Mike Crapo

Idaho Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo joined fellow Senate Republican, Steve Daines from Montana, asking the Administration to collaborate with states when it comes to Forest Management.  In Thursday’s letter sent to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, the lawmakers urged the development and implementation of a transparent and swift process to allocate funds promised to States for effective forest managem

Time may be running short, but Dan Newhouse remains optimistic that the Senate will address ag labor needs via his Farm Workforce Modernization Act.  The legislation which already cleared the House, has stalled in the Senate.  And while the window for the 117th Congress is starting to close, the Chair of the Western Caucus believes lawmakers can act in the coming months.    “We have ...

The Senate Finance Committee unanimously voted to move Doug McKalip’s nomination to be USTR’s Chief Agricultural Negotiator to the full Senate for a final vote.  He won bipartisan support despite Republican objections to the Administration’s anti-free trade policy.   “I intend to ...

By a 93-1 vote, the Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act Thursday.  The legislation looks to permanently adjust the cost-share ratio for Inland Waterways Trust Fund projects from the current 65% general revenues-35% IWTF funds to 75% general revenue-25% IWTF. ...

Earlier this week, a group of 30 Senators urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to fully fund the Payments in Lieu of Taxes, or PILT program, for fiscal year 2023. The program provides payments to counties with non-taxable federal land within their borders to offset the lost property tax revenue ...

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling on Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to establish a special pay rate for federal wildland firefighters. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said such a move would help avert critical staffing shortages ahead of the 2022 fire season ...

On Tuesday, a Bipartisan group of Senate Finance Committee Members called on the U.S. Trade Representative for improve transparency. Led by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, of Oregon, and Ranking Member, Idaho’s, Mike Crapo, and New Jersey senator Bob Menendez, the lawmakers sent a letter to the U.S. Tr... Read More ...

Senators Debbie Stabenow, Chair of the Senate Ag Committee, Ranking Member John Boozman and Idaho's Mike Crapo are asking President Biden to quickly fill vacancies at USDA. They say filling the open positions can help increase trade opportunities for American agriculture ...

The Biden Administration and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai have come under fire from lawmakers of both parties in Congress for not pursuing free trade agreements. Washington’s Maria Cantwell, member of the Senate Finance Committee, told Ambassador Tai that farmers in the Evergreen state want free trade deals. “ ...

On Tuesday, Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Idaho senator Jim Risch sent a series of letters to ten federal agencies involved in looking at plans to breach the Lower Snake River dams. The agencies, which include NOAA Fisheries, the U ...