Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jim Risch has selected four college students from around the state of Idaho to serve as spring interns in his Washington, D.C., office. The interns have the opportunity to assist with constituent services and legislative research while engaging in the national level of government. “Interning in the U.S. Senate is […]

I am not surprised to find my name at the top of the list of senators who vote in opposition of President Obama's agenda. Since the day the president took office, he has been pushing an agenda of government expansion. That is not what the people of Idaho tell me they want. I came to the U.S. Senate to fight for a balanced budget, job creation, and expanded freedoms for Idahoans and Americans. That is not the direction the president is trying to take America.

I am pleased to recognize Fisher's Technology as an outstanding small business. This is a company that has grown and adapted for more than 70 years. Locally owned and operated, Fisher's Technology has been listed as one of America's fastest-growing company four of the last five years. In the process they have expanded from 46 employees in 2009 to 66 today, which is the sort of hiring pace our economy needs more of. I congratulate everyone at Fisher's Technology on their success and wish them the very best in the future.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Jim Risch express dismay at today’s revelations on Russian cheating and will continue to press the Obama Administration on the issue. “Today’s report is an urgent reminder that President Putin is not to be trusted,” said Rubio.  “President Obama sought to ‘reset’ relations with Russia, yet in […]

After listening to the president, I am once again deeply disappointed he has failed to address our crippling debt and taken the wrong approach to creating jobs for middle class families.

The Second Amendment is one of our fundamental rights. Lawful gun owners should not have to face a labyrinth of gun laws the second they cross into another state. This bill will ensure citizens who are able to carry concealed weapons can exercise that right in any state that has also passed a concealed carry law.

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo, Michael Bennet, Jim Risch and Mark Udall are sending a bipartisan letter signed by a coalition of senators to the leadership of the Farm Bill conference committee requesting that funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program be included in the final Farm Bill conference […]

Washington, D.C.  – Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch today announced that the Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) will tour the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) on Friday, March 21st.  Murkowski, also a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is coming to the lab at the […]

This 1,582-page, trillion-dollar spending bill spends too much and borrows too much. Over 20 percent of the spending is borrowed money. In addition to the many other unacceptable provisions, it eliminates the longstanding Payments in Lieu of Property Taxes (PILT) to the states, which Idaho so heavily relies on.

Small businesses make up 54 percent of the private sector economy yet, as the Obama Administration continues to pile on regulations and cancel healthcare plans, small businesses have suffered voiceless in President Obama’s cabinet. This cabinet-level post has languished without a nominee for almost a year. In that time, the administration has issued 3,854 regulations at a cost of $112 billion. I am encouraged that President Obama has finally nominated an administrator to the Small Business Administration. I will examine Ms. Contreras-Sweet’s record and look forward to meeting with her before making a decision on her nomination.