Editorials
Federal Water Grab Must Be Stopped
In the face of unprecedented opposition from small businesses, agriculture groups, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and many other Americans, the Administration is moving forward in finalizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) efforts to wrongly assert jurisdiction over nearly all waters of the United States. The Administration's water grab is harmful to our economy, inconsistent with the intent of the Clean Water Act (CWA), subverts state water sovereignty and jeopardizes pr… Continue Reading
June 15, 2015
Encouraging Men's Health This Father's Day
This year marks the 21 st anniversary of the official awareness period of Men's Health Week, which is June 15-19-the week of Father's Day. Men often pay too little attention to their health until a serious problem emerges. As the Men's Health Network reports, women are 100 percent more likely to visit the doctor for annual examinations and preventive services than men. During this Father's Day holiday that was established to honor fathers for what they have done for their families, we ca… Continue Reading
June 08, 2015
From The Mailbag: Social Security And Medicare Solvency
As active participants in the decisions made in Congress, Idahoans contact me with valuable input about the issues our country faces. Realizing that many may not have the chance to contact me, I post the top five issues of concern from Idahoans and my responses on my website. Idahoans frequently contact me to share their experiences with Medicare and Social Security. The following is my response: Medicare and Social Security are both in need of comprehensive reforms to better serve the peo… Continue Reading
June 06, 2015
Repealing The Death Tax
Idahoans were on the hook for more than $26 million in estate taxes for 2013, according to U.S. Internal Revenue Service statistics. This is an average $1.6 million in federal tax liability for the Idaho families who had to meet this burden while enduring the loss of a loved one. High federal taxes should not prevent a family farmer, rancher or other business owner from passing the business they built onto their children. This unfair tax must be permanently repealed. That is why I am again… Continue Reading
May 25, 2015
Getting It Right For Veterans
In March, I wrote about working with Idaho veterans to press for needed changes to the Veterans Choice Program to ensure that Idaho veterans can access the services they so greatly deserve. Thankfully, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently made needed changes to its policy regarding private health care access for veterans that means more veterans can get health care closer to home without traveling distances to VA care facilities. The Veterans Choice Program offers the alternat… Continue Reading
May 11, 2015
Youth Challenge Program
Organization-Maturity-Discipline-Motivation-These are qualities a graduate of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program credited the program with instilling in him. The National Guard Youth Challenge Program provides training and mentorship for struggling youth to help set them on a productive course. The program's mission is to "intervene in and reclaim the lives of 16-18 year old high school dropouts, producing program graduates with the values, life skills, education, and self-discipline … Continue Reading
May 04, 2015
Advancing County Payments
Extending Secure Rural Schools and Self Determination Act (SRS) payments and fully funding Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) is not a simple undertaking, especially considering the federal government's overspending problem. However, when the federal government took over millions of acres of lands across our nation, it also took on the responsibility for the impact of federal ownership on local communities. The federal government can, and must, meet its responsibility within its budget. A provi… Continue Reading
April 27, 2015
Ending Operation Choke Point
Last summer, news reports surfaced regarding a U.S. Department of Justice-led (DOJ) initiative that targets certain industries' ability to access banking services without first showing the companies are not breaking the law. Rather than targeting bad actors for illegal activity, this effort, known as Operation Choke Point, is causing banks to deny or terminate credit lines due to fear of DOJ subpoenas or unjustified regulatory action by federal banking regulators. Legitimate industries-legal, … Continue Reading
April 13, 2015
Planning Ahead
As a Boy Scout, I grew up with the motto of "Be Prepared." As an adult, this enduring phrase is all the more meaningful. Thinking through and developing plans for emergency situations, including natural disasters or wildfires, can help with a timely recovery when problems arise. A number of resources and recommendations are available to help us get through and bounce back from tough situations. Putting together an emergency supply kit is encouraged to prepare for disasters such as fire and s… Continue Reading
April 06, 2015
EPA Must Not Undercut Water Projects
The importance of having clean water cannot be overstated. The fact that we can turn on the tap in most places of our country and know that the water we drink will not make us sick happens because communities across our nation invest in the infrastructure necessary to ensure high water quality. This is not easy, especially with often rigid and increasingly stringent federal mandates and limited pools of resources to meet them. My hat goes off to the towns across Idaho and our nation that deli… Continue Reading
March 30, 2015
Safeguarding Our Second Amendment Rights
Some lands and water managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are open for hunting, and there are a small number of authorized shooting ranges, but much of the millions of acres managed by the Corps are off limits to lawful possession of firearms. Not only is this a violation of the intent of the Second Amendment, but also it is inconsistent with laws and regulations governing lands managed by other federal agencies. This problem must be fixed to uphold Americans' Second Amendment r… Continue Reading
March 23, 2015
No More Shortchanging Seniors
I recently led a bipartisan group of 52 senators in calling on the Administration to refrain from making additional harmful cuts to the successful, market-based Medicare Advantage (MA) program. These targeted cuts, coupled with the drastic reductions to the program under Obamacare, mean increased out-of-pocket costs, fewer coverage options, reduced benefits and, in many cases, cancelled plans for seniors. This shortchanging of America's seniors must stop. Medicare Advantage, which remains one… Continue Reading
March 16, 2015
Opportunity To Get It Right For Veterans
While living in a state as vast as Idaho has immeasurable benefits, veterans living in rural Idaho communities must travel great distances to access needed medical services. Last summer, Congress passed legislation establishing the Veterans Choice Program following reports of veterans having difficulty accessing care. Through the program, veterans who experience a significant appointment scheduling delay or who have to travel more than 40 miles to receive U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (V… Continue Reading
March 09, 2015
Stopping IRS Mistreatment of Small Businesses
At a recent House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight hearing, a Maryland dairy farmer testified about Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents seizing $62,000 from his family's bank account and filing criminal charges after his family made cash deposits from dairy sales. Like many Idaho producers, his family gets up early every day to operate and manage the farm. The farmer, who has faced losing the family farm several times throughout its operation, testified that the IRS returned litt… Continue Reading
March 02, 2015
Working To Eliminate The Veterinarian Shortage
Food animal veterinarians are part of the first line of defense in ensuring food safety and public health, improving animal health and welfare and safeguarding our homeland from foreign animal disease. Unfortunately, many agricultural communities across our nation that need veterinarians the most have experienced a shortage in essential veterinarian services in recent years. That is why I recently introduced the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act that would address the … Continue Reading
February 23, 2015
Checking Executive Powers
Congress' Constitutional oversight and authority is an integral part of the American system of checks and balances. More than ever, Congress has a responsibility to this country to ensure that our co-equal branches of government function in a manner consistent with the Constitution. For the past six years, the Obama Administration has acted with willful disregard for the American people and repeatedly exceeded the bounds of the law in pursuit of its own far-reaching political agenda. From fl… Continue Reading
February 16, 2015
Increasing ESA Transparency
According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), 22species have been listed in Idaho under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). There are 1,590ESA listings nationwide. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service reported that only 28species have been delisted due to recovery in the more than 40 years since the ESA's enactment. Considering the long-term, far-reaching and rigid conservation requirements that accompany listings, we must especially ensure that any ESA determinatio… Continue Reading
February 09, 2015
Still Needed: Responsible Budgeting
The U.S. Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) annual Budget and Economic Outlook report shows that, absent action, the United States continues to remain on an unsustainable fiscal path with the national debt expected to grow by $9 trillion over the course of the next ten years. According to CBO, the cost of the interest payments alone on the debt are expected to rise by 5.6 trillion, which would account for roughly 13.5 percent of total annual federal spending. Our nation's fiscal picture is cl… Continue Reading
February 02, 2015
Reining In Federal Regulation
Duplicative, often burdensome federal regulations imposed on the private sector continue to stifle economic growth and discourage innovation. An efficient and accountable regulatory structure is of paramount importance and fundamental to ensuring taxpayer dollars are being used properly. Regulators must make our communities and small businesses-those most impacted-a central part of the decision-making process. The non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) reported that 409 "major" … Continue Reading
January 26, 2015
Keystone XL Pipeline Considerations
To say the Keystone XL pipeline project has been analyzed extensively is an understatement. Over the more than 7 years since TransCanada originally applied for a Presidential Permit, the U.S. State Department has conducted extensive studies of this project in coordination with at least 12 federal agencies, along with various state and local agencies and Indian tribes and considered nearly 1.9 million comments. The following are some considerations as Congress debates the project's merits. … Continue Reading
