News Releases
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
April 27, 2020
Idaho State Treasurer, Congressional Delegation Announce Secure Rural Schools Payments
BOISE -- Members of Idaho's congressional delegation and State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth say Idaho counties will receive a total of $23.9 million in payments this year under the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. The funds are administered through the U.S. Forest Service and based on a formula that takes into account economic activity, timber harvest levels and other considerations that vary from county to county. SRS payments are critical to maintain education programs for many rural countie… Continue Reading
April 23, 2020
Idaho Delegation Advocates for Direct Relief to Farmers and Producers in the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representative Mike Simpson co-led a bipartisan letter signed by 126 members in the U.S. House of Representatives, including Representative Russ Fulcher. Senators Mike Crapo and James Risch joined the same effort in the U.S. Senate requesting the President to eliminate payment limits for specialty crop, livestock, and dairy producers before the final Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) details are announced. On Friday, April 17, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U… Continue Reading
April 21, 2020
Crapo Statement On Vital Funding For American Paychecks, Small Businesses And Crucial Sectors Of Health Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) today supported the passage of "phase 3.5" of emergency coronavirus legislation, allowing over $480 billion of additional funding to be placed in the hands of the American people and small businesses. "The additional funding Congress agreed to today will help additional small businesses receive money from the Paycheck Protection Program," said Crapo. "This program ensures that employees of small businesses can still keep their jobs and coll… Continue Reading
April 21, 2020
Idaho Senators Urge Disbursement of Aid for Higher Education
BOISE -- Today, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urging the swift distribution of education assistance funds in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to Idaho's colleges and universities. "As you know, students, teachers, parents and faculty of America's higher education institutions are making the necessary but difficult decisions to close their facilities and provide remote learning," wrote the senat… Continue Reading
April 20, 2020
Amid COVID-19 Crisis, Crapo, Wyden, Risch, Merkley, Colleagues Call for Financial Security for Rural Communities
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) today led a bipartisan group of 22 other senators on a letter calling for the Senate to finally provide much-needed financial certainty during the COVID-19 crisis for rural communities to ensure long-term funding needed for essential services. In a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New Yor… Continue Reading
April 17, 2020
Idaho Delegation Calls on USDA to Assist Idaho’s Farmers and Ranchers
BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho's congressional delegation today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue calling for special attention to Idaho's agricultural industry, which is experiencing great economic disruption due to COVID-19. Idaho is home to 25,000 farms and 185 commodities, many of which are seeing severe impacts to the farm, processing, and supply chain levels. With many of Idaho's commodities produced specifically for food service, many markets no longer… Continue Reading
April 17, 2020
Crapo to Coordinate Senate-wide Oversight of Rescue Package
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) announced that Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo will lead and coordinate the Senate's oversight of the historic Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). As Banking Committee Chairman, Crapo played a critical role in shaping many of the provisions of the CARES Act designed to provide significant economic support to severely distressed sectors of the U.S. economy. "This crisis has h… Continue Reading
April 17, 2020
Crapo, Risch Join Colleagues Urging HHS to Advocate for Relief for Senior Communities and Health Care Workers
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Idaho's U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch joined a bipartisan letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to ensure that as HHS sets guidelines for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF), they do not overlook the providers within nursing homes, skilled nursing centers, senior living communities, independent living, assisted living, memory care, and continuing care retirement communities who are caring for our nat… Continue Reading
April 16, 2020
Crapo, Risch to Serve on Opening Up America Again Congressional Group
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, President Donald J. Trump announced that Idaho's U.S. Senators, Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, will serve with a bipartisan group of congressional colleagues on the White House's Opening Up America Again Congressional Group. The congressional group, in consultation with America's Governors and the Administration, will work to develop guidelines on re-opening the economy in order to begin recovering from the economic strife caused by the global coronavirus, or COVID-19, pand… Continue Reading
