News Releases
Crapo Co-Authors Reforms To 'No Child Left Behind'
Washington, DC - In response to concerns from Idaho parents, teachers and school administrators, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo has reintroduced bipartisan legislation to bring needed reforms to the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) Act. The Enhancing Flexibility for Effective Schools (EFES) Act is similar to legislation previously introduced by Crapo and Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas). Both Senators and their staff members consulted with education leaders, school board members and interested citiz… Continue Reading
July 31, 2009
Idaho Delegation, Governor Decry Funding Cut For Yucca Mountain
Washington, DC - The Idaho congressional delegation joined with Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter to respond to the announcement that the Obama Administration has struck a deal to not request any funding for Yucca Mountain in the Fiscal Year 2011 budget. Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter said, "The federal government made a commitment to Idaho under the landmark 1995 settlement agreement that it will get its radioactive waste out of the state no later than 2035. It's troubling to see this … Continue Reading
July 31, 2009
Crapo Applauds Funding For Idaho Water Projects
Washington, DC - A grant program supported by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo in the 2008 Farm Bill has awarded nearly $7 million to four Idaho projects. The grants were awarded under the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP), which Crapo worked to have included in the 2008 Farm Bill when he was a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. He also worked to have the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer region listed as an AWEP priority area in the Farm Bill conference report. The recipients were announ… Continue Reading
July 31, 2009
Panel Approves Idaho Transportation Projects
Washington, DC - Transportation funding sponsored by Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch for road infrastructure and public transportation projects was approved this week by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Idaho initiatives are included in the annual funding measure for the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development for Fiscal Year 2010, which begins in October. It supports federal programs and grants to states and communities for transportation infrastructure, … Continue Reading
July 31, 2009
Senators Introduce Resolution Urging Congress To Be Fiscally Responsible When Reforming Health Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah) along with Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) introduced a Senate resolution today to express the Senate's commitment to consider only health care reform plans that will slow down health costs and not increase the national debt. "Controlling the costs of health care is the number one challenge in Congress as lawmakers wrangle with various proposals to reform … Continue Reading
July 30, 2009
Crapo Criticizes Ruling On Rape Cases
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo is seeking to put the U.S. Senate on record opposing a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the death penalty in the case of child rape. Crapo joined with eight Senate colleagues to introduce S. Res. 626, a Sense of the Senate Resolution that criticizes the Court's ruling in a Louisiana case where a man, convicted of brutally raping his eight-year old stepdaughter, was sentenced to death. In a 5 to 4 decision, the U.S. S… Continue Reading
July 30, 2009
Idaho Health, Education Plans Clear Senate Panel
Washington, DC - Requests for federal funding by Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch to expand medical services and education projects in Idaho have been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. These Idaho initiatives are included in the annual funding measure for the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor for Fiscal Year 2010, which begins in October. Final approval for the projects is still needed from the full Senate and a conference co… Continue Reading
July 28, 2009
Crapo Legislation Honors Combat Wounded
Washington, DC - Purple Heart recipients and their families will receive increased national honors under legislation introduced by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo this week. The bipartisan Senate resolution, S. Con. Res. 36, sponsored by Crapo and Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas) establishes August 7, 2009, as "National Purple Heart Recognition Day." The Purple Heart is awarded to those who have been wounded or killed in combat during military service. The resolution, expected to be approved by … Continue Reading
July 27, 2009
Crapo To Vote Against Sotomayor
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo released the following statement regarding his decision to vote against Supreme Court nominee of Sonia Sotomayor: "Judge Sotomayor has distinguished herself throughout her career, serving as a strong role model for many as she has excelled in her chosen field. She has demonstrated one of the greatest things about America-the opportunity to become whatever you want with your God-given abilities. I enjoyed my meeting with her and found her to be a perso… Continue Reading
July 24, 2009
Defense Bill Contains Idaho Housing Partnership
Washington, DC - A groundbreaking partnership to transfer unneeded housing units from the Mountain Home Air Force Base to members of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes may soon be law, thanks to language added to a defense authorization bill. An amendment based on legislation written by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo (S. 390), was included in the final passage of the FY 2010 Defense Authorization Act (S. 1390). Crapo supported the authorization bill, which passed the Senate on a vote of 87 to 7. "My legisl… Continue Reading
July 22, 2009
Crapo, Murray And Cantwell Introduce Bill To Protect Forest Land From Development While Saving Jobs
(Washington, D.C.) -U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Patty Murray (D-Washington) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) introduced legislation today that would protect private forestland from development by enabling non-profit conservation organizations to use bonds to purchase forest lands. Hailed by environmentalists and private landowners as a common sense solution, the Community Forestry Conservation Act of 2009, would allow communities to issue bonds on behalf of private non-profit organizati… Continue Reading
July 20, 2009
Idaho Delegation Reacts To Pfc. Bergdahl's Capture
Washington, DC - Members of the Idaho Congressional Delegation issued the following statement today in response to the capture of Hailey native, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, by Taliban forces in Afghanistan. "Out of respect for Private First Class Bergdahl and his family, we have been declining to comment on his capture by the Taliban," said Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and Representatives Mike Simpson and Walt Minnick. "With the Pentagon now confirming his identity, we add our thoughts and pray… Continue Reading
July 10, 2009
Crapo, Risch Co-Sponsor Amendment To Federal Switchblade Act
Washington, DC- Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch co-sponsored legislation this week that adds assisted-opening knives to the list of knives excluded from the Switchblade Act. The amendment was prompted by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency proposal that would ban those knives from importation into the U.S. "These knives are clearly not weapons", said Senator Mike Crapo, Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee's Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiv… Continue Reading
July 10, 2009
Idaho Ag, Energy Projects Clear Funding Hurdle
Washington, DC - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch say research efforts involving energy and agriculture in Idaho have fared well this week as the Senate Appropriations Committee made funding recommendations for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 spending measures. Funding for the projects still must clear the full Senate and be approved by a conference committee with the U.S. House of Representatives. "The research and technology development conducted in Idaho in the energy and agricultural fie… Continue Reading
July 09, 2009
Crapo To Discuss Energy, Health Issues In Statewide Forum
Washington, DC - Senator Mike Crapo will offer Idahoans an update on energy, health care and other issues being debated in Congress during a statewide teleconference next week. Crapo is inviting Idahoans to sign up for his iTownhall meeting, which will be held on the evening of Wednesday, July 15th. The call will begin at 7:00 p.m. Mountain/6:00 p.m. Pacific. To sign up for the iTownhall meeting, please go to Crapo's website, http://crapo.senate.gov and click on the iTownhall icon. You will b… Continue Reading
July 09, 2009
Crapo: Health Care Plans Must Make Fiscal Sense
Washington, DC - Some reform of the nation's health care system is needed to reduce costs and improve access to quality coverage, but whatever plan Congress adopts must make fiscal sense, according to Idaho Senator Mike Crapo. Crapo, a member of the Senate Finance Committee that is working on one reform plan, said today that preliminary scores from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) of one draft health reform bill show that this proposal is not passing financial muster. "An analysis from the… Continue Reading
July 07, 2009
Owyhee Science Review Center Clears Hurdle
Washington, DC - A critical part of the Owyhee Initiative land management legislation led by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo through Congress received initial funding approval today from the Senate Appropriations Committee. In outlining agricultural appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010, the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $300,000 for the establishment and operations of the Rangeland Ecosystems Dynamics Program. The program, envisioned as the Science Review Center in the original Owyhee Ini… Continue Reading
July 07, 2009
Crapo: Include Nuclear In Climate Change Plans
Washington, DC - Any successful effort at addressing climate change, including cap and trade legislation, must include incentives to increase energy production from nuclear power sources, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo told Cabinet secretaries from the Obama Administration today. Crapo's comments came during a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. As a member of the committee, he had the opportunity to question Energy Secretary Steven Chu and hear testimony from Agriculture Sec… Continue Reading
July 01, 2009
Owyhee Initiative Funding Begins
Duck Valley Indian Reservation - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo will join members of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation tomorrow to discuss the first phase of funding that will implement provisions of the Owyhee Initiative land management legislation he passed earlier this year. The Owyhee Initiative, an eight-year collaborative written by Idahoans and led by Crapo in Congress, was authorized in the Omnibus Land Management Act of 2009. The process of allocating funding to… Continue Reading
June 29, 2009
Crapo, Risch Announce $1 Million For Ranchers
Washington, DC - Ranchers who lose livestock to wolf depredation in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming may be eligible for reimbursement from a fund of $1 million established in part by the efforts of Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch. Idaho's Senators included language in the recently-passed Omnibus Public Lands Bill (Public Law 111-11) to establish the Wolf Livestock Demonstration Project. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies has set a… Continue Reading
