Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) issued the following statement after voting in favor of legislation to fund the government, begin construction of a border wall, and make necessary national security improvements: “We need significantly more than 55 miles of wall to fully protect our southern border, but this bill makes a down-payment […]

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate today passed a package of bipartisan bills, including several provisions authored or sponsored by U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), which would improve public lands management, protect Idaho’s natural landscapes, and increase public access for sportsmen while protecting private property rights. The Natural Resources Management Act included two bills introduced […]

Washington, D.C. – As the United States and China negotiate a more fair and free trade agreement between the two nations, U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and U.S. Representatives Mike Simpson (R-ID) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) today led a letter to the Trump Administration asking that the U.S. potato industry be […]

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) issued the following statement after attending President Trump’s State of the Union address: “President Trump’s second year in office produced an even longer, more impressive list of accomplishments than his first. As we heard tonight, our economy continues to soar, wages remain up, and unemployment is still […]

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) announced today that he has nominated 48 students from across the Gem State to the United States Military Academies for the 2019-2020 school year. The nominees will now be considered by each of the four academies for final selection. “It is an honor to nominate such a […]

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made the following statement on today’s announcement that the United States has given notice that it will withdraw from Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in six months:  “I support the withdrawal of the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces […]

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today welcomed Ambassador Carlos Vecchio, Chargé d’Affaires of Venezuela, and a delegation of members of interim President Juan Guaidó’s administration to the U.S. Senate. Risch and Vecchio were joined by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Rick Scott (R-FL), […]

WASHINGTON – Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, along with Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski today urged federal officials to deliver Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payments as quickly as possible in the aftermath of the government shutdown. In their bipartisan letter to Agriculture […]

Washington, D.C. – In a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) spoke about the illicit practices China is using to expand their geographic and economic influence in the 21 st century, such as intellectual property theft. Risch pointed to Idaho’s Micron Technology as an example of China stealing ideas […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) issued the following statement about ending the government shutdown and securing our nation’s southern border:  “Government shutdowns are never the answer, so I will of course support the President’s proposal to open the government while negotiations continue, but over the next three weeks I will continue to […]