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ChampionedFiscal Policy & Balanced Budget

Committed to work to require the federal government to balance its budget, introducing the Balanced Budget Accountability Act as his first bill in the Senate.

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ChampionedFact-checker reviewConfidence: 90%

Both cited PRIMARY sources are reachable and directly document the outcome. The 2015-02-12 Daines Senate press release confirms he introduced the Balanced Budget Accountability Act as his first Senate bill, with the exact provisions cited (congressional pay terminated after April 15 if no balanced budget passes, budget must balance within 10 years, 3/5 supermajority required for tax increases). The quote "Montanans deserve a balanced budget. Unfortunately, Washington remains unwilling to take the steps needed to get our country back on solid fiscal ground" is confirmed verbatim against both the primary release and an independent Montana outlet (montanarightnow.com). The 2025-01-09 release confirms he re-introduced the identical bill and explicitly states it "is the first bill Daines introduces each Congress," supporting the sustained lead-sponsor championing that distinguishes CHAMPIONED from a one-time FULL. The rating does not overstate: it correctly notes the bill never became law, so no false legislative-victory claim is made. The promise as worded (introduce the bill as his first Senate bill and work toward a balanced-budget requirement) was directly fulfilled and repeatedly re-championed. CHAMPIONED is well supported by the evidence.

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