House Interior and the Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson will hold a full committee markup on the FY 2012 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill on Tuesday, July 12, at 8:30 MST. The House Appropriations Committee will consider the bill and numerous amendments are expected to be offered. The markup will be live on a webcast that can be watched from the Appropriations Committee website. Currently the federal government borrows over 40 cents for each dollar it spends. In his bill, Chairman Simpson is taking necessary measures to reduce discreti... Read More »
“During the debt debate, as Congress and the President circle each other, make offers and counter offers, propose concessions, then refuse to compromise, the American people can’t help but think they have been to this dance before. They didn’t like what they saw during the government shutdown dispute and they don’t like this new version of the same old thing. “It’s no surprise, then, that only one out of five people approve of the job Congress is doing. One of five is a number that, quite frankly, seems high as I read the letters and hear the phone calls that come into my office every day from... Read More »
“’When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to separate.’ “With these words our Founding Fathers began to ‘declare the causes’ that drove them to separate from the tyrannical control of King George III. Their vision was to give birth to a new nation that... Read More »
“Earlier this year, the USDA issued the proposed rule, “Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.” This proposed rule would have forced schools to limit servings of potatoes, corn, green peas and lima beans. This drastic change to the school meal programs would have incurred significant costs to all school districts. Due to the radical changes and extreme costs that would have been associated with the proposed rule, it is likely that considerable number of schools would have chosen not to participate in the meal programs, especially school breakfast. As a ... Read More »
“On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the American flag as an emblem of freedom and independence. John Adams proclaimed that, “the flag of the thirteen United States represents a new constellation.” Over 220 years after it was first embraced, Old Glory remains a symbol of the pride of our nation. “Recognizing the importance of this American treasure, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916 that established a National Flag Day. Following this act, in 1949, Congress by joint resolution designated June 14 of each year as a day to commemorate the adoption of th... Read More »
“After seeing that House Republicans and Chairman Paul Ryan are responding to the call of the American people to get spending under control, President Obama has come late to the game and put forth a proposal that still doesn’t pass muster. Unlike Chairman Ryan’s plan, which reduces the deficit by $4.4 trillion and reduces taxes, President Obama proposes to raise taxes on job creators while punting on the real drivers of the debt: our expensive mandatory programs which make up 60% of the federal budget. After putting out a federal budget that did absolutely nothing to address the deficit crisis... Read More »
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment, today issued the following statement on language he has inserted into H.R. 1, the House Continuing Resolution, that prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from using taxpayer dollars to implement laws or regulations expanding federal jurisdiction over state waters. The provision would block any attempt by the Obama Administration to remove the term “navigable waters” from the definition of waters subject to EPA regulation under the Clean Water Act. Currently non-navigable water... Read More »
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson put out the following statement regarding language included in the continuing resolution to reinstate the 2009 decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the gray wolf in Idaho and Montana. “It makes no sense to call wolves in Idaho and Montana an endangered species. Not only do wolf populations far exceed recovery goals, but without proper management those populations have grown to the point where they are adversely impacting other wildlife populations in the region and wreaking havoc for ranchers, hunters, and public land users in Idaho. The Fish ... Read More »
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, who chairs the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, issued the following statement after putting language into H.R. 1, the FY2011 Continuing Resolution, prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from using funds to implement climate change regulations scheduled to go into effect later this year. “It has become clear to me in talking to the job creators in this country that allowing these regulations to go into effect would prevent job creation and inhibit economic growth at a time when our economy is still struggling. It should... Read More »
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, issued the following statement about language included in H.R. 1, the FY11 Continuing Resolution, to prohibit the use of funding for the Department of Interior’s new “Wild Lands” policy: “I have a long list of concerns about the Department of Interior’s ‘Wild Lands’ initiative, not the least of which is the fact that it was rolled out without giving the public an opportunity to comment on it and without the opportunity for congressional oversight. I’m concerned that this initiativ... Read More »
