He was a senior staffer to President Donald Trump, and also once served as the chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence. Now, Marc Short is the head of the Coalition to Protect American Workers.

Short joined Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT), the Montana Chamber of Commerce's Todd O'Hair, and the Montana Farm Bureau Federation's John Youngberg for a forum at C&B Operations in Billings. C&B is a John Deere farm equipment dealer in Billings, with several other locations across Montana.

I caught up with Marc Short, who served as Legislative Affairs Director for the White House, after the event.

One line during the forum that stood out to me was when Youngberg talked about how 370 million acres of lands will be transferred in the next 40 years. Youngberg pointed out how we here in Montana want that land to stay as family farms and ranches.

Marc Short: One of the provisions in this terrible Build Back Better, allegedly, bill that was pushed by President Biden and Speaker Pelosi and actually supported by Jon Tester- is that it really would have impacted family farms. They had a provision in that would have eliminated the stepped up basis, it would have created a huge capital gains impact for people who are trying to pass family farms on to the next generation. And you're right, we want to keep them in the families. We want to keep them here in the country.

What message do Montanans need to send to liberal Senator Jon Tester (D-MT)?

Marc Short: The last thing America needs is higher taxes and enormous new spending that's just gonna add to the inflationary pressures that everyday Americans are feeling either at the gas pump or the grocery store. So, the one thing that would be helpful is for Jon Tester to hear from Montana voters is just- stop. Stop the spending, allow the economy to recover, but don't do things that only make it worse with additional spending or potentially threatening tax increases as you're emerging from a pandemic.

 

Marc Short also talked about how the Build Back Better bill is better referred to as "Build Back Beijing" given the fact that most electric batteries for vehicles come from China. Check out the full audio for more on that conversation.

Gov. Gianforte also highlighted the tax cuts he signed into law during his first legislative session as governor. He talked about cutting the income tax rate that most Montanans pay. Next session he wants to lower it below 6%, and eventually below 5% to be more competitive in our region.

LOOK: Here is the richest town in each state

Just saying the names of these towns immediately conjures up images of grand mansions, luxury cars, and ritzy restaurants. Read on to see which town in your home state took the title of the richest location and which place had the highest median income in the country. Who knows—your hometown might even be on this list.

 

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