Representative Mike Simpson

Congressman Simpson's Weekly Recap

January 6, 2023

Beginning the 118th Congress

This week the House of Representatives convened to begin the work of the 118th Congress. I am grateful for the opportunity to be your representative and to continue fighting for Idahoans in Washington.

To best represent Idaho's 2nd Congressional District, I need and value the input of Idahoans. I hope you will share with me the things that are important to you.

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2022 – A Year In Review

An important part of my job is ensuring that federal agencies serve Idahoans in the way that they are supposed to, a job my team and I take very seriously. While we were are proud of our accomplishments in 2022, we are eager to get back to work in the new year and the 118th Congress.

From passports and tax returns, or VA and Social Security benefits — if you experience issues obtaining the services you seek, we want to help! Find out more by visiting my website or by contacting any of my district offices.

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Biden Admin Should Leave WOTUS Alone

Seven years ago, President Barack Obama tried to vastly expand federal jurisdiction over our waterways, aiming to regulate dry channels and other intrastate non-navigable waters.

While my Republican colleagues and I successfully blocked that effort and continue to uphold the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, the Biden Administration is back with a new rule on "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS). Moving forward with this rule, while it is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court, is a waste of resources and will only create confusion and uncertainty for our farmers and rural communities.

Last March, I joined 200 of my colleagues in urging the EPA to halt any efforts to redefine WOTUS until a Supreme Court decision was made. While I am disappointed that the Biden Administration has moved forward anyway, I will continue to fight against the expansive overreach of this rule. States like Idaho already have in place strong environmental protections and don't need additional federal "help" on something they can manage well.

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Simpson Statement on the FY23 Omnibus Package

Just days before Christmas, the U.S. House passed the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2617, FY23 Omnibus Appropriations. The bill, which will fund the government through Fiscal Year 2023, totaled $1.7 trillion and passed the House by a heavily partisan vote.

While there are plenty of individual provisions of this bill that I support, the positives did not outweigh the tremendous cost of the total package, and the irresponsible 11^th hour gimmicks thrown in by Democrats to hide the true cost of the package. I applaud the inclusion of more than $36.8 million for the worthy Idaho projects that I submitted, a rider to prevent sage grouse ESA listing, and the funding of critical defense provisions in the NDAA. However, the final package fails to address Americans’ most urgent needs and instead indulges Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats on one final, reckless, inflationary spending binge in the waning hours of their House majority.

The FY23 Omnibus package passed the Senate on December 22, 2023, by a vote of 68-29 and passed the House of Representatives December 23, 2022, by a vote of 225-201 and was singed into law by President Biden on December 29th, 2022.

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