A custom-printed sign and line of local dignitaries greeted U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., when he walked into Kalispell’s Best Buy store Tuesday morning.
Daines has been touring Montana to tout the benefits of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act recently signed into law. He was joined in Kalispell Tuesday by the city’s mayor, Mark Johnson, Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, Rep. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, and the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce’s Kate Lufkin.
Best Buy was a fitting stop. On Feb. 4, the electronics retailer joined several other large firms that gave their employees a bonus – in this case, $1,000 for full-time workers and $500 for part-time – while citing the tax plan.
“It’s a really good thing to see more money in the pockets of hardworking Montanans,” Daines told the Daily Inter Lake.
He received a tour from General Manager Bob Bridges and Assistant Store Manager James Scott, speaking with employees in its “smart home” and IT support departments. Daines said one of the workers told him that he planned to spend his $1,000 on a new amplifier for his bass; another was planning to put the cash toward a future home.
“These are hardworking Montanans who work long hours, serving other Montanans in their capacity here in technology, and it’s nice to see more money in their pockets.”