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The Republican Agenda on Affordability
By Rep. Ryan Zinke
January 17, 2026
Montana is at the end of the supply chain. Deadhead routes for fuel trucks, goods and materials. The four years of the Biden administration’s spending and regulatory assault caused inflation to skyrocket, and we felt it worse than most states. High inflation and fuel prices erased the wage gains, put additional pressure on the cost of homes, and drove interest rates higher and higher. The regulatory assault on responsible timber harvests, energy development and manufacturing caused material costs to increase and jobs to disappear. From Whitefish to Whitehall to Wibaux, folks felt it every time they bought groceries, filled up their tank, or paid their bills.
But we’re righting the ship. In the first year of the Republican-controlled House, Senate and White House, we have made progress to cut taxes, expand the economy, protect American workers and make sure Americans’ tax dollars are prioritized for Americans.
The One Big Beautiful Bill is the most significant affordability legislation in a decade, delivering historic tax relief for working families in Montana. Most households will see between $7,000 and $9,900 more in yearly take-home pay. The child tax credit was raised to $2,200 per child, and the 2017 tax cuts were made permanent, stopping the largest tax increase in American history. That increase would have hit Montana families hard and put more than 22,000 full-time jobs at risk.
These tax cuts were designed for people who work for a living. The bill eliminates taxes on overtime and on tips for eligible workers, putting dollars back into the pockets of those who are sweating to make ends meet. That same principle applies to seniors who spent a lifetime delivering for their families. Nearly 200,000 Montana seniors now qualify to pay no taxes on their Social Security benefits, giving fixed-income households some breathing room.
The bill also makes the Montana way of life a viable option again. It cuts the death tax in half, helping family operations stay intact instead of being sold off to cover taxes after a family death. Small businesses were protected from higher tax rates that would have made it harder to grow and compete. And the bill includes $50 billion in targeted rural health care grants, with $233 million going directly to Montana, reflecting solutions built by rural Montanans and not one-size-fits-all policies dreamed up for big cities.
People here in Montana believe in hard work and fairness. If you earn it, you keep it. My focus in Congress is making sure Montanans can build their future here, and that starts with getting the government out of your way. That is the commitment I bring to Washington, and the work I will continue to do for Montana. |