Missoula News

Tester Talks Education and Energy at UM

By Tad Sooter, 3-24-06

Jon Tester swept into a crowded room at the University of Montana Thursday night, and got straight down to business. No speech – just a question-and-answer session for one-and-a-half hours. The Democrat from Big Sandy, challenging Conrad Burns for his U.S. Senate seat, discussed the wide-ranging concerns of the college-student crowd, with special attention to making education more affordable and useful.

“I don’t get a chance to talk to people like you very often,” Tester told the audience. “You guys are where the action is, and I want to make it more affordable for you to be where the action is.”

The four-term Montana state senator said he wants to increase financial aid and scholarships to lower the burden on students and make sure they don’t have to leave the state after college just to find jobs that can pay back their student loans. He also hopes to increase federal funding for research so that professors can focus on their work rather than grant writing, and so public universities can attract top-notch professionals.

Education problems on Montana’s reservations need to be addressed through stronger communication and inclusiveness with the tribal communities, Tester said. He wants to make sure education is both available and more applicable for Native American students.

The reservations are also an extreme example of Montana’s poverty problem, said Tester. To meet this challenge, he supports raising the federal minimum wage and improving health care by promoting competition in between drug companies, as well as programs that guarantee health insurance for minors.

Tester’s roots as a humble organic farmer, evidenced by the worn and cracking leather boots poking from beneath his slacks, seemed to play well with the college crowd. He spent time discussing alternative energies, sustainable living and even dishing out some organic shopping tips (buy bulk and save!). He said that if America made a serious effort to develope bio-diesel, ethanol and other renewable fuels, it could become independent from overseas oil supplies in five to six years.

“If I wasn’t doing this (running for senate) I’d be growing oil seeds and be pressing my own oil, because energy independence is a personal goal for me as well,” Tester said.

As a state senator, Tester supported legislation that required public utilities to make at least 15 percent of their energy portfolios be in sustainable energy by 2015. Tester said the policy helped Montana go from 50th to 15th in the country for renewable energy use.

Tester avoided making negative statements towards his opponents, but when pushed laid out the differences between himself and Democratic contender John Morrison. He cited his experience as a business owner, educator and senate president as valuable background for the senate.

“He has more legal experience, but it’s my opinion that we probably have enough attorneys back in Washington,” Tester said.

The biggest difference between the two Democratic candidates is money, Tester said, which is reflected not just in the campaign but in the values they represent.

“He’s got more money than I got,” Tester said. “We’ve got a nice little farm, but I don’t have a lot of expendable income. There are people in my income level who think $100 is a lot of money, and I’ll remember that when I’m in Washington, DC.”

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