WASHINGTON, June 18 -- Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hosted a virtual committee coffee with King Abdullah II of Jordan to discuss the strong, strategic relationship between the United States and Jordan. "The United States and Jordan share a long history of mutual cooperation on issues ranging from security to trade. This relatio  more

WASHINGTON, June 19 -- Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following remarks in a virtual event on June 18 entitled "Protecting Syrian Civilians: Implementing the Caesar Act" hosted by the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, in cooperation with the Syrian Emergency Task Force. The event focused on the implementation of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act: "Hi, I'm Senator Jim Risch, ch  more

WASHINGTON, June 19 -- Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: Rep. Russ Fulcher, joined by original cosponsor Rep. Mike Simpson, introduced the Integrated Energy Systems Act of 2020 to increase research and to leverage the resources and expertise at our National Laboratories (including Idaho National Laboratory), the Department of Energy, and our higher education institutions. This bill is the House companion bill to Senator Risch's Senate bill, also cosponsored by Senat  more

WASHINGTON, June 18 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) became an original co-sponsor of the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act. The bill aims to rebuild the lost confidence in many institutions designed for the purposes of keeping communities safe. "The vast majority of law enforcement officers are hard-working Americans who put their lives on the line every day to keep their communities   more

WASHINGTON, June 17 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, issued the following remarks at a virtual hearing on the Federal Reserve's semiannual monetary policy report to Congress on June 16: "Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will update the Committee on monetary policy developments and the state of the U.S. economy. "It has only been four months since the last Humphrey-Hawkins hearing, but we are seeing a significantly d  more

WASHINGTON, June 16 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators for Idaho Mike Crapo and Jim Risch sent a bipartisan letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza urging the administration to ease paperwork requirements for small businesses seeking loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The letter, which was led by U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and signed by 44 senato  more

WASHINGTON, June 18 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following statement after voting against the Great American Outdoors Act: "I have long supported responsible conservation programs at the federal level. The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has produced a number of environmental success stories, and I voted last year to permanently authorize the program. However, each case should be weighed on its own merits, and the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) makes the funding mandato  more

WASHINGTON, June 16 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following column: We, without a doubt, rely heavily upon broadband technology for business, government and personal activities. As more Americans have worked from home and homeschooled students during the pandemic, the importance of expansive and reliable broadband technology has been accentuated. Efforts have been underway for some time to address a "digital divide" in broadband deployment between rural and urban or suburban areas to   more

WASHINGTON, June 18 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) joined U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) in introducing the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act, legislation to provide long-term solutions focused on police reform, accountability and transparency. "I am proud to join my friend and colleague Senator Tim Scott in introducing the JUSTICE Act. Enacting comprehensive reform to reshape polic  more

WASHINGTON, June 19 -- Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following opening statement at a hearing on COVID-19 and U.S. international pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response on June 18: "Today we're going to discuss the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the future of pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response. "The hearing will focus on S.3829 which Senator Murphy and I have introduced - the Global Health Secur  more

WASHINGTON, June 18 -- Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on June 17 after President Trump signed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act (S. 3744) into law: "I am glad President Trump signed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act into law today. "The internment of at least a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities is reprehensible and inexcusable, and the Chinese Communist Party and government must be held to account. "Thi  more

WASHINGTON, June 18 -- Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on June 17 after the Trump administration announced 39 designations under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act and an executive order (No. 13894) to begin a sustained campaign of increased economic and political pressure against Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad: "I welcome today's action, which reflects a government-wide effort to ensure justice and accoun  more

WASHINGTON, June 19 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, introduced the Safeguarding American Innovation Act, bipartisan legislation to help stop foreign governments, particularly China, from stealing American taxpayer-funded research and intellectual property developed at U.S. colleges and universities. The legislation was led by U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and als  more

WASHINGTON, June 19 -- Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Delaware, issued the following news release on June 18: U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) and Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced the   more

WASHINGTON, June 20 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, were joined by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Ted Cruz (R-Tx), in introducing a Senate Resolution reaffirming the partnership between the United States and the Republic of Ecuador. The bipartisan resolution recognizes the restoration a  more

WASHINGTON, June 20 -- Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release: Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, were joined by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Ted Cruz (R-Tx), in introducing a Senate Resolution reaffirming the partnership between the United States and the Republic   more

WASHINGTON, June 16 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators for Idaho Jim Risch and Mike Crapo sent a bipartisan letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza urging the administration to ease paperwork requirements for small businesses seeking loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The letter, which was led by U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and signed by 44 senat  more

BOISE, Idaho, June 20 -- Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, were joined by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), in introducing a Senate resolution yesterday reaffirming the partnership between the United States and the Republic of Ec  more