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Rehberg Campaigns on Tour of Montana Businesses

By Beacon Staff

HELENA – U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, during a Wednesday tour of state businesses, blamed Obama administration environmental rules for constraining economic growth.

Rehberg listened to concerns of managers and workers at a Helena-area cement plant, and toured a nearby steel recycling company after attending a trade show in Billings in the morning.

On Thursday, he is scheduled to tour a Great Falls oil refinery, a Havre health club and attend an agriculture discussion at Montana State University-Northern.

Rehberg said he intends to better gauge what he described as the “harmful effects of overreaching federal regulations.”

The Republican said he understands the concern of Ash Grove Cement engineers who told him the firm is being forced to install expensive new pollution controls at a time when other costs are already rising and business remains down. The new controls are aimed at meeting new rules for particulate and other emissions.

The company said its energy usage will reach an all-time high after it installs the machines needed to meet new environmental standards. It worries the industry will lose jobs to foreign competitors, such as those in Canada that don’t face the same new stringent requirement.

“If you were going to have a program to turn the recession around, this is the opposite of what you would do,” Rehberg said.

Rehberg has been making criticism of Obama administration policies a centerpiece of his campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat.

Rehberg said Republicans who control the House want to ease the regulations, and constrain the ability to force more environmental oversight with legal challenges. He blamed Democrats for getting in the way, including Tester and U.S. Sen. Max Baucus.

“I frankly don’t think the people of Montana think that our senators ought to be supporting President Obama and these kinds of things,” Rehberg said.

Rehberg’s tour comes at a time when Tester’s office had been critical of Rehberg for apparently reducing his number of public appearances. They argue he is trying to avoid scrutiny.

Tester spokesman Aaron Murphy countered that Rehberg has wrongly opposed reforms of the financial system in the wake of the recession, and criticized the Republican for continuing to support tax breaks for the oil industry.

“Those are irresponsible decisions that have hurt Montana,” Murphy said.