[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 7, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S2233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               BUTTE, MT

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, today I begin a series of statements about 
a place that is very special to me, the city of Butte, MT. These 
statements will focus on Butte's economy, its people, its quality of 
life, and other special attributes of Butte.
  I will begin today by discussing the recent history of Butte's 
economy.
  Butte, MT, is 1 of 13 communities across the Nation under 
consideration for a new microchip manufacturing plant to be constructed 
by Micron Technologies.
  Now, Butte and Micron may seem to have little in common; after all, 
why would one of the Nation's leading high-technology companies want to 
set up a shop in an old western mining town like Butte?
  Yet, if you scratch just below the surface, Butte and Micron have a 
lot in common. Thanks to the basic American values of hard work, 
patriotism, ingenuity, competitiveness, both Butte and Micron have 
grown and prospered over the past 10 years. And Micron has done this 
without shipping jobs overseas.
  Many of their managers have told me, with great and justifiable 
pride, that their corporate philosophy is to grow jobs not overseas but 
in America. It is exactly that kind of loyalty that has helped the 
people of Butte rebuild their economy after the loss of the largest 
employer more than a decade ago.
  For over a century, the business of Butte was mining. Butte's first 
settlers called it ``the glittering hill.'' Later, Butte would be known 
as the ``mining city.'' At first, it was silver and gold but primarily 
copper.
  While the mining industry flourished, Butte grew and prospered, and 
some in Butte got very wealthy. Many others made a hard but a decent 
living in the mines. During the early part of this century, Butte's 
population rose to nearly 100,000 people, about the same size as 
today's Billings, MT, our largest city.
  With copper prices falling in the 1970's, Butte's once mighty mining 
industry began to slowly taper off.
  Then it happened. The mines closed. This January 7, 1983, headline, a 
replica, a mockup of the Montana Standard, reads like a death sentence 
for Butte: ``Butte Mining to Stop.'' There is a big stop sign; a death 
sentence for Butte, MT.
  Hundreds of jobs were lost, direct jobs; over $32 million in annual 
payroll disappeared; over $1 million in yearly tax payments to the 
local government were lost, and Butte lost a big chunk of its 
identity--mining. The ``mining city'' became the ``former mining 
city.''
  Butte's chief executive at the time was a good friend of mine named 
Don Peoples. Don told the local paper:

       It's like being told that a patient has a terminal illness. 
     You first feel frustration, anger and then sit back and 
     determine how you fight on.

  Don's reaction of the news was typical of the spirit, optimism, and 
loyalty that helped make Butte such a special place.
  Yet, there were a lot of other people, most of whom, by the way, do 
not live in Butte, who counted Butte out. They thought Butte was 
destined to become nothing more than a very large ghost town on the 
western landscape.
  But were they ever wrong. Perhaps they underestimated the teamwork 
and the ingenuity of Butte's leaders, people like Don Peoples, Harp 
Cote, Joe Quilici, Bob Pavlovich, J.D. Lynch, Judy Jacobson, Fritz 
Daily, Evan Barrett, Bob Gannon, and Jack Lynch. And I know they 
underestimated the thousands of other hardworking Montanans who were 
still proud--fiercely proud--to call Butte their home.
  These people were not about to pack up and leave. They were 
determined to stay in Butte and build a better life for themselves and 
their families, and they did it. By working together and creating a 
probusiness environment, they made Butte of 1995 a great economic 
success story.
  There is much, much more to the Butte of 1995 than mining.
  The Montana technology companies have earned Butte international 
recognition as a center for the development, testing, and marketing of 
new environmental technologies. They have done it themselves in Butte.
  Montana Power Co., based in Butte, operates one of the most dynamic 
utility and energy businesses in the Nation.
  Butte's Montana Tech turns up on any list of the best engineering and 
science schools in the country. For instance, in a survey of college 
presidents recently published in U.S. News and World Report, Tech, 
Montana Tech was voted the top ranked small college science program in 
the Nation--top, No. 1.
  Hundreds of new small businesses have grown up and prospered in 
Butte.
  Well, 12 years have now passed since the mines closed. Mining has 
come back to Butte. With the development of Montana Resources several 
years ago, Butte can again rightfully call itself the mining city.
  In short, if Micron is looking for a good place to do business, Butte 
is the best place. Its industrious people are the perfect match for 
Micron's record of growth and productivity.
  Over 30,000 Montanans from Butte and southwest Montana have signed 
petitions urging Micron to locate in Butte. I can only add my voice to 
theirs by expressing my fervent hope that Micron will become Butte's 
next economic miracle.
  I thank the Chair, and I thank the Senator from West Virginia.
  I yield the floor.
  

                          ____________________