Washington, D.C. – The House Committee on Natural Resources passed H.R. 6510, the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act and H.R. 502 today, which permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson has been a leader on both issues having introduced legislation to reauthorize LWCF and address deferred maintenance on our public lands. “I am encouraged to see movement on both these important public lands issues,” said Simpson. “The positive momentum... Read more

Washington, D.C. - Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson joined a bipartisan coalition of members of Congress to introduce the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act. The bill would create a dedicated fund to address the $12 billion maintenance backlog in the National Parks (NPS) and multibillion-dollar backlog that exists at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). The proposal is consensus legislation that combines Congress... Read more

On Wednesday, the Department of the Interior announced fiscal year 2018 Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) payments, which compensate local governments for the inability to collect property taxes on federal land. Idaho is slated to receive $36.1 million in fiscal year 2018, along with the $26 million from Secure Rural Schools Payments (SRS) the Forest Service announced in May. PILT funding was made possible by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 which contained $530 million for the program.... Read more

Simpson Includes Important Idaho Provisions in Committee Passed Bill Watch the Congressman discuss Sage Grouse and Science Transparency at the EPA during the House Interior Appropriations Markup Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Appropriations Committee passed the fiscal year 2019 Interior and Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill by a vote of 25-20. Included in the bill are critical provisions for Idaho that provide relief from burdensome regulations, funding to prevent and sup... Read more

On Monday, the U.S. Forest Service announced Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payment distributions, which is critically important for Idaho’s rural counties. SRS funding fulfills the federal government’s responsibility to counties with tax-exempt federal lands, specifically counties with high percentages of national forests. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, which passed in March and was signed into law by President Trump, included two years of funding for SRS. Idaho received approximately... Read more

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today applauded the House passage of H.R. 1625, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, which included monumental benefits for Idaho and Western States. “This is a comprehensive and responsible package that contains so many important provisions for Idaho and Western States,” said Simpson. “It is the product of this past year’s worth of thoughtful deliberation and line-by-line analysis of every program in the federal budget. Funding our government through short t... Read more

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson applauded inclusion of a fire borrowing fix and forestry reforms in the Omnibus Appropriations bill. Simpson has long championed a fix to fire borrowing having authored the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act which would treat wildfires like other natural disasters. The Omnibus includes the core principles of this bill by addressing the rising cost of fire suppression and a budget mechanism to provide parity with other natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and torna... Read more

A group of eight senators and two representatives introduced a bipartisan, bicameral bill that will use revenues from energy production on federal lands to help pay for the over $11 billion maintenance backlog at our national parks. The senators – U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Angus King (I-Maine), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) Joe Manchin (D- W.Va.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Representatives Mike Simpson (R... Read more

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson released the following statement after the House Natural Resources Committee passed H.R. 4134 by unanimous consent. The bill would name the White Clouds Wilderness after former Idaho Governor and Secretary of the Interior, Cecil D. Andrus. “I am very grateful to Chairman Bishop and the Committee for passing legislation to honor the late Governor Andrus,” said Simpson. “Governor Andrus meant so much, to so many in Idaho. So do the White Clouds. It is only fitting th... Read more

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson discussed the issue of fire borrowing during a House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with Chief of the Forest Service, Tony Tooke this week. Specifically, Simpson emphasized the need to fund wildfires like other natural disasters. “Solving the issue of fire borrowing has been one of my top legislative priorities in Congress,” said Simpson. “In Idaho and other western states, fire-borrowing has decimated the budgets of... Read more