On Senate Floor, Tester Urges Swift Confirmation for Tracy Stone-Manning to Lead Bureau of Land Management

Ahead of a crucial procedural vote, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today took to the Senate floor today to urge his colleagues to quickly confirm Tracy Stone-Manning's nomination to lead the Bureau of Land Management.

Tester pointed to Manning's decades of experience working collaboratively and fighting for the public lands that drive Montana's economy, and the thousands of good-paying jobs that rely on them.

'Tracy Stone-Manning is a tireless advocate for the outdoor spaces that make Montana special. She is a collaborative, responsible leader, and at BLM she will bring nonpartisan stewardship to our nation's greatest treasures,' Tester said. 'Tracy is dedicated to smart management of our public lands, she is dedicated to habitat and to the outdoors, and is one of the hardest working people that I know. But unfortunately, members of this body have played politics with her nomination, dragging a good person's name through the muck in a cynical smear campaign ginned up by folks who would rather play politics than see a qualified, competent woman running the Bureau of Land Management.'

A Senior Advisor at the National Wildlife Federation based in Montana, Stone-Manning is also the former Chief of Staff to Governor Steve Bullock, and previously served as a senior aide to Tester.

Tester continued: 'The person these folks have made Tracy out to be is not the person I have known and worked with closely over the past decade plus. If she were, I would not be standing here today supporting her. But luckily, Tracy is a fighter and knows who she is, and she won't be intimidated quite so easily. She will bring good old-fashioned Montana common sense to the Bureau of Land Management, along with a steadfast dedication to managing our public lands - and the thousands of good-paying jobs that rely on them. She will lead the agency with dignity, honor and integrity and, as she has done her entire career, Tracy will bring folks together, from both sides of the aisle, to get things done and make a real impact on our public lands.'

Video of Tester's entire floor speech is available HERE.