Tester criticizes campaign finance laws in farewell address

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester in a farewell speech to the Senate on Monday warned against campaigns becoming so bitter that lawmakers can no longer work together, blasting campaign spending laws a month after losing the most expensive race in Montana history.

The Montana Democrat is in the final weeks of his 18-year Senate career, having lost the general election to Republican Tim Sheehy, a political newcomer. Exiting members of Congress are given a chance to offer parting words. In the House, U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, chose not to. Rosendale didn’t seek reelection after two terms. 

“Please listen to this. I have just been through the meat grinder. We need to do some campaign finance reform. Because of the campaign finance system in this country today, we have more division than ever. We are more paralyzed as a body to do policy than we ever have been before,” Tester said, faulting Supreme Court decisions equating unrestrained campaign spending with free speech.

“I despise these rules. I think they’re horrible. I think it allows candidates to stay underground and not go out and talk to people. And I’ll follow the rules. And I’ll go by the rules, and then I get criticized by the same people who voted to put those same folks on the Supreme Court. Crazy.” 

With money still to be reported, spending on Montana’s U.S. Senate race surpassed $300 million, with Tester having a substantial campaign account advantage over Sheehy and an advantage in spending by third-party groups attacking the Republican. 

Sheehy did a limited number of interviews with local and national press, relying heavily on paid ads to promote his candidacy. 

Tester also highlighted his chairmanship of the Veterans Affairs Committee and the Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations, both positions secured through seniority during his final Senate term. The PACT Act, of 2022, gave veterans medical coverage for exposure to toxic burn pits for the first time and extended coverage for exposure to agent orange, a jungle defoliate.

The senator from Big Sandy, first elected in 2006, said the CHIPS and Science Act, a 2022 bill to advance microchip manufacturing and science research in the United States, was another major accomplishment.

Tester encouraged lawmakers not to weaken defense spending. 

“Address defense spending in ways that keep us safe, while holding our military and our contractors responsible. China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, those threats are real. They’re doing some god-awful stuff. And we need to make sure that we have a military that will deter and hopefully never have to use it. But if we do, we win,” Tester said. 

Tester credited his agricultural roots for making him the person he is, a grandson of immigrants who still lives on the family farm.