Ric Holden for United States Representative - District 2
Republican
By Denise Rivette
Montana Independent News posed the same four questions to all candidates in the United States Representative race in District 2. Republican Ric Holden’s views are presented in their entirety below.
What are the Montana values that will guide your decision-making?
I am a third generation Montanan whose grandparents grew up homesteading around the 1900’s. My wife and I have been married for 41 years and we have operated our farm/ranch for 33 years. We started from scratch on our farm. No one gave us anything. We had to find our own financing, equipment, and livestock. I am conservative when it comes to spending and making business decisions. Because we are conservative, I believe that enabled us to succeed and pay off our farm loans last fall. It takes dedication and a constant eye on the future to make it in Montana agriculture. Montanans are independent hard-working people. We don’t like to be governed by far away places like Washington D.C. We want to govern ourselves. I understand the Montana way of life because I have lived it and represented the people of southeast Montana in the State Senate for 8 years. These real-life experiences will guide my decision-making.
What skills, knowledge and experience do you possess that make you the better candidate?
I have practical real life experiences operating businesses and representing people from eastern Montana in Helena. After high school I attended Montana State University- Bozeman and graduated in 1984. I obtained a degree in Business Management and minors in Finance and Marketing. But my real skills were obtained by building a ranch and business insurance adjusting firm. My lifetime experiences right here in Montana have taught me much about the people of Montana. What makes them tick and what it is that they do not like. Our number one industry in Montana is agriculture. We are a farm state and unless you are active in that industry, try as you might, you will never fully understand the challenges of agriculture. I am the only candidate that actively operates a farm/ranch operation. I also understand the impact that agriculture has on our main street businesses. As a state senator, I took my practical business experiences to Helena and served there until I was term limited out. I have a proven conservative voting record that stands testament to my dedication to eastern Montana.
What are your top priorities to address during your term if you are elected?
There are three issues that need to be addressed in my first term.
1. Congress needs to get together and close the southern border and stop the flood of illegal aliens into our country. We are getting overrun by drugs and sex traffickers while at the same time we are paying these illegals for free cell phones, free health care, free education, free debit cards and other freebies that we don’t even know about. So, let’s shut the border, and send back as many of these law breakers as we can find. Then at the same time, negotiate a common sense immigration policy that needs to be pared way back. We have a whole generation of children that are relying on us to do the right thing now.
2. Reverse the inflation rate. The purchasing value of our dollar is getting less all the time under the Biden administration. It does not need to be this way. The fastest way to turn around our economy is to jump start our natural resources industry right here in Montana. We have coal, oil, natural gas and agriculture. All of these industries are under attack by the Biden administration. We need to stop importing foreign oil and start using our own. We need to allow federal permitting to advance for oil and coal extraction. We need to reverse regulations concerning agriculture like removing EPA required exhaust systems from our tractors and letting our farmers have access to animal medicines once again. Our economy and jobs will be restored if we take advantage of our God given resources right here in Montana.
3. Support Agriculture in a meaningful way. Currently, we do not have a congressman sitting on the house agriculture committee. Since agriculture is our largest industry, it only makes sense that we have a representative on that committee everyday in Washington D.C. I will make the house agriculture committee my number one request for committee assignments to be made by the speaker of the house. Then we will know what is going on and how it is impacting our state.
What legislative language would you propose or support to address those priorities?
I intend to be very involved in the construction of immigration legislation. I will co-sponsor a law to round up the illegal aliens and ship them back to where they came from, whatever it takes. Additionally, the southern border needs to be supported with a well-built wall that will help control the flow of boarder jumpers and drug cartel members.
As a member of the agriculture committee, I will draft legislation that is favorable to protecting Montana farmers and ranchers. We need to eliminate the estate tax for as many citizens as possible to prevent government taking of assets. We need a farm bill favorable to Montana. As a Montana farmer, I know what will work in Montana.
I will write and introduce amendments that will once again open up the federal permitting system to the oil and coal industry, so we don’t lose another coal mine like we are about to in Roundup, Montana. You will see a very active legislative agenda from me, because time is short, and we need to move on these issues.