Noting that Interior’s ruling is now facing a court challenge, the Delegation and Governor said that Secretary Salazar is to be commended for his determination—and he should stand by his decision concerning sage grouse. “We need to ensure that our collective attention to this important issue does not wane or is overshadowed by inaction in the coming months,” the Idahoans wrote. Read more »

During the hearing, Simpson asked Director Abbey what the BLM is doing to address the significant backlog in grazing permits. Last week the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that sage-grouse is “warranted but precluded” from listing under the Endangered Species Act. Simpson expressed his concern that this decision would put an additional burden on the BLM, which is responsible for managing most of the current sage-grouse habitat, without providing additional resources for the agency to address its current backlog. Read more »

“We’re not talking here about trying to reduce arsenic from 100 parts per billion to ten, we’re talking about communities having to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to reduce it by two parts per billion. It should be up to rural communities to determine if twelve parts per billion is acceptable for their drinking water, or if they should tax people out of their homes in order to try to obtain EPA’s arsenic standard of ten parts per billion,” said Simpson. “Nobody cares more about the safety of a community’s drinking water, or is more eager to do the right thing to protect it, than the people who live, work and raise families there.” Read more »

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today shared an Idaho perspective when Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell testified at the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee regarding the FY2011 Forest Service Budget request. Simpson is Ranking Member of the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds the Forest Service. Read more »

“One thing I heard time and time again when I was home was the dramatic impact EPA is having on Idaho communities,” said Simpson.  “Mayors throughout our state are at their wit’s end trying to meet EPA’s standards under the Clean Water Act and are forced to make difficult and even impossible budget decisions to do so.  Some cities are so frustrated that they are prepared to hand EPA the keys to the city.  No agency should have this kind of control over local governments.” Read more »

"EPA’s public response to the so-called ‘Climate-gate’ issue is unsatisfactory at best," said Simpson. "Idahoans are frustrated that we are basing major, far-reaching policy changes and significant funding increases on scientific data that has been called into question, but their concerns are being summarily dismissed by the EPA, which simply claims that ‘the science is sound.’" Read more »

“The EPA’s recent decision was a shot across Congress’s bow, telling us that if we don’t act quickly to pass sweeping, controversial climate change legislation, the EPA is going to do it for us,” Simpson said. “Unelected bureaucrats at EPA should not be allowed to circumvent the legislative process or override the will of the American people. It’s clear that we need to take action through H.R. 4572 to prevent them from doing so.” Read more »

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, has secured funding to help Idaho communities meet Clean Water Act standards and for efforts to recover sage-grouse as part of the final Fiscal Year 2010 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill. Read more »

“Idaho is known across the country as a great place to hunt and fish, and many Idahoans consider the opportunity to pursue these activities as one of the best things about living in our state,” said Simpson. “Public lands offer outdoor sportsmen and women the chance to hunt, fish, and shoot in many of Idaho’s most beautiful wild places, and I want to ensure that they continue to have access to these areas.” Read more »