Editorials
Making Good Things Happen In Our Communities
We do not have to look hard in Idaho to find great people helping others. Idahoans strive every day to ease the burden of others and inspire acts of kindness through their service. The Idaho Hometown Hero Medal reminds us of the many Idahoans, including those unrecognized, who make good things happen in our communities. Through Congressional Record Statements, I have had the opportunity to help congratulate the award recipients. Ten Idahoans working in various fields are 2017 Hometown Her… Continue Reading
December 11, 2017
Celebrating Adoption: Making The Dream Of A Family A Reality
I had the honor of helping to pay tribute to Idahoan Dixie Weber who was recognized as a 2017 Angel in Adoption® for her work as an adoption advocate. Dixie is the Women's Services Administrator at St. Luke's Boise Medical Center. She is a nurse and health care leader who has dedicated more than 15 years to supporting families participating in and considering adoption. Dixie joins the 28 other extraordinary Idahoans who have been honored with the title Angels in Adoption since the award's… Continue Reading
December 04, 2017
All Hands On Deck To Fight Opioid Crisis
The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) issued an urgent public alert regarding the toxicity of illegal drugs being circulated on American streets advising, "The street drugs the public may be exposed to can be so dangerous that even trace amounts can be fatal when ingested, inhaled or even absorbed through the skin." ASCLD reported a 6,000 percent increase in fentanyl cases witnessed in laboratories between 2012 and 2016 that "corresponds directly with the overdose deaths be… Continue Reading
November 27, 2017
Improving Veterans' Education Benefits
Specialist Robert Cannon, of Boise, served 5.5 years in the U.S. Army in military intelligence. This included a 13-month deployment in Southern Iraq. Robert attended approximately eight different colleges until he found a class structure that provided the hands-on learning that best enabled him to succeed. Unfortunately, when ITT Educational Services (e.g., ITT Technical Institutes) closed, his education and educational benefits were in limbo. However, new changes in law make him eligible to… Continue Reading
November 20, 2017
Idaho Brimming With Spirit Of Freedom
Idahoan and Vietnam Veteran Jim Chally overcomes symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis to assist fellow veterans and their families by giving long-term caregivers of veterans needed breaks from providing round-the-clock care of their loved ones. Jim has provided this care as a volunteer for the past four years with the Legacy Corps for Veterans and Military Families, which supports family caregivers. Jim shared a fond memory of his time serving veterans as part of his nomination for the 2017 Spirit o… Continue Reading
November 13, 2017
Honoring Veterans By Effectively Supporting Their Service
Veterans Day-a day to honor veterans for their service to our nation-is a good time to take stock of where were are in ensuring that they have access to quality health care and other services that support their enduring commitment. So far this year, Congress has passed and President Trump has signed into law the following important, veterans-related legislation that I supported: The Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 was enacted to overhaul the current U.S. Departm… Continue Reading
November 06, 2017
Veterans Leading The Way In Helping Others
Idaho veterans and veterans service providers have been among those assisting with hurricane recovery and other emergency response. Staff from the Boise Veterans Affairs Medical Center headed to Puerto Rico to assist. Area veterans and veterans service providers have skills of great use in a variety of fields, especially emergency response. They are highly trained, hard workers, who above all, have a deep personal understanding of what service means. They know what it is to overcome extreme … Continue Reading
October 30, 2017
Tax Reform: Considering All The Effects
This column is the fourth in a series of recent columns to carry on a discussion with Idahoans about the comprehensive tax reform efforts underway. This guest column, as well as the other tax reform-related op-eds in this series and links to cited reports and proposals, can be viewed on my official website at: www.crapo.senate.gov/media/editorials. In this column, I will write about the importance of considering the broad range of potential effects of the tax reforms being considered. Those … Continue Reading
October 23, 2017
Tax Reform: Making Sense Of The Numbers
This column is the third in a series of columns to discuss the need for comprehensive tax reform, rather than solely debating traditional rate cuts, review many of the tax reform proposals and ideas put forward from across the political spectrum, consider how reforms are estimated and reflect on the potential effects of the reforms being considered. The goal with this series of tax reform columns is to carry on a discussion with Idahoans about the reform efforts underway. In this column, I wil… Continue Reading
October 16, 2017
Tax Reform: Building On Years Of Work And Proposals
I recently wrote about the need for comprehensive tax reform to lower the burden on all Americans and make the tax code fairer, flatter and simpler. This column is meant to be the second in a series of columns to delve into the need for comprehensive reform, rather than solely debating traditional rate cuts, review many of the tax reform proposals and ideas put forward from across the political spectrum, consider how reforms are estimated and reflect on the potential effects of the reforms bein… Continue Reading
October 09, 2017
Fraud Watch: Actively Protecting Your Identity
Credit bureaus serve a critical function in our financial system and have become a daily part of every American's life. Every day, these institutions intersect in people's attempts to get credit cards, car loans, mortgages and other items. Consumers may know about their involvement in their lives, such as when they directly request a credit report, but sometimes they may not, like when a company requests a background check to determine their eligibility for a cell phone. The ability of Americ… Continue Reading
October 02, 2017
Time For Comprehensive Tax Reform
Serious work on federal tax reform is encouraging, as the best way to strengthen families, support small business growth and job creation and boost our national economy is to enact pro-growth comprehensive tax reform. The tax code is weighing us down and in need of comprehensive reform to lower the burden on all Americans and make the tax code fairer, flatter and simpler. We would be hard pressed to create a tax code that is more complex, more costly to comply with, unfair and anti-competitiv… Continue Reading
September 25, 2017
I Wear The Blue Teardrop To Help Raise Awareness About Military Suicide
Marilyn Neal, Department President for the Idaho Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Auxiliary, gave me a blue teardrop pin to wear on my lapel to bring awareness to veterans and military suicide. I continue to wear the pin with pride and take every opportunity to explain its significance. The VFW Auxiliary describes the blue teardrop as a "symbol that we can use to open a conversation to give this issue the attention so desperately needed." The Auxiliary provides a template of t… Continue Reading
September 18, 2017
Strength And Patriotism Of Japanese Americans
The 75th anniversary this year of the opening of the historic Minidoka War Relocation Center is not only a reminder of the injustices that can never be repeated, but also of the extraordinary service of Japanese Americans. Despite their own country, America, questioning their patriotism and uprooting their families, many put their lives on the line to uphold the freedoms of those who distrusted and condemned them. The strength and patriotism of Japanese Americans is to be celebrated and honore… Continue Reading
September 11, 2017
Healthy Forests Legislation
Fourteen years ago, congressional colleagues and I crafted the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA) to help provide the U.S. Forest Service with the tools needed to do the necessary work on the ground to restore our forests to health and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire to our communities and ecosystems. With the National Interagency Fire Center reporting more than 45,000 fires burning more than 6.9 million acres since the beginning of this year alone-approximately 2.4 milli… Continue Reading
September 04, 2017
Idahoans: Boundless Examples Of Humanity
Events in Charlottesville and hateful vandalism at our own Anne Frank Memorial are glaring reminders of the work that must continue. But, the immeasurable kindness that fills our communities is Idaho's bedrock. We do not have to look far to see the depth of compassion among Idahoans. It is far too large to quantify, but these are some examples of the types of acts of kindness seen regularly in our communities and the examples being set by Idahoans who contribute to Idaho's exceptionalism: … Continue Reading
August 28, 2017
Combatting Human Trafficking
In the 2017 Trafficking in Persons report, U.S. Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson wrote, "Human trafficking is one of the most tragic human rights issues of our time. It splinters families, distorts global markets, undermines the rule of law, and spurs other transnational criminal activity. It threatens public safety and national security. But worst of all, the crime robs human beings of their freedom and their dignity. That's why we must pursue an end to the scourge of human trafficking."… Continue Reading
August 21, 2017
Honoring Those Who Served At Wake Island
The history of World War II and the bravery of the American service members who fought for our nation and its allies are familiar parts of our collective national history, but an often overlooked part of this legacy is the service of the civilian workers on Wake Island who were swept into the war. The civilian workers, including many Idahoans, working for Morrison Knudsen Company building infrastructure on the island when it was attacked the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor immediately be… Continue Reading
August 14, 2017
Backing Agriculture And The Rural Economy
"Today, we need to feed some 7 billion people. By the year 2050, that population will swell to 9.5 billion . . . To put the demand for food into perspective, we are going to have to double our production between now and 2050. We will have to produce more food in the next 30 years than has been produced in the last 8,000 years-a daunting task, to say the least. . . . we cannot feed the world if we continue to place obstacle after obstacle in front of those who produce our food and fiber," U.S. … Continue Reading
August 07, 2017
Prioritizing Missing American Servicemembers
I recently co-sponsored legislation introduced by Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) calling on the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies to prioritize efforts to identify and recover unaccounted American military personnel. Our country cannot waver on efforts to bring home America's prisoners of war (POW)s and missing in action (MIA). We must finish the search for American families who have waited decades for answers about their loved ones who have not returned home after serving… Continue Reading
