WASHINGTON, March 21 -- Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on March 20 in response to Luis Almagro's re-election as secretary general of the Organization of American States: "I would like to congratulate Luis Almagro for his re-election today as secretary general of the OAS. "Mr. Almagro has made significant progress in the last five years to build consensus among member countries of the OAS, and to keep the organization  more

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho, March 18 -- Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson announced the scheduled reception planned for the 2020 Congressional Art Competition at the Art Museum of Eastern Idaho has been cancelled out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of the public. The reception was planned for this evening and all participants have been notified by Congressman Simpson's office. Elijah Jones of Rigby High School is this yea  more

WASHINGTON, March 17 -- Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, issued the following statement about the bipartisan coronavirus supplemental package passed by the House: "I fully support President Trump's call to pass the second emergency supplemental package in response to COVID-19. That is why I cast my vote in favor of H.R. 6021, which delivers on the urgent needs our country faces. "The bill includes critical funding for testing, enhanced food security for our most vulnerable citizens, and economic s  more

WASHINGTON, March 21 -- Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: Idaho Congressmen Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher joined Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) along with 15 other members of Congress from the Pacific Northwest Region sending Vice President Pence a joint letter expressing the great need for ventilators for the region. The most recent data from HHS and the American Association  more

WASHINGTON, March 20 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) joined a bipartisan, bicameral letter led by Senator Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and Representative Richard Hudson (R-North Carolina), and signed by more than 100 members of Congress, urging President Trump and his Administration to maintain access to vetted, temporary workers to help ensure America's agriculture industry has the workforce necessary to continue producing the  more

WASHINGTON, March 19 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following statement on vote in support of the coronavirus emergency legislation that passed the Senate in a vote of 90-8: "Over the last several weeks, America has been faced with the uncertainty of the risks, transmission and effects of the coronavirus, or COVID-19," said Senator Crapo. "At the national, state, local and even household level, this pandemic has challenged our sense of normalcy and it has tested every institution of   more

WASHINGTON, March 17 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following column: We have heard about people in our communities, neighbors, friends, or even family, falling victim to robocall scams and losing significant amounts of money and security of their personal information. Scammers are coming up with ever-creative ways to manipulate our open society to defraud unsuspecting victims. These scams are out of control, and enough is enough. Thankfully, we are getting traction on enacting legisla  more

WASHINGTON, March 19 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement regarding the State Department's decision that the H-2A visa program be considered essential despite temporary closures of embassies and consulates abroad due to the spread of COVID-19: "These are extraordinary times, and in times such as these it is even more critical that the people who put food on e  more

WASHINGTON, March 19 -- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, issued the following statement: U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) issued the following statement after voting to approve H.R. 6201, the second supplemental funding package to combat COVID-19: "We are in the midst of a truly unprecedented time in modern U.S. history. These extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. Today, I voted in support of a second bipartisan coronavirus emergency funding bill. This legislation is far from   more

WASHINGTON, March 18 -- Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement regarding the Chinese Foreign Ministry's announcement of the expulsion of U.S. journalists from China: "The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) decision to expel from China all U.S. journalists from three major press outlets is appalling. "This is an unreasonable response to the recent actions taken by the U.S. State Department to increase the transparency of Chinese   more

WASHINGTON, March 21 -- Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on March 20 after the Senate confirmed Alma L. Golden as the U.S. Agency for International Development's assistant administrator for global health: "As we fight this global Coronavirus pandemic, we need knowledgeable and experienced public health professionals at the helm of our public health institutions. "I'm pleased the Senate confirmed Dr. Alma Golden to be h  more

WASHINGTON, March 17 -- Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following joint statement on March 16 with Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy, in response to a so-called Chinese Communist Party disinformation regarding the origins of the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China: "Our top priority is to  more