for Medicare, more funding for children's health insurance, and more access to health care for working families. These are issues I hear every day on the campaign trail and issues that affect every Montanan and American, healthy or ill, insured or uninsured.

Developing clean, affordable, renewable energy for American consumers is also important to my campaign. As a farmer, I understand how energy costs affect every level of our economy; skyrocketing energy prices hurt consumers and businesses. Energy independence will help our environment and restore fiscal balance to working families and our government. I have a plan, also available on my campaign website, that promotes renewable energy and resource conservation to bring America to a sustainable energy future and cuts our dependence on foreign oil.

Grassroots Support:

Grassroots support is important to our success in the Primary Election and the General Election. In both cases I will challenge opponents with deep pockets and full campaign coffers. But winning in Montana is not always about having the most money or television time. Straight talk, strong leadership, and community organization have lifted strong candidates to statewide offices time and again over well-financed opponents.

Our campaign has had tremendous help from the progressive online community, including weblogs like Swing State Project, MyDD, and DailyKos. This support has helped us along through tough fundraising quarters and made us competitive in a difficult political environment. We will continue to organize support online and on the ground to win in June and November.

DFA Values:

For me being a progressive is about the basic things you believe in. Values like hard work, faith, family, community, and living within your means. I believe in fairness and justice, values Montanans from all walks of life teach their children each day. I live these values everyday in operating my business and working in my community and I draw on these values to shape my decision making in government.

I am pro-choice, a policy position that, for me, is deeper than the turn of phrase. In the legislature I vigilantly defended the rights of women to make decisions about their health without government interference. And, I recently requested an opinion of Montana's Attorney General to settle whether insurance companies with prescription drug benefits should be required to cover contraceptives and birth control. Excluding coverage for contraceptives and birth control runs contrary to simple fairness, that's why I pursued the opinion.

I strongly support increasing the minimum wage, a concept that means a lot for a single parent who works multiple jobs to provide for their family. Montanans have a chance to increase the minimum wage this year at the ballot box, an initiative I wholeheartedly support. Fair wages for an honest day's work are about economic justice, a progressive idea I support.

Balancing the books is something I deal with every day as a family farmer and small businessman. In 2005, Montana Democrats brought fiscal restraint back to government by restoring program cuts in a measured, reasonable way to promote economic development and keep the state budget in the black. Fiscal discipline is sorely needed in Washington, D.C., and I intend to bring it to the U.S. Senate. Working on the Finance and Claims Committee in the Montana Senate taught me that common-sense proposals and tax fairness can balance the budget. I have a proven record of fiscally responsible leadership that I will draw on in higher office.