Read Congress’ lips: Most-uttered nouns include oil, energy, water

BOISE – A new project that tracks word usage in the Congressional Record shows that the most-used word by our current senior senator, GOP Sen. Mike Crapo, in the past year was “energy,” followed by, in order, “Idahoans,” “stories” and “prices.”

For 2nd District GOP Rep. Mike Simpson, the top word was “Idaho,” followed by “research,” “account” and “systems.” Does this tell us something of where their minds and efforts in Congress lie?

The word sample is smaller for our two newest members of the delegation, but the top word for GOP Sen. Jim Risch is “guard,” followed by “equipment,” “billion” and “reserve.” For Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick, the top word was “Idaho,” followed by “water,” “community” and “honor.”

And for the two members no longer serving, but still within the sample? Interestingly, the most-used word in the past year by both then-Sen. Larry Craig and then-Rep. Bill Sali was the same: “Oil.”

The Sunlight Foundation’s project “Capitol Words: Taking Congress at its word” can be viewed online at http://capitolwords.org/api/.

Two-nation confab set for Boise

The Pacific Northwest Economic Region, a consortium of state and provincial officials from the U.S. and Canada along with government and business leaders from both nations, will hold its 19th annual “summit” meeting in Boise this year, July 12-16, the first time the organization has held its annual conference in Idaho’s capital city.

Gov. Butch Otter announced the conference this past week with fanfare, saying it’s a chance to work on economic issues and “also to trade a lot of ideas.” The conference will focus on clean energy technologies; it’ll include an animal health summit and an energy institute for state and provincial lawmakers, a roundtable of university presidents from throughout the region, and an array of cross-border discussions.

Asked what Idaho wants from Canada, Otter said, “First off, I want their continued business. We do a billion dollars’ worth of business with Canada, and we’ve got a tremendous relationship.”

PNWER, whose immediate past president is Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, focuses on the two-state region’s global competitiveness, from energy to tourism to the environment.

A 30-member host committee has raised $100,000 in the past six months to fund the conference from more than a dozen business sponsors, including Avista, Idaho Power, Monsanto, Qwest and Battelle Energy. Attorney and lobbyist Roy Eiguren, who co-chairs the host committee with former Idaho House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, when asked how they managed to raise the money in such tough times, said, “People were generous, and we worked at it pretty hard. There’s a lot of interest in these bilateral issues.”

Otter gets No. 2 slot

Idaho’s Republican governor has been elected vice chairman of the Western Governors Association, at the same Utah meeting at which Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, was elected chairman of the group.

“It’s an honor and a challenge to take on this position,” Otter said. “It gives me a chance to advocate throughout the region for the kind of jobs- and opportunity-creating policies that we need in Idaho and around the West, to accomplish things in our part of the world that might never get done in Washington, D.C.”

Another hat in the ring

Idaho House Majority Caucus Chairman Ken Roberts, R-Donnelly, announced that he’ll run for the 1st Congressional District seat now held by Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick next year, making him the second Republican to announce; Vaughn Ward already is in the race. Still no word from former one-term GOP Rep. Bill Sali, whom Minnick defeated, on whether he’ll try for a comeback.

Panel sets first meeting

The eight-member legislative task force that was created this year as part of a session-ending transportation funding deal between Gov. Butch Otter and lawmakers has set its first meeting for June 30 at 10 a.m. at the Capitol Annex.

The panel is charged with identifying alternative funding sources for the Idaho State Police and the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, which are scheduled to lose millions in gas tax funding on July 1, 2010, with that money to instead shift to road work.

The legislative panel will be co-chaired by Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, and Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, the two lawmakers who also chair the budget-writing Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. Task force members include Sens. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston; Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls; and Diane Bilyeu, D-Pocatello; and Reps. Rich Wills, R-Glenns Ferry; Raul Labrador, R-Eagle; and Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow.