Marlenee, Ronald Charles, 1935-

U.S. Representative from Montana.

Ronald ( Ron) Charles Marlenee was born in Scobey, Daniels County, Mont., on 8 Aug. 1935. He attended public schools in Daniels County, Montana State University in Bozeman, the University of Montana in Missoula, and the Reisch School of Auctioneering in Mason City, Iowa. A farmer and rancher for most of his life, Marlenee was also a member of the Montana Stockgrowers, Daniels County Farm Bureau, Daniels County Fair Association, Masons, Lions, Montana Grain Growers Association, and the Montana Beef Performance Association. Marlenee entered the political arena in 1975 when he became a committeeman for the Second Congressional District of Montana. In 1976 he was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives. While in Congress he served on the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Marlenee was a congressman for eight terms and was defeated for reelection in 1992 when the Montana first and second congressional districts were combined.

Ronald ( Ron) Charles Marlenee was born in Scobey, Daniels County, Montana on August 8, 1935. He attended public schools in Daniels County, Montana State University in Bozeman, the University of Montana in Missoula, and the Reisch School of Auctioneering in Mason City, Iowa. A farmer and rancher for most of his life, Marlenee was also a member of the Montana Stock-growers, Daniels County Farm Bureau, Daniels County Fair Association, Masons, Lions, Montana Grain Growers Association, and the Montana Beef Performance Association. Marlenee entered the political arena in 1975 when he became a committeeman for the Second Congressional District of Montana. In 1976 he was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives, in the Montana Second Congressional. While in Congress he served on the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Marlenee was a congressman for eight terms and was defeated for reelection in 1992 when the Montana first and second congressional districts were combined.

Marlenee was always concerned about the interaction between individual citizens and the government agencies that served them. In particular, he advocated: a balanced budget and small government; multiple use of public lands; promotion of extraction and energy industries; family farms and programs that supported them; agricultural markets and exports; and was a staunch defender of the Second Amendment right to bear arms. The overhaul of government agricultural programs, the uses of public lands, environmental protection, and the creation of more wilderness were hotly contended during his time in office. The Montana National Forest Management Act [S.1696] of 1991 co-sponsored by Montana Senators Max Baucus and Conrad Burns was interpreted to be a wilderness bill by many Montana residents and opposed by Marlenee for restricting access to public lands. Marlenee was especially interested in legislation that affected family farms including credit; drought, water and soil conservation; markets and exports; transportation, and the 1985 Omnibus Farm Bill [H.R.2100] which drastically changed many of the government's agricultural programs. He fought hard to amend many of the bills introduced that changed policies affecting agriculture and voted against the final version which passed and became public law. Marlenee also served on the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs including the Sub-Committees (designations varied over time) on Public Lands and National Parks; Energy and the Environment; Mining and Natural Resources; Water, Power and Offshore Energy Resources; and Oversight and Investigations. With the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in the Interior Department, he was deeply involved with the problems of the Indian tribes of Montana and their reservations. Sovereignty, law enforcement on reservations, use of reservation lands by industries, education and housing, and relations between non-Indians and the tribes were some of the key issues. The actions of agencies including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and private organizations promoting conservation and wilderness were reflected in bills on the multi-use of public lands and proposed restrictions. Marlenee promoted the extraction and natural resource industries of Montana, especially coal and oil and the pipelines that were needed to deliver them. Environmental issues including drought, water usage, food safety and predator control and preserving recreational opportunities and protecting National Parks were addressed by the subcommittees and bills debated and considered.