Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Idaho Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo joined a bipartisan group of Western senators in introducing legislation to reauthorize the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program to provide long-term financial security for rural counties. The legislation would reauthorize the PILT program for ten years. The program provides critical resources to nearly […]

Washington, D.C. — To help family logging businesses address workforce shortages in the forest products industry, U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), joined by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), led a bipartisan and bicameral group of 16 lawmakers today calling on the Department of Labor (DOL) to take action. The members urged […]

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks: “Today solemnly marks the 18th year since the September 11th terror attacks. It is still difficult and painful to fathom these acts of evil, and Vicki […]

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), member and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, has selected BioLogiQ of Idaho Falls as the Idaho Small Business of the Month for September 2019. BioLogiQ will be recognized in the Congressional Record of the U.S. Senate. “Globally, Idaho is renowned for […]

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), and Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) today pressed TriWest Healthcare Alliance on its implementation of the new urgent care benefit under the VA MISSION Act following reports that veterans in rural Oregon and Idaho are unable to access the benefit. In a letter to TriWest […]

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, all 53 U.S. Senate Republicans, including Idaho’s Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, sent a letter to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in response to Democrats’ threats of political retribution if the Court does not dismiss the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City […]

Today, on the 70th anniversary of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo stood alongside Department of Energy (DOE) Deputy Manager Bob Boston and INL Director Dr. Mark Peters to announce the launch of the new National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) at the INL in Idaho Falls. The NRIC is […]

Boise, Idaho – U.S. Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) will join Carey city officials in celebrating the city’s 100th birthday. During the public ceremony, Senators Risch and Crapo will present a statement they submitted with Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho-2) to the Congressional Record (page 42).  “The picturesque community in Blaine County, Idaho, is in […]

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), member and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, has handpicked Empire Airlines of Hayden as the Idaho Small Business of the Month for August 2019. Empire Airlines will be recognized in the Congressional Record of the U.S. Senate. “Empire Airlines’ success is […]

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Congressman Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho) introduced S. 2270, the Enhancing Geothermal Production on Federal Lands Act, a bill to streamline the discovery and permitting process for geothermal energy projects. This bill will bring geothermal to parity with oil and gas exploration on public lands.  With 90 percent of […]