WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Maryland, issued the following news release on April 19, 2023: U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today were joined by Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.), in reintroducing the Peace Corps Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Peace Corps for the first time in o  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 20, 2023: U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch (both R-Idaho) joined in introducing legislation to clarify and strengthen violent crime laws related to attacks on law enforcement, bank robbery, carjacking, kidnapping and other offenses. The Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act resolves discrepancies brought on by conflicting court decisions and clarifies congressional intent regarding crimes of v  more

WASHINGTON, April 19 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 18, 2023: U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch (both R-Idaho) joined Senator Steve Daines (R-Montana) to introduce legislation to prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from banning the use of traditional lead ammunition or tackle on public lands unless such action is supported by the best available science and state   more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 20, 2023: U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch (both R-Idaho) joined Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) in introducing the Employee Rights Act of 2023. The legislation seeks to protect independent contractors, franchisees, entrepreneurs and anyone seeking flexible work options by defending the rights of all workers, including those who decide it is not in their best interest to form or join a union.  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 19, 2023: U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch (both R-Idaho) voted today to prevent the Biden administration from implementing a rule that would allow the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to illegally provide abortion services through the taxpayer-funded VA health care system. The vote was on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval. The CRA gives Congress the authority to   more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 19, 2023: U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee) today introduced the Stop Fentanyl Border Crossings Act to add drug smuggling as an additional basis for Title 42 immigration enforcement authority, thereby preserving for Border Patrol agents an essential tool to quickly remove illegal border crossers and stop the drug trafficking that is fueling the overdo  more

WASHINGTON, April 19 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release and letter: Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) expressed support for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) proposed rule that would reduce barriers to kinship foster placement and ease the financial burdens on kin caregivers. "We write to express support for the proposed rule entitled Propose  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 20, 2023: Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) released a bipartisan framework that the Committee will use to pursue legislative solutions to modernize and enhance federal prescription drug programs, with the goal of reducing drug costs for patients and taxpayers. "Some of the most life-saving medications remain out of reach for far too many workin  more

BOISE, Idaho, April 19 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 18, 2023: U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (both R-Idaho), along with Representative Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and Idaho State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth announced Idaho counties will receive a total of $26.9 million in payments for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 under the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. Under Idaho law, 30 percent of the SRS funding goes to counties to help with schools and the remaini  more

BOISE, Idaho, April 19 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 18, 2023: U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch (both R-Idaho), along with Representative Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and Idaho State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth announced Idaho counties will receive a total of $26.9 million in payments for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 under the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. Under Idaho law, 30 percent of the SRS funding goes to counties to help with schools and the remainin  more

WASHINGTON, April 19 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 18, 2023: U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (both R-Idaho) joined Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) to introduce legislation to prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from banning the use of traditional lead ammunition or tackle on public lands unless such action is supported by the best available science and state w  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 19, 2023: U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) with several other Senators today voted to prevent the Biden administration from implementing a rule that would allow the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to illegally provide abortion services through the taxpayer-funded VA health care system. The vote was on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval. The CR  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 19, 2023: U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) today introduced the Stop Fentanyl Border Crossings Act to add drug smuggling as an additional basis for Title 42 immigration enforcement authority, thereby preserving for Border Patrol agents an essential tool to quickly remove illegal border crossers and stop the drug trafficking that is fueling the overdose  more

WASHINGTON, April 18 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following news release and letter: U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.), and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) led a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, on the Biden Administration's misguided ban on the sale of nearly all gas stoves in America. The proposed ban harms hard-working Americans who are already struggling due to skyrocketing inflation. "We firmly believe in the fre  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, issued the following news release on April 20, 2023: U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and their Republican colleagues, introduced the IRS Accountability and Taxpayer Protection Act to prohibit the IRS from using penalties as a bargaining chip in reaching resolutions more favorable to the agency at the expense of hardworking Americans. "There's a reason the bipartisan Joint Committee  more

WASHINGTON, April 18 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following column on April 17, 2023: * * * Health Of Idaho Forests Is Key To Addressing Wildfire Costs Idaho has the unfortunate distinction of being in the top five states for acres burned by wildfire in 2022, including the disastrous Moose Fire that impacted Salmon, Idaho, and other nearby communities. The Moose Fire burned for more than 100 days and consumed more than 130,000 acres. Wildfires are burning longer and hotter, harming  more

WASHINGTON, April 19 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release: Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) expressed support for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) proposed rule that would reduce barriers to kinship foster placement and ease the financial burdens on kin caregivers. "We write to express support   more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release: Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) released a bipartisan framework that the Committee will use to pursue legislative solutions to modernize and enhance federal prescription drug programs, with the goal of reducing drug costs for patients and taxpayers. "Some of the most life-saving medications remain out of  more

WASHINGTON, April 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on April 18, 2023: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, today expressed support for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) proposed rule that would reduce barriers to kinship foster placement and ease the financial burdens on kin c  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on April 20, 2023: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, today released a bipartisan framework that the committee will use to pursue legislative solutions to modernize and enhance federal prescription drug programs, with the goal of reducing drug costs for patients and taxpayers. "For years, drug pricing middlemen like  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, delivered the following remarks at a hearing entitled, "The President's Fiscal Year 2024 IRS Budget and the IRS's 2023 Filing Season." As prepared for delivery: "Commissioner Werfel, thank you for testifying this morning, as well as for your conduct in these first few weeks o  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release: At a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget and FY 2023 filing season, Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) highlighted concerns with the agency's recently-released $80 billion funding plan, which lacks critical details, as well as concerns about how the IRS will uphold its pledge not to increase a  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today met with Colombian President Gustavo Petro: "I appreciated the opportunity to meet with President Petro to discuss a myriad of challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for our countries. "The United States is a willing and able partner for Colombians   more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, 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.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today introduced the MCC Candidate Country Reform Act , legislation to redefine the pool of candidate countries from which the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) selects its partners. "From its competitive selection  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on April 20, 2023: U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today introduced the MCC Candidate Country Reform Act, legislation to redefine the pool of candidate countries from which the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) selects its partners. "From its competi  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today were joined by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chairman of the SFRC Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management, Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.), in reintroducing the   more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa, today released the following statement expressing concern over recent clashes between Sudan's army and paramilitary forces, 20 years after the genocide in Darfur: "In  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on April 19, 2023: U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today gave the following opening remarks at a full committee hearing on PEPFAR at 20: achieving and sustaining epidemic control. The witnesses included The Honorable John N. Nkengasong PhD, U.S. global AIDS coordinator and U.S. special represent  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on April 20, 2023, and letter: U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today joined Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and more than 70 other members of Congress, in sending a letter to the U.S. State Department urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate U.S. Legal Permanent Resident and Russian   more

WASHINGTON, April 18 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on April 17, 2023: * * * U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement in response to fighting in Sudan between the army and paramilitary forces: "The events of the last few days in Sudan, like in 2019 and 2021, reflect a clear pattern of behavior where strongmen try to r  more

WASHINGTON, April 18 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on April 17, 2023: * * * U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement on the U.S. Government Accountability Office's report highlighting a lack of accountability from the State Department over Child Protection Compacts (CPCs). Risch requested this report in 2021 in order   more

WASHINGTON, April 19 -- The Senate Judiciary Committee issued the following information for an executive business meeting at 10 a.m. on April 20, 2023, at 325 Russell Senate Office Building: AGENDA I. Nominees * Michael Arthur Delaney, to be United States Circuit Judge for the First Circuit * Monica Ramirez Almadani, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California * Charnelle Bjelkengren, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington *   more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- The Senate Judiciary Committee issued the following information for an executive business meeting at 10 a.m. on April 27, 2023, at 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building: I. Nominees * Michael Arthur Delaney, to be United States Circuit Judge for the First Circuit * Charnelle Bjelkengren, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington * Amanda K. Brailsford, to be United States District Judge for the District of Idaho * S. Kato Crews, to be Uni  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, issued the following statement on April 20, 2023: * * * U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa, and Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, released the following statement expressing concern over recent clashes between Sudan's army and paramilitary forces, 20 years after the genocide in Darfur: "In 2003, the Sudanese regim  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on April 19, 2023: U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today were joined by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.), in reintroducing the Peace Corps Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation  more

WASHINGTON, April 19 -- Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, issued the following news release and letter: Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, with Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Congressman David Valadao (R-CA), led 49 of their colleagues in demanding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reconsider a proposed rule that would detrimentally increase the fees charged to small and seasonal businesses who rely upon the H-2A and H-2B programs to hire workers and increase the processing times for these   more

WASHINGTON, April 19 -- Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 18, 2023: Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today issued a statement on the House of Representative's attempt to override President Biden's veto of H.J. Res. 27 that would have nullified the recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (Corps) rule revising the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS). "From the early days of the Obama Administration, I have take  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, issued the following news release on April 21, 2023: Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today applauded the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) announcement to halt future rollouts of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Program, a system that was deployed at various VA Medical Centers (VAMC) despite reported deficiencies that negatively impacted the quality of care received by veterans. "This was the right call for VA to make on behalf of the mil  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, issued the following news release on April 19, 2023: U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) reintroduced the Peace Corps Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Peace Corps for the first time in over two decades. Passed unanimously out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last year, the bipartisan legislation raises Peace Corps Volunteers' readjustment allowance, expedites   more