News Releases
Crapo, Colleagues Want Action To Stop AMT
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Finance Committee which has jurisdiction over tax issues, joined 40 of his Republican colleagues today in asking for immediate consideration of legislation that will stop the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) from hitting millions of additional middle income taxpayers this year, and that will also extend many key tax incentives that expired at the end of 2007. The letter, which was sent to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Bauc… Continue Reading
April 28, 2008
Crapo Plans May iTownhall Meeting
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo will hold an interactive iTownhall meeting with Idahoans on the evening of May 7th. The technology behind the iTownhall meeting allows Idahoans to join in via telephone from any location in the state. Participation is voluntary, and listeners are invited to ask the Senator questions about any topics confronting Congress and the nation. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Mountain/6:30 p.m. Pacific and will last for about an hour. "Joining the town hal… Continue Reading
April 24, 2008
Crapo: Mountain Home Air Force Base Has It All
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo today congratulated the staff and airmen at Mountain Home Air Force Base for their second top award in a year-this one coming in the culinary arts category. Last April, Mountain Home Air Force Base was named the best installation in the Air Force by winning the 2007 Commander-in-Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence. Now, Mountain Home can also brag about having the best food in the Air Force after winning the Best Food Award following a vi… Continue Reading
April 24, 2008
Increase In Cardiac Deaths Prompts Crapo-Dorgan Legislation
Washington, DC - The high probability of death from sudden cardiac arrest in the U.S. has prompted Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan to introduce legislation today seeking to increase educational efforts about the affliction. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 95 percent of people stricken with sudden cardiac arrests die, including healthy athletes, infants and middle-aged Americans. "The best hope for survival in the case of sudden cardia… Continue Reading
April 24, 2008
Senate Enacts Short-Term Farm Bill Extension
Washington D.C.- Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Senate Finance Committee, has been working with fellow members of Congress to achieve enactment of a new Farm Bill that incorporates improvements in federal farm policy that benefit Idahoans. Today, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that would extend the current Farm Bill for a week as work continues to conclude negotiations on the new Farm Bill. "Ideally, a new Farm Bill would be enacted by now provi… Continue Reading
April 22, 2008
Owyhee Initiative Hearing Features Rancher, Conservation Testimony
Washington, DC - Representatives from Idaho's ranching and conservationist communities are testifying before a Senate subcommittee on Idaho Senator Mike Crapo's Owyhee Initiative legislation today. They say the bill; S. 2833, will provide protection for both wild lands and economic activity in the Owyhee Canyonlands. Crapo's legislation is being heard today before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. A markup of the legislation would be th… Continue Reading
April 22, 2008
Hearing Results In Agreement To Proceed With Owyhee Initiative Legislation
Washington, DC - The Owyhee Public Lands Management Act, S. 2833, achieved an important milestone with a hearing today before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. Subcommittee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) praised Owyhee Initiative Work Group members for their record of collaboration and consensus on land use, noting that was appropriate to hold such a Senate hearing on Earth Day 2008. The Owyhee Initiative legislation is sponsored by Idah… Continue Reading
April 18, 2008
Crapo Hails Agreement To Resume Beef Trade With South Korea
Washington D.C.-Idaho beef producers may benefit from today's announcement of an agreement between the United States and South Korea that will fully open South Korea's market to U.S. beef exports, according to Idaho Senator Mike Crapo. Crapo, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Senate Finance Committee, has pressed for the full resumption of beef trade with South Korea, which was the third largest market for U.S. beef before December 2003. "This is a significant achievement for U… Continue Reading
April 17, 2008
Crapo Looks To Get Ahead Of Tax Increase
Washington D.C.-Idaho Senator Mike Crapo co-sponsored a bill introduced today providing relief from a tax unintentionally aimed at millions of middle-income Americans, including nearly 100,000 Idahoans. The Alternative Minimum Tax and Extenders Tax Relief Act of 2008 provides a one-year "patch" of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and extends important energy tax relief and incentives for teachers, veterans, small businesses and others, that have expired or are set to expire. Crapo favors a full… Continue Reading
April 16, 2008
Crapo Pushes For Improved Education Benefits ForGuard And Reserve Members
Washington, DC - Members of America's Guard and Reserve are contributing to the nation's security more than ever in the war on terrorism, and their education benefits should reflect that, according to Idaho Senator Mike Crapo. Crapo has joined a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) Enhancement Act of 2008. The legislation introduced today would improve the REAP program for all citizen soldiers in three ways: • Provide accruable benefit… Continue Reading
April 14, 2008
Food Banks, Hungry Benefit From Bill Co-Sponsored By Crapo
Washington, DC - People receiving assistance from food banks will benefit under federal legislation, co-sponsored by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, aimed at increasing donations of federal food. The Federal Food Donation Act (S. 2420), which was introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York) and co-sponsored by Senators Richard Lugar (R-Indiana), George Voinovich (R-Ohio), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), has been reported favorably by the Senate Committee on Homeland S… Continue Reading
April 11, 2008
Crapo, Craig Seek Emergency Funding For Counties
Washington, DC - Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Larry Craig are joining a bipartisan group of senators seeking to include payments to counties in a emergency supplemental spending bill before the Senate Appropriations Committee. Craig and Crapo have signed a letter headed by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) seeking to include an extension and funding for the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Act of 2000 and the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Program (PILT). Crapo… Continue Reading
April 11, 2008
Owyhee Initiative Hearing Set For April 22
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo announced that his legislation to protect lands, rivers and ranchers, and allow for local land management decisions in Owyhee County will receive a hearing on April 22 before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. The Owyhee Initiative has been a nearly eight-year process, bringing together interests across the public lands spectrum to preserve wild lands in Idaho while guaranteeing economic interest… Continue Reading
April 10, 2008
Crapo Language On Minidoka Passes Senate
Washington, DC - Legislative language originally introduced by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo to reform the boundaries of the Minidoka Internment National Monument near Jerome was approved today by the Senate as part of a larger public lands package. The passage of the bill means human rights advocates, including the Friends of Minidoka, Inc., can proceed with plans to raise additional funding to restore the site where Japanese Americans were interned during World War II. Crapo was the keynote spea… Continue Reading
April 09, 2008
Crapo Honored For Business Initiatives
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo has been honored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for his leadership on pro-business and pro-growth issues. Crapo was awarded the Chamber's "Spirit of Enterprise Award" during a ceremony in Washington. DC. Crapo, a member of the Senate Budget, Finance and Banking Committees and Ranking Member on the Senate Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit, was chosen for his votes on issues including energy… Continue Reading
April 04, 2008
Crapo And Simpson Ask For Clemency For Vela
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and Idaho 2nd District Representative Mike Simpson are asking U.S. military authorities to grant clemency to Sergeant Evan Vela, who was court martialed and convicted of murder without premeditation by a military court in February 2008. In separate letters to Major General Rick Lynch, Crapo and Simpson outlined their concerns with the conviction and the precedent it set regarding soldiers following military orders. In his letter, dated March 7, 2008, … Continue Reading
April 03, 2008
Crapo, Work Group Recommend Earmark Reforms
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and fellow members of the Fiscal Reform Working Group today proposed greater transparency and accountability regarding earmarks and directing savings from earmark cuts toward reducing the federal debt. Crapo was appointed by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to help lead efforts on earmark reform. Crapo and fellow task force members made their recommendations public during a news conference in Washington, DC. Senator Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) is C… Continue Reading
April 02, 2008
Public-Private Partnerships Build Communities
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo is encouraging Idaho community leaders to consider the USDA Rural Development's Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program for funding opportunities in the coming year. Crapo, the Ranking Member on the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit, says the program offers low-interest loans and grants that can assist with infrastructure improvements ranging from fire stations to recreation centers and health… Continue Reading
April 02, 2008
Crapo Promotes Financial Awareness
Washington, DC - Issues ranging from the housing crisis, to federal deficits, bankruptcy and individual finances make this a good time to review personal financial awareness, according to Idaho Senator Mike Crapo. Crapo, a member of the Senate Finance and Banking Committees, co-sponsored Senate Resolution 495, which passed by unanimous consent last night. "This resolution encourages all Americans to stay abreast of the financial conditions that affect their pocketbook, their savings and their… Continue Reading
March 31, 2008
Crapo: Congress Needs To Enact 21st Century Regulation For 21st Century Markets
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, member of both the Senate Banking and Finance Committees, believes the U.S. Department of Treasury's "Blueprint for a Modernized Financial Regulatory Structure," released today, makes progress in updating the current regulatory model for financial markets. The blueprint provides recommendations including short-term recommendations to regulatory coordination and oversight; intermediate-term recommendations to modernize our regulatory structure within the… Continue Reading
