WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today issued the following statement in response to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) release of the final rule on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI):

“Over the past year, I’ve been working to get DHS to delay implementation of WHTI until we were positive Montanans, traveling across the border, wouldn’t be affected.  Today, they responded to my demands.  The final rule delays implementation until June 2009 and gives us time to ensure we have a reliable, cost effective means of allowing Montana residents to seamlessly travel out of the country while bolstering national security at the same time. I’ll continue to hold the Administration’s feet to the fire until we can find the right balance between maximizing defense and minimizing inconvenience. ”