News Releases
Crapo, Risch, Benishek Work To Protect Farmers With SCRAP Act
Washington, D.C. - In an effort to prevent potentially devastating regulatory burdens from being placed on U.S. farmers, Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Congressman Dr. Dan Benishek (R-Michigan) today introduced the SCRAP Act, or Stopping Costly Regulations Against Produce, in the U.S. House and Senate. This legislation would defund the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) proposed fresh produce rule that will negatively impact farmers throughout the country. "The FD… Continue Reading
May 22, 2013
Crapo Votes To Protect U.S. Sugar Program
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo made the following statement regarding his vote against an amendment to the Farm Bill offered by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) that would negatively impact Idaho's sugar industry. The amendment sought to dismantle the sugar program by partially repealing provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill that protect U.S. beet and sugar cane producers by combating the trade-distorting subsidies that other nations implement for otherwise uncompetitive sugar in… Continue Reading
May 22, 2013
Senators Reach Groundbreaking Agreement To Reform Nationâ??s Chemical Laws
Washington, D.C. - Today, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, along with Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-New Jersey) and David Vitter (R-Louisana) announced a groundbreaking, bipartisan agreement to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and ensure the safety of everyday consumer products to better protect American families. Their legislation would significantly update and improve TSCA, which has proven ineffective and is criticized by both the public health community and industry. The Lautenb… Continue Reading
May 21, 2013
Ranking Member Crapo's Statement at FSOC Annual Report Hearing
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, today delivered the following remarks during a Banking Committee hearing in which Treasury Secretary Jack Lew testified regarding the Financial Stability Oversight Council's Annual Report to Congress: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today, Secretary Lew comes before the Committee to testify in his first hearing as Treasury Secretary. The Secretary wears many hats. He is resp… Continue Reading
May 16, 2013
Crapo Seeks Answers on Legality of CFPB Big Data Collection
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, today sent a letter to Mr. Richard Cordray, the President's nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), requesting prompt answers to legal concerns surrounding the massive data collection effort undertaken by the agency on consumer spending habits. Following Mr. Cordray's nomination hearing in March, Crapo requested more information regarding CFPB's… Continue Reading
May 16, 2013
Bipartisan Group of House and Senate Lawmakers Introduce Silviculture Regulatory Consistency Act
WASHINGTON, D.C.- A bipartisan group of senators and U.S. House members today introduced bills to provide certainty to forestry companies and workers, by reaffirming the Environmental Protection Agency's 37-year-old policy toward regulation of runoff from forest roads. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Oregon., Senator Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Washington, and Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, introduced the Silviculture Regulator… Continue Reading
May 16, 2013
U.S. Senate Confirms Energy Secretary Nominee
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch voted in favor of Energy Secretary Nominee, Dr. Ernest Moniz. Dr. Moniz was confirmed by the full Senate this afternoon with a unanimous vote of 97-0. "Idaho plays an important role in the United States' energy policy, and Dr. Moniz demonstrated to me that he is qualified to serve in this key role," Crapo said. "As someone who grew up in eastern Idaho, I have witnessed firsthand the significant role the Idaho National Laboratory (INL)… Continue Reading
May 16, 2013
Idahoans Invited To Join Crapo On Tele-Townhall
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo will host a statewide telephone townhall meeting this coming Wednesday, May 22nd, beginning at 7:00 PM Mountain Time / 6:00 PM Pacific Time, and invites all Idahoans to participate. Crapo will take questions and offer his insights on the issues before the U.S. Senate during the hour-long call. With many important issues facing the country, Crapo looks forward to hearing from the people of Idaho. "Since the last townhall, the U.S. Senate has debated… Continue Reading
May 14, 2013
Crapo Concerned With Solicitation Of Private Funds For Obamacare
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, wrote U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, along with all Republican members of the committee, expressing concern that the agency is soliciting private donations to assist with funding for Obamacare. Members raise concerns that soliciting funds from the companies or organizations that HHS regulates is a conflict of interest, as well as a violation of the approp… Continue Reading
May 10, 2013
FAA Announces Contract Towers To Stay Open
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch lauded today's announcement by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that the 149 contract towers scheduled to close June 15 will remain open for fiscal year 2013. Control towers in Idaho Falls, Lewiston, Pocatello and Hailey were going to be closed. The two senators had signed a bipartisan letter to the secretary in mid-April, asking for alternatives to the tower closures. In late April, Congress approved legislation that assured the F… Continue Reading
May 02, 2013
Crapo, Risch To President: Donâ??t Cut Timber Sales
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch have joined a bipartisan letter led by Senators Jon Tester (D-Montana.), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) warning the President against reducing timber sales on Forest Service lands. The Senators are joined by Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Max Baucus (D-Montana), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), Jeff Flake (R-Arizona), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), and Mark Udall (D-Colorado… Continue Reading
May 01, 2013
Ranking Member Crapo on Nomination of Rep. Mel Watt to Head FHFA
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, issued the following statement regarding the Administration's nomination of Representative Mel Watt to be the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA): "We must end the five-year conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and resolve the threat to taxpayers and our housing market created by these government-sponsored entities. The Administration must pr… Continue Reading
April 30, 2013
Idaho Delegation Encourages Public Comment On Gateway West Project EIS
Washington, D.C. - Members of the Idaho Congressional Delegation are calling for "strong public input" next week as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) opens the public comment period on the agency's final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Gateway West Power Project. The project is the result of plans by Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power to better ship power throughout the West via the Gateway West Transmission Line, which would run through Wyoming and all of southern Idaho. … Continue Reading
April 30, 2013
Idaho Senators Want Veterans Administration Backlog Cleaned Up
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is experiencing a backlog affecting more than 600,000 veterans on their disability claims. Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch joined their colleagues on a bipartisan letter, authored by Senators Robert Casey (D-Pennsylvania) and Dean Heller (R-Nevada), asking President Barack Obama to become directly involved in the situation at the VA. The senators argue that more needs to be done to address the critical shortcomings resulti… Continue Reading
April 26, 2013
Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act of 2013 Introduced
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch reintroduced the Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act of 2013. Harvesting of polar bears was banned on May 14, 2008 when the species was listed as threatened; however, this ban prevented hunters who had legally killed a polar bear in Canada prior to this date from importing their trophy hide. This measure would allow those hunters impacted to import the trophies that belong to them. "Sportsmen in Idaho, and throughout the country… Continue Reading
April 24, 2013
Crapo Launches New Senate Website
Washington, D.C. - Updated graphics, integrated social media and an improved Action Center are all part of Idaho Senator Mike Crapo's newly-redesigned website that launched today. "My goal is to stay in constant contact with Idahoans and provide them with up-to-date information in an efficient way," Crapo said. "The previous website served Idahoans well, but with changing technology, we recognized the need for an improved site. The new website is graphically appealing, functional and helpful… Continue Reading
April 23, 2013
Crapo, Risch, Hagan Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Eliminate Unnecessary EPA Regulation on Farmers
Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, along with Kay Hagan (D-North Carolina), will introduce a bipartisan bill today to eliminate an unnecessary and costly Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation on pesticides. The Sensible Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) of 2013 is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of Senators, including: Carper (D-Delaware), Coons (D-Delaware), Heitkamp (D-North Dakota), Vitter (R-Louisiana), McCaskill (D-Missouri), and Inhofe (R-Oklahoma). … Continue Reading
April 23, 2013
Crapo Statement at CFPB Semi-Annual Report to Congress
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, today delivered the following remarks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) delivered its semi-annual report to Congress: Mr. Chairman, the semi-annual briefing by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is very important for us to gain insight into what the agency is doing. As I have consistently stated in p… Continue Reading
April 22, 2013
Crapo, Risch Want FAA To Keep Airport Towers Funded
Washington, D.C. - The threat of funding cuts facing four Idaho airports may be averted if Congress approves a bipartisan measure seeking to redirect federal transportation funding to keep the airport towers open through Fiscal Year 2014. Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch are co-sponsors of S. 687, introduced by Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), and now co-sponsored by a bipartisan group comprising nearly one-third of the U.S. Senate. The legislation seeks to stop cuts by the Federal A… Continue Reading
April 19, 2013
Bipartisan Group of Senators Reintroduce RECA Amendments Act
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch are renewing their efforts to expand restitution for Idahoans and Americans living downwind of atomic weapons tests or working in uranium mines. Crapo and Risch are joining Senators Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), Mark Udall (D-Colorado), Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) and Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) to introduce the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Amendments of 2013. Companion legislation is also being introduced in the House by R… Continue Reading
