News Releases
Idaho Delegation Hails Changes to USDA Coronavirus Program for Idaho's Potato Industry
BOISE, Idaho -- Today, the Idaho Delegation hailed the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) decision to revise the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to better address the needs of the potato industry. Initially, CFAP based the potato payments solely on data for the fresh potato industry market, which only encompasses a small piece of the potato market. The newly announced revisions to the CFAP program will better reflect the intricacies of the potato industry by including the marke… Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Crapo Hosts Two New Interns for Summer 2020
Washington, D.C. -- Two interns have joined U.S. Senator Mike Crapo's (R-Idaho) Washington, D.C., office for the summer term. "It is undoubtedly a challenging and unprecedented time in Washington, D.C.," said Senator Crapo. "The interns who have joined my office this summer have already risen to the challenge of navigating a new working environment complete with social distancing and enhanced sanitation. They have conducted their work with optimism and have demonstrated resiliency in the fac… Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Crapo Votes to Protect Children Online
Washington, D.C. -- In today's U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Executive Business Meeting, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) supported legislation to keep children safe online. The Committee today voted to advance the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (EARN IT Act) in the nature of a substitute amendment that contained technical changes to the original bill. Senator Crapo issued the following statement at the conclusion of the hearing: "At the beg… Continue Reading
June 30, 2020
Crapo Highlights Idaho Judicial Emergency
Washington, D.C. -- In a U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Hearing to examine the Judicial Conference's recommendation for more judgeships, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) reiterated the need for a third federal district judgeship in Idaho. "Idaho is one of only three states that only has two authorized judgeships," said Senator Crapo. "Idaho was given its two federal judge positions when the state had a population of 600,000 people. Today, the population of the state is nearly 1.7 mil… Continue Reading
June 26, 2020
Senators Crapo, Paul, King, Lee Introduce FAIR Act to Reform Civil Asset Forfeiture Process, Protect Innocent Americans
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), Angus King (I-Maine) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) reintroduced the bipartisan Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act, S. 4074, to protect property owners' rights, defend innocent Americans and restore the Fifth Amendment's role in civil forfeiture proceedings. "Requiring Americans to prove their property should not have been taken by the government, rather than the government proving guilt, undermines our system… Continue Reading
June 25, 2020
Crapo, Risch Join Bipartisan Coalition to Make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senators for Idaho Mike Crapo and Jim Risch joined a bipartisan coalition of 48 Senators in introducing legislation, S. 4019, to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. If passed, the federal government would observe the holiday in parity with Idaho's existing recognition of the celebration. "Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of ending slavery in the United States," Crapo and Risch said in a joint statement. "The period of slavery in America st… Continue Reading
June 24, 2020
Crapo, Risch Introduce Bill to Overturn Activist Litigation, Spur Responsible Forest Management Efforts
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senators for Idaho Mike Crapo and Jim Risch introduced legislation to remove a roadblock to responsible forest management efforts on federal lands. The bill, which was led by U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-Montana), will provide a legislative fix to the misguided Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. United States Forest Service (Cottonwood) lawsuit which has tied up forest management projects. If enacted, the Forest Service would no longer be required to reinitiate con… Continue Reading
June 17, 2020
Crapo Co-Sponsors Police Reform Bill
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) today became an original co-sponsor of the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act. The bill aims to rebuild the lost confidence in many institutions designed for the purposes of keeping communities safe. "The vast majority of law enforcement officers are hard-working Americans who put their lives on the line every day to keep their communities safe," said Crapo. "Unfortunately, we have seen several … Continue Reading
June 17, 2020
Great American Outdoors Act Missed Opportunity for SRS and PILT Programs
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) issued the following statement after voting against the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA): "I have long supported responsible conservation programs at the federal level. The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has produced a number of environmental success stories, and I voted last year to permanently authorize the program. However, each case should be weighed on its own merits, and the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) makes the fu… Continue Reading
June 15, 2020
Crapo, Risch Urge the Administration to Provide Paperwork Relief to Small Businesses who used the PPP
Washington, D.C. -- Friday, U.S. Senators for Idaho Mike Crapo and Jim Risch sent a bipartisan letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza urging the administration to ease paperwork requirements for small businesses seeking loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The letter, which was led by U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and signed by 44 senators, specifically requests that the loan forgiveness appl… Continue Reading
June 11, 2020
Crapo, Risch Push for Domestic Mineral Production
Washington, D.C. -- Last week, U.S. Senators for Idaho Mike Crapo and Jim Risch joined Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Representative Rob Bishop (R-Utah) in sending a bicameral letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue encouraging them to finalize rulemakings that will modernize and simplify regulations governing the domestic production of locatable minerals. "There are opportunities to improve the regulatory environment by st… Continue Reading
June 03, 2020
VIDEO: Crapo on Fox News To Discuss Oversight Hearings on Crossfire Hurricane
Washington, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, appeared on Fox News with anchor Bill Hemmer to discuss the Committee's latest oversight hearing. Today's hearing marked the first of which the Judiciary Committee will examine the steps and processes that led to abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant process as it related to the 2016 presidential election. "There were 17 serious violations that the Inspector Ge… Continue Reading
June 01, 2020
Crapo Statement on Killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) issued the following statement on the recent killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor: "The senseless killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor have rightfully hurt and angered Americans across the country. Their deaths should be investigated and dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. I endorse the right of Americans to exercise their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and demand of redress f… Continue Reading
May 21, 2020
Idaho Delegation Encourages Farmers to Submit CFAP Applications
Washington, D.C. -- Starting on Tuesday, May 26, eligible farmers and ranchers can begin submitting applications for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program is the result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was supported by the entire Idaho Delegation, and includes $16 billion to provide immediate relief through direct payments to farmers and ranchers. Given the rapidly evolving na… Continue Reading
May 18, 2020
Crapo, Risch Urge Regulatory Relief to Spur Economic Recovery
Washington, D.C. -- Last week, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) joined Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and 25 of their Republican colleagues in urging leadership to provide businesses with regulatory relief in the wake of the economic crisis caused by the global pandemic. "In contrast to unsustainable increases in federal spending, the easing of regulatory burdens - estimated to cost businesses as much as $1.9 trillion - will have broader macroeconomic effects b… Continue Reading
May 15, 2020
Crapo Joins Call to Accelerate Rulemaking For Advanced Nuclear Reactors
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Mike Crapo today joined U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) in sending a letter to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Kristine Svinicki calling on the agency to accelerate completion of a rulemaking to establish a technology-inclusive regulatory framework for advanced nuclear reactor technologies. In the letter, the senators support the progress that has been made since the Nuclea… Continue Reading
May 13, 2020
Crapo, Others Introduce Legislation to Enhance Federal Agency Accountability
Washington, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) joined Senators Rick Scott (R-Florida), Mike Braun (R-Indiana) and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) to introduce the Agency Accountability Act to give Congress the ability to help streamline operations and reduce waste at federal agencies. Congress currently has no mechanism to regularly review the efficiency of bloated federal agencies, which could ultimately save taxpayer dollars. The Agency Accountability Act creates a review proces… Continue Reading
May 12, 2020
Risch, Crapo Join Colleagues in Requesting DOJ to Investigate Potential Illegal Practices by Beef Packers
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senators for Idaho Mike Crapo and Jim Risch today joined Senator Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) and 16 of their Senate colleagues in writing a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting that the department investigate potential anticompetitive activities in the highly concentrated beef packing sector. "Recent pricing discrepancies between fed cattle and boxed beef are pushing cattle producers and feeders to the brink…Cattlemen across America seriously q… Continue Reading
May 11, 2020
Crapo on the Passing of Idaho State Representative Thyra Stevenson
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) today issued the following statement upon learning of Idaho State Representative Thyra Stevenson's passing: "Representative Thyra Stevenson has given much to Americans and Idahoans. From her service in the U.S. Coast Guard, to helping train future pilots and assisting her Idaho constituents as a state representative, her talents and accomplishments will be missed. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and constituency." ###… Continue Reading
May 05, 2020
Idaho Delegation Commends Secretary Perdue on Potato and Dairy Purchase Announcement
Washington, D.C. -- On Monday, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue announced $470 million in food purchases under Section 32 funding to occur in the third quarter of the 2020 fiscal year. Section 32 funds are used for a number of purposes to support the agricultural supply chain. As part of the announcement, Secretary Perdue designated $50 million in surplus potato purchases, the highest of any specialty crop, and $120 million in surplus dairy purchases. "While the C… Continue Reading
