Mike Simpson

Last week, several lawmakers, including Idaho’s Jim Risch and Mike Simpson, reintroduced the DAIRY PRIDE Act, which would require the FDA to crack down on the use of dairy terms by non-dairy products. Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association said survey after survey has shown consumers are legitimately confused, and they don’t recognize that these alternative beverages don’t have t

On Thursday, Idaho senator Jim Risch, Wisconsin senator Tammy Baldwin along with Idaho Representative Mike Simpson and Vermont’s Peter Welch introduced the Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, Milk, and Cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act; better known as the DAIRY PRIDE Act of 2021. The legi ...

Nearly 50 potentially impacted organizations recently penned a letter to Idaho Representative Mike Simpson opposing his proposal to breach the four Snake River dams. Washington Grain Commission CEO Glen Squires said there are better ways to handle issues with salmon recovery, particularly since roughly 90-95% of the fish safely make it through the dam. ...

Late last week, the House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act by a 247-174 vote. The legislation, sponsored by Central Washington’s Dan Newhouse and California’s Zoe Lofgren gives farmworkers in the United States without legal documents a way to gain legal status, as well as reforms the H-2A program and establishes a mandatory, nationwide E-verify system for Ag employment. Newhouse ...

Removing the four lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington has been a controversial topic for the Northwest farming community for over a generation. Supporters of removing the dams say it will help the environment and specifically salmon runs as they return upstream to spawn ...

Last month, Idaho representative Mike Simpson unveiled a $34 billion plan to remove the four lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington. Many in the farming community say Simpson’s Energy & Salmon Concept will ruin farming since the dams allow for barge traffic between Lewiston and the Pacific. D ...

The Idaho Farm Bureau Federation is making it known that it strongly opposes Idaho Representative Mike Simpson's proposal to remove the four lower Snake River dams. Simpson's plan would create a $33 billion "Columbia Basin Fund" in an effort to transition economies and sectors negatively impacted by breaching the dams ...

Last week, Representatives Dan Newhouse, Jimmy Panetta, Jim Costa and others led 70 colleagues writing a bipartisan letter to Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue and the USDA, calling on him to spend specific funding to protect Ag workers. The letter calls on Perdue to make at least $1.5 bi ...

It’s not just senators asking Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue to help wheat farmers harmed by the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, 26 House members, from both parties, sent a letter to USDA head Sonny Perdue, asking that he utilize CARERS Act funding to help growers facing substantial losses because of COVID-19. “ ...

On Tuesday, Central Washington’s Dan Newhouse and Central California’s Jim Costa penned a letter to congressional leadership urging the inclusion of critical water infrastructure in the upcoming COVID-19 stimulus package. The bipartisan letter was signed by 24 members of Congress. The lette ...