News Releases
U.S. Senate Designates October as National Work and Family Month
Washington, DC - The United States Senate last night unanimously approved a resolution to designate the month of October 2011 as "National Work and Family Month." The resolution is sponsored by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, Senators Jeff Merkley (OR), Herb Kohl (WI) and Frank Lautenberg (NJ). This designation will encourage employers, employees, and communities across the nation to discuss and work together on mutually beneficial work-life programs and policies. "Working parents should be afforde… Continue Reading
October 18, 2011
Senate Adopts Potato Amendment
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch released the following statement today after an amendment to keep potatoes in school lunches was unanimously agreed to. "We are pleased to see that our Senate colleagues agree with us and recognize that the potato is an important vegetable to keep in school meals. It was clear that no one wanted to increase the cost of school meals, reduce local flexibility and make it more difficult to deliver the healthy foods our kids need." Crapo… Continue Reading
October 17, 2011
Senators Fight to Keep Potatoes in Nutrition Programs
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch are deeply concerned about new guidelines from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that would drastically reduce the use of potatoes in school lunches. The Idaho Senators are joining Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mark Udall (D-Colorado) to introduce an amendment to the Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill to prevent the USDA from requiring schools to cut the amount of potatoes served in school meals. This propo… Continue Reading
October 14, 2011
Two Outstanding Students Will Be Selected to Spend a Week in Washington Observing the Federal Government in Action
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch announced that the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) has begun its statewide selection process. The two Idaho students selected will join 102 other delegates March 3-10, 2012 for the program's 50 th Anniversary Washington Week. The USSYP was created by Senate Resolution 324 in 1962 as stated in supporting Senate testimony from that year, "to increase young Americans' understanding of the interrelationship of the three branche… Continue Reading
October 13, 2011
Trade Growth Key to Idaho's Economy
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch strongly support new free trade agreements expanding market opportunities for Idaho exporters with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Recent trade statistics show Idaho well above the national average in capitalizing on trade-oriented growth. The Idaho Senators joined a bipartisan majority as the Senate approved the three agreements by overwhelming margins. The pacts had already been approved in the U.S. House of Representatives. "Ex… Continue Reading
October 12, 2011
Governor and Delegation React to NRC Approving Operating License for AREVA
Washington, D.C. - Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter and the Idaho Congressional Delegation today offered their reactions to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's announcement that it has issued a license to AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC to construct and operate the Eagle Rock Enrichment Plant near Idaho Falls, Idaho. "Today's decision paves the way for AREVA to move forward with its eastern Idaho facility, which will be so important to the future of clean, safe and sustainable energy in our count… Continue Reading
October 12, 2011
Delegation Says Idaho Case Shows Federal Overreach
Washington, D.C. - A Priest Lake, Idaho couple is headed for the U.S. Supreme Court over a land use dispute with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that should have never occurred, according to Members of the Idaho Congressional Delegation. Mike and Chantell Sackett were in Washington, D.C., today as part of a forum convened by Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and attended by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, Idaho Senator Jim Risch and Idaho Representative Raúl Labrador. "This is what happens… Continue Reading
October 07, 2011
Crapo Fights for Farmers and Ranchers
Washington, D.C. - Farmers and ranchers across the United States continue to face regulatory uncertainty, stemming from potential rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In response, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works with oversight of the EPA, is taking proactive steps to lessen federal regulations on Idaho's food producers. Crapo is a lead proponent of two bills that will provide much-needed support to Idaho's agricultural… Continue Reading
October 06, 2011
Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Continue County Payments
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch today announced that they are introducing compromise legislation with a bipartisan group of senators that would enable the federal government to meet its obligations to states, counties and communities that host federal lands. The Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program, managed in Idaho by the U.S. Forest Service, and the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, provide funding to Idaho's counties t… Continue Reading
October 04, 2011
Crapo, Roskam Introduce Legislation to Permanently Cap Capital Gains and Dividend Tax Rates at 15 Percent
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Finance Committee with oversight on tax issues, joined Representative Peter Roskam (R-Illinois), Chief Deputy Whip and member of the House Ways & Means Committee, to introduce legislation in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to permanently cap the capital gains and dividend tax rates at 15 percent. Crapo and Roskam say the legislation is needed to avoid an impending tax hike that would particularly affect Am… Continue Reading
October 04, 2011
Idaho Senators Earn Top Marks from Taxpayer Watchdog Group
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch are two of just four U.S. Senators to score top ratings from a national taxpayer watchdog group that tracks voting records in Congress. The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) awarded Crapo and Risch its "Taxpayer Super Hero" designation in the 2010 Congressional Ratings that lists the voting records of all 535 members of Congress on measures that CCAGW tracked. The report identifies Members the group says have "stell… Continue Reading
October 04, 2011
Senators: Dodd-Frank Rulemaking Hurts Main Street
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska), Richard Shelby (R-Alabama), ranking member of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, David Vitter (R-Louisiana), Patrick Toomey (R-Pennsylvania), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) today filed a Dodd-Frank amendment to S. 1619, the China Currency legislation. Dodd-Frank gave the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) a mandate to w… Continue Reading
September 30, 2011
Idaho Students Serving in Crapo's State and D.C. Offices
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo offers internship opportunities to college students every year in both Washington, D.C., and in his regional offices in Idaho. Internships provide students the ability to learn more about the political process and the federal government's activities while gaining experience in a competitive professional environment. Three Idaho students are now serving in Crapo's Washington, D.C., office and are learning the inner workings of Congress first-hand. The … Continue Reading
September 29, 2011
Senators Introduce Bill to Provide Consistent Gun Rules for Federal Lands
Washington, DC - Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Webb (D-Virginia), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Jon Tester (D-Montana), Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) have introduced legislation to make firearm regulations consistent across all federal recreational lands by bringing Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) rules in line with those of other federal land management agencies. During the last Congress, Crapo played a key role in overturning federal regulati… Continue Reading
September 28, 2011
Crapo Office Travels to Emmett, New Meadows
Boise - To better assist Idahoans with questions and issues concerning federal agencies and policies, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo's office is visiting Southwestern Idaho cities next month as part of a regular rotation of remote office hours. Crapo's Regional Director Bryan Ricker will be in Adams and Gem counties, and can assist Idahoans with any questions or problems related to federal agencies or with problems regarding federal programs. Crapo Remote Office Hours schedule: … Continue Reading
September 27, 2011
Senators to President: Don't Sidestep Congress on Immigration
Washington, D.C. - Recent immigration policies enacted by the Administration undermine the rule of law, say Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and a group of Republican senators in a letter to the President urging to remand the proposals. The directives in question call for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to perform case-by-case reviews, focusing on criminals and public menaces, while closing the books on those not considered a threat. Additionally, U.S. Immigration and Customs… Continue Reading
September 23, 2011
Crapo Given Lifetime Achievement Award for Work to Stop Domestic Violence
Washington, D.C. - A Washington, D.C.,-based advocacy group working to stop domestic violence against women and children has given Idaho Senator Mike Crapo its first-ever WEAVE Lifetime Commitment Award. WEAVE is an acronym for the group, Washington Empowered Against Violence. WEAVE provides legal and counseling services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence and sexual assault. Last year, the group assisted 600 survivors of violent acts in the D.C. area. "While I am honored to rec… Continue Reading
September 22, 2011
CHARGE Act Empowers Northwest Companies to Create Jobs
Washington, DC - Bureaucracy and regulations can stifle job creation, and U.S. manufacturers need all the advantages they can get to compete in the worldwide field of manufacturing and technologies. Today, Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, along with Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), introduced legislation that will update regulations and promote the sale and production of next generation vehicles. The Changing How America Reduces Greenhouse Emissions, or CHARGE Act, … Continue Reading
September 22, 2011
Crapo Co-Sponsors Financial Regulatory Responsibility Act
Washington, DC - As a member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo is joining Ranking Republican Committee Member Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) to introduce the Financial Regulatory Responsibility Act of 2011. The legislation holds financial regulators accountable for rigorous, consistent economic analysis on every new rule they propose. It requires them to provide clear justification for the rules, and to determine the economic impacts of proposed rulemaki… Continue Reading
September 16, 2011
Crapo, Udall Introduce Bill to Level Playing Field for Advanced Biofuels
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID)and Tom Udall (D-NM) recently introduced bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate that would help level the playing field for advanced biofuels like algae by reforming the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to make it more "technology neutral." The RFS includes a traditional ethanol standard of up to 15 billion gallons by 2015, originating mostly from corn feedstock, and a separate advanced biofuels standard, known as RFS2. Currently, the lar… Continue Reading
