Montana’s senior U.S. senator, Democrat Max Baucus, kicked off his campaign today for re-election to a sixth consecutive term, saying there’s still much work to do to improve the lives of Montanans.

At a new conference in the state Capitol, Baucus said he’s eager to use his position as chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee to help make health insurance available to all, tackle global warming and bring more jobs to the state.

“I have 900,000 of the world’s best bosses,” he said, referring to Montana citizens. “We’ve done an awful lot, but there’s still more to do. If Montanans renew my contract, we’ll keep doing what’s right for Montana.”

Baucus, 66, is a heavy favorite to win re-election. He’s already raised more than $9 million for his campaign and his potential Republican challengers are largely unknown and under-funded.

State Rep. Michael Lange and industrial facility designer Kirk Bushman, both of Billings, have said they’re running for the office, although the only Republican candidate who’s paid the filing fee so far is Anton Pearson of St. Regis, a political unknown.

Baucus walked into the secretary of state’s office this morning at the Capitol and paid his $1,693 filing fee, making his candidacy official.

An attorney who grew up on a ranch north of Helena, Baucus has been a U.S. senator since 1979, winning re-election four times. Before that he served two terms in the U.S. House, representing western Montana.

Baucus today declined to say anything about his potential opponents, saying he’s concentrating on what he plans to do for the state.

“The more people that run for political office the better,” he said. “I only know what I want to do. I pay no attention to any other candidate right now.”

He also brushed aside questions about which Democratic presidential candidate he plans to support this year, suggesting he might first want to see how Democrats in Montana vote in the June 3 primary election. Baucus is one of the state’s “super delegates” and has a vote at the Democratic National Convention this summer on the nominee for president.

Baucus did talk plenty this morning about issues, saying his committee may hold hearings later this year on potential health-care reform plans, anticipating possible initiatives from the next president.

Baucus also said he’ll introduce a significant bill that will compare the cost-effectiveness of drugs, medical equipment and other items, in an effort to control health-care costs.

“We must reduce costs,” he said. “America spends twice as much on health care as the next most expensive country.”

Regarding Iraq, Baucus said he wants to remove combat troops “as expeditiously as possible,” and that the United States should not have a permanent military presence in Iraq. Troops should be brought home starting this year, he said.

“We can’t stay there indefinitely,” Baucus said.

Baucus said he favors a cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions, as opposed to a carbon tax, and that his committee will examine whether to extend tax cuts supported by President Bush past 2010. He said he favors extending tax cuts for moderate-income earners, but hasn’t decided on the cuts for other income brackets.

Much of the nation’s business, however, may be put on hold until the next president is elected, Baucus said, as both Democrats and Republicans in Congress may be unwilling to take major steps on issues until then.