“If anybody wants to understand what the problem is in Washington, D.C., all they need to do is listen to the debate that’s gone on here, pointing fingers and trying to decide who’s to blame. The reality is the American people don’t care who’s to blame, they just want the problem solved.” Simpson continued, “This budget is not fiscally responsible over the long term, and what the American people are saying is we need to quit spending money, it’s that simple.” Read more »

“Getting our out-of-control budget deficit under control must be our top priority, and it will require all Americans to participate. Rather than criticizes the President’s proposal to freeze discretionary spending, I consider it an initial offer to Congress in what I hope will be a bipartisan dialogue that leads to real action. I fully expect the counter offer made by House Republicans to bring more robust ideas to the table as well, and I hope these include freezing discretionary spending across the board at fiscal year 2009 levels and doing away with the irresponsible spending increases in the current year’s budget. We should commit to staying on budget, just like any American family has to do, by doing away with off-budget, so-called ‘emergency’ measures and taking an up-or-down vote in the next two months on a constitutional amendment that requires Congress to balance the budget each year." Read more »

While the Massachusetts Senate race is a clear rejection of the policies put forward by President Obama and Congressional Democrats, Republicans must not lose sight of the fact that their own policies were rejected with equal fervor just three short years ago. The voters sent a clear message in Massachusetts, but I am worried politicians on both sides of the aisle will misinterpret that message and fail to give the American people the leadership they want and deserve. Read more »

“Like all Idahoans, my deepest sympathies go out to the victims of this catastrophe,” said Simpson. “Tragedy tends to bring out the best in Americans, and it is clear that this situation is no different, as Haiti has been flooded with vital assistance from individual citizens in the past week. I am hopeful that this legislation will provide an incentive for Americans to continue to give to rescue and recovery efforts in Haiti.” Read more »

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, in a letter to the White House, is urging the President to personally intervene in an effort to stop an Office of Management and Budget plan to gut the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Program in its Fiscal Year 2011 budget – with the States of Tennessee and Idaho taking the biggest hit. The Environmental Management Program funds environmental remediation efforts at nuclear energy sites like the Idaho National Laboratory. Read more »

“As elected officials, we are here to represent the best interests of the American public. It is only right that we are ALL informed about negotiations to a bill that will fundamentally change our healthcare system,” said Simpson. “If this bill is really what the American people want, as Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid would like us to believe, then why keep it a secret?” Read more »

“As you prepare to attend the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen, we caution you against pursuing environmental policies that will undermine job creation in our already fragile economy,” Simpson and Lewis wrote. “We are particularly concerned about efforts to address climate change that circumvent the legislative process, are not grounded unequivocally in sound science, and don’t reflect majority public opinion in the United States. Recent events suggest that this is precisely the course your Administration is pursuing with regard to greenhouse gas policy.” Read more »

“While Idaho families are struggling to make ends meet and one in ten Americans is out of work, the Democrats have been doing everything they can to kill jobs by imposing greater tax and regulatory burdens on our nation’s job creators,” said Simpson. “Businesses in Idaho have told me that they cannot afford to invest in job creation while Congress is debating costly and expensive healthcare reform, cap and trade, and other sweeping and burdensome regulatory reforms that will make it even more difficult for them to survive. Apparently the Democrats don’t realize the key connection between jobs and those who create them. Rather than looking for real solutions to our nation’s economic crisis, they are simply pouring money into old, failed policies.” Read more »

“Republicans insisted that TARP include a number of taxpayer protections, including a requirement that any repaid funds be returned to the taxpayer to pay down the federal debt,” said Simpson. “Obviously those protections were necessary—now that companies are paying back the TARP payments they received and the taxpayer is making billions of dollars in interest, the Democrats are trying to turn the program from a one-time emergency measure to a permanent slush fund for growing government.” Read more »

“We all know teachers who buy extra supplies to use in their classroom, supplies that enhance learning and aid in the development of our youth,” Simpson said. “Allowing teachers to write off this additional expense makes sense and it is simply the right thing to do.” Read more »