HELENA, Mont. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg says Obama administration environmental rules are constraining economic growth.

Rehberg toured a Helena-area cement plant and steel company on Wednesday after attending a trade show in Billings in the morning.

On Thursday, he is scheduled to tour a Great Falls oil refinery, a Havre health club and attend an agriculture discussion at Montana State University-Northern.

Rehberg says he intends to better gauge what he described as the "harmful effects of overreaching federal regulations."

The Republican says the cement plant, for instance, is being forced to install expensive new pollution controls at a time when other costs are already rising and business is down.

Rehberg has made criticism of Obama administration policies a centerpiece of his campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat.

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