Healthcare in America has become a political hostage, traded in this shutdown fight and used as leverage to score power.

Livingston, MT – U.S. Senate candidate Reilly Neill announced her proposal of the Family Insurance Act, legislation that would allow children to remain on their parents’ health insurance until age 35.

We're building a movement from the ground up in Montana. Daines votes against the will of Montana every chance he gets when it comes to abortion. I told my fellow Montanan on the parade route that I wouldn't be running for U.S. Senate if Daines was doing his job upholding the will of the people.

Montanan Maurice Hilleman helped end deadly childhood diseases. Montana is now rolling back the protections his vaccines made possible. Science built this legacy. Politics threatens it.

Across Montana, the damage is piling up. From the Rocky Mountains to the rolling plains of the Hi-Line, federal funding is the backbone of our communities with basic services that keep small towns running. Montana depends on federal tax dollars for nearly half of our state’s revenue, over $14.1 billion annually in federal support.

Montanans are resilient. Our communities are strong. I know this because I'm a Montanan. I will never stop fighting for our schools, our farmers, our public lands, our elders, our Veterans, and the next generation. As of May 2025, hundreds of federal programs have been frozen, gutted, or eliminated in Montana. This is crippling our economy and exposing our people.

Montana cannot afford another year of delays. The clock is ticking, not just on the Farm Bill, but on our entire democracy.

This bill doesn’t fix the government's spending problem. It hands our taxpayer dollars to profiteers and corporations instead of our hospitals, schools and veterans.

I ran, got elected and served as a Democrat in the Montana State House. The Montana Democratic Party has deep roots in the rugged soil of our state, a history shaped by Montanans who believed in fairness, opportunity, and community. From the copper mines of Butte to the wheat fields of the Hi-Line, Democrats have fought for better wages, safer conditions, strong public schools, and access to healthcare for all.

In Montana, we made it clear. The State Legislature passed Medicaid expansion. When it comes to Trump’s "Big Beautiful Bill," will our delegation in D.C. be cowards or will they stand up for the people? As of 2025, more than 250,000 Montanans rely on Medicaid or related programs, including more than 120,000 children enrolled through Healthy Montana Kids and about 70,000 adults covered under Medicaid expansion.

I’ve spent most of my life working in Montana communities—running newspapers, cooking in small-town kitchens, listening to farmers, students, teachers, veterans, and union workers tell their stories. I’ve served in the Montana Legislature and published newspapers that took on big issues in small places. Through all of it, one belief has remained constant: democracy only works when people show up. Showing up means more than giving speeches or repeating slogans. It requires asking questions, listening to the answers, and recognizing that no one holds all the answers by virtue of a title or a degree.