News Releases
Crapo, Bennet, Risch, Udall Lead Fight to Include PILT Funding in Farm Bill
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo, Michael Bennet, Jim Risch and Mark Udall are sending a bipartisan letter signed by a coalition of senators to the leadership of the Farm Bill conference committee requesting that funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program be included in the final Farm Bill conference report. PILT provides federal payments to local governments to help offset losses in property taxes due to nontaxable federal land within their boundaries. These r… Continue Reading
December 22, 2013
Statement From Idaho Senator Mike Crapo On The Passing Of Bethine Church
Idaho Falls, ID - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo released the following statement on the passing of Bethine Church, wife of the late U.S. Senator Frank Church: "Idaho has lost a great friend and advocate. Bethine had a way to mix civility with politics that is too often forgotten on the national scene. I will miss her input and charm and I join with all Idahoans in mourning the passing of this Idaho legend." # # #… Continue Reading
December 20, 2013
FDA Heeds Call From Crapo And Others To Revise Fresh Produce Rules
Washington, D.C. - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will revise key provisions of its proposed fresh produce rule after Idaho food producers deemed the new water quality and manure standards unworkable. Idaho Senator Mike Crapo has repeatedly pressed the FDA for revisions since the draft rules were released pursuant to the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011. "The announcement from the FDA is not only a victory for Idaho's farmers and ranchers, but more importantly a victory for consu… Continue Reading
December 20, 2013
Crapo Opposed Defense Bill Due To Increased Spending
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo could not support the National Defense Authorization Act, or the NDAA, due to the increased spending included in the package. The NDAA violates the spending caps put in place by the Budget Control Act of 2011 and spends more than what was agreed upon in the recently passed Ryan/Murray budget agreement. "Passage of this bill is a prime example of Washington speaking out of both sides of the mouth," said Crapo. "This legislation continues the bad pol… Continue Reading
December 19, 2013
Wyden, Crapo Introduce Bipartisan Wildfire Funding Reform Legislation
Washington, D.C. - Today Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, introduced a bill to reform federal wildfire policy, target more funding for fire prevention, and treat the largest wildfires as natural disasters. "This is about as common-sense as it gets: Congress needs to fund the biggest, most catastrophic wildfires like the natural disasters they are, and free up funding to break the destructive cycle that underfunds fir… Continue Reading
December 18, 2013
Crapo Nominates 39 Idahoans to Nation's Military Academies
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo has nominated 39 Idaho high school students for continuing education and service as a part of the nation's military academies. The students' applications will now be considered by four of the U.S. service academies, where the final selections will be made. "It is one of my highest honors every year to nominate Idahoans to be involved with the excellent education and spirit of service demonstrated by our military academies," Crapo said. "Our service… Continue Reading
December 16, 2013
Senators Crapo, Warren, Wyden Urge DOE To Study Cost Savings Of Energy Efficiency Technology
Washington, D.C. - United States Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, today sent a bipartisan letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) urging the agency to study the cost-savings of energy efficiency technologies in an effort to increase public and private use of these technologies. Senators Warren and Crapo previously introduced an amendment calling for the DOE to con… Continue Reading
December 12, 2013
Crapo Requests Renewed Effort for Release of Pastor Abedini
Washington, D.C. - Today, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, had the opportunity to hear from and question top administration officials at a hearing held to explore the interim agreement that was recently made between the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) and Iran on its nuclear proliferation program. The Banking Committee has jurisdiction over sanctions, which successfully worked in bringing Iran to the … Continue Reading
December 12, 2013
Crapo Leads Letter To Sebelius Requesting Premium Rates Under Obamacare
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Republican Senator Mike Crapo, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, wrote U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius today, seeking detailed information about current and projected health insurance premium rates under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or Obamacare. The letter comes in response to Crapo's recent questioning of Secretary Sebelius at a Finance Committee hearing, during which the sec… Continue Reading
December 12, 2013
Crapo Reacts to GAO Report on Dodd-Frank Regulations
Washington, D.C. - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report determining that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in coordination with the regulatory agencies, may not be consistently determining which rules are considered "major rules" under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which was enacted to allow Congress to review major rules before they became effective. U.S. Senator Mike Crapo, Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, says this is e… Continue Reading
December 10, 2013
Crapo Statement on Mel Watt Vote
Washington, D.C. - In a speech today on the Senate Floor, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, announced that he could not support the nomination of Representative Melvin Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), noting that the position requires an individual who is politically independent and possesses technical expertise. "…[FHFA] is an independent agency with a highly complex task impacting our entire eco… Continue Reading
December 10, 2013
Wildfire Coalition Grows In Senate
Washington, D.C. - The number of U.S. Senators calling for proactive changes in the way federal agencies are able to fight and prevent catastrophic wildfires is growing on Capitol Hill, becoming more bipartisan and regionally diverse. Last summer, Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch joined Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) for an event at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise to push for reforms in the way agencies like the U.S. Fores… Continue Reading
November 26, 2013
Crapo, Risch Work to Ease Burdens for Farmers
Washington, D.C. - The Thanksgiving meal provides a good reminder of the hard work by America's farmers and ranchers to provide safe and affordable food. Unfortunately, according to a bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators, the increasing amount of burdensome regulations from Washington are putting unneeded stress on these producers and processors. Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch have joined in a bicameral letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), requesting that the FDA pr… Continue Reading
November 21, 2013
Crapo Office Travels to Cascade
Cascade - A representative of Idaho Senator Mike Crapo's office will visit Valley County on December 4, to continue a rotation of remote office hours on behalf of the Senator across the state. Crapo's Regional Director Bryan Ricker has visited constituents in a number of southwest cities and counties this past year. Early next month, Ricker will be in Cascade to assist Idahoans with any questions or problems related to federal agencies or with problems regarding federal programs. … Continue Reading
November 21, 2013
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: Crapo, Bennet Introduce Amendment to Increase Resources for Wildfire Mitigation
Washington, D.C. - According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), every $1 in fire mitigation funding saves $5 in future losses. To take advantage of these potential savings, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) have filed their Prepare, Ready, Equip, and Prevent Areas at-Risk of Emergency (PREPARE) Wildfires Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which the Senate is currently considering. Introduced in August, the deficit-neutral … Continue Reading
November 19, 2013
Crapo Joins Effort To Ensure Troop Readiness Maintained With A-10â??s
Washington, D.C. - As the U.S. Senate begins work on the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, for Fiscal Year 2014, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo has joined Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire), Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) and Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) to introduce an amendment aimed at preventing the Air Force from prematurely retiring the A-10 Thunderbolt II. The senators amendment would prevent the Air Force from retiring any additional A-10s until the Air Force certifies that it has a … Continue Reading
November 19, 2013
Crapo Attends White House Meeting on Iran Sanctions
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, the top Republican on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, today attended a meeting at the White House led by President Obama to discuss steps the administration is taking concerning international negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. Leaders from the Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over sanctions, as well as the Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, met with President Obama and chief administration negotiat… Continue Reading
November 15, 2013
Crapo Co-Sponsors Bill to Protect Private Water Rights
Washington, D.C. -The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has recently enacted policies requiring multiple use permit holders to turn over their privately-owned water rights to the federal government as a condition of their permit renewal. Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, along with other western colleagues, are sponsoring a measure led by Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) to prevent federal agencies from requiring the transfer of privately-held water rightsto the federal government. "Recently, federal agenci… Continue Reading
November 14, 2013
Crapo Brings Idaho Health Care Stories to the Senate Floor
Washington, D.C.-Idaho Senator Mike Crapo spoke on the Senate floor today to share the experiences of Idahoans who are among over three million Americans now losing their health care coverage and facing much higher premiums due to the new standards included in Affordable Care Act. Crapo shared the story of Jennifer, from Salmon, whose current health care coverage costs her family $375 per month, but now Jennifer has learned that her current plan is no longer available under the health care law… Continue Reading
November 13, 2013
CBO Director Confirms Tax Reform Would Have Positive Effect On The Economy
Washington, D.C. - Under questioning this morning from Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, the head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said reforming the nation's tax code could reduce the federal debt and improve the nation's economy. The questions to CBO Director Doug Elmendorf came during the second meeting of a joint House-Senate Budget Conference Committee which is charged with producing a report to Congress on spending reforms by December 13, 2013. Crapo, a member of the conference committee… Continue Reading
