Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson responds to the release of the president’s budget for FY 2014. “President Obama’s budget proposal, though it does acknowledge the $16.8 trillion nation debt and offers some noteworthy reforms, still falls well short of the kind of long-term serious debt proposal needed to spur growth, restore confidence, and bring common-sense budgeting back to Washington, D.C.,” said Simpson. The President’s budget never comes to balance, and it only offers $1.8 trillion in defic...
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“The House of Representatives passed the House Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2014 this week, offered by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. I supported this budget and was pleased that it passed with strong Republican support. “A budget resolution is an important document, but there are misconceptions about what exactly a budget resolution is, and what it does. Rather than directing how taxpayer dollars are spent, the real purpose of a budget resolution is simply setting “caps,” or limits, ...
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Congressman Simpson today supported H.R. 890, the Preserving Work Requirements for Welfare Programs Act of 2013. This bill would extend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and reject “guidance” issued by the Obama Administration last year to allow states to waive work requirements for welfare recipients. The bill passed the House 246 to 181. The issue became embroiled in controversy last July when the Department of Health and Human Services announced it would grant waivers...
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President Obama canceled all public White House tours effective Saturday, March 9, 2013 until further notice due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration. House Speaker John Boehner announced yesterday that the United States Capitol Building, while receiving the same sequester, will continue welcoming visitors for public tours. If you are visiting Washington and would like a Capitol tour please visit my website at /constituentservices/washingtondc.htm to schedule one.
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Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today supported a continuing resolution that extends government operations through the end of the fiscal year with a provision specifying that cuts under sequestration must be enacted for all non-security accounts as required by current law. Simpson, who chairs the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, was instrumental in ensuring that the CR included adequate funding for fire suppression shortfalls in FY13. “Idaho and the West faced an intens...
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Idaho’s Territorial Sesquicentennial ---------------- SPEECH OF HON. MICHAEL K. SIMPSON OF IDAHO IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 4, 2013 Mr. Speaker: On this day in 1863, 150 years ago, President Abraham Lincoln signed a congressional act creating the Idaho Territory. Twenty-seven years later, part of that territory would become the 43rd State, the State of Idaho. The Idaho Territory was initially much larger than the borders of Idaho today; it included most of what would later become Mon...
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