Second District Congressman Mike Simpson continues to make a case to be Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives some day. He believes in solving problems and making government work. We need more like him. He recently spoke candidly to the Idaho Conservation Leagues’ annual retreat at Redfish Lake. What he said was a breath of fresh air to those who are beginning to wonder if either political party will figure out that real solutions to the nation’s challenges will require compromise and bipartisanship. Simpson not only figured it out a long-time ago, he has taken steps to form a working coalition of like-minded Republicans and Democrats. His frustration is that outside of the “Gang of Six” in the Senate he sees little else that gives any hope that the Senate, which has failed to pass a budget for three straight years, will be of similar mind/Chris Carlson, The Carlson Chronicle. More here. (AP file photo of Mike Simpson & Butch Otter)

Question: Are you surprised that a congressional statesman hails from Idaho?

JEERS … to U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., Raul Labrador and Mike Simpson, both R-Idaho. The Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012 may be just sloppily drafted. Or the measure - which all three Republicans joined in passing Tuesday by a 274-146 vote — might deliberately expose the nation's wilderness lands to all-terrain vehicles, off-road traffic, motor boats and aircraft, as well as road-building, logging and mining. Ostensibly, it's about preserving the rights of hunters, anglers and recreationists - and putting endangered Democrats, such as Montana Sen. Jon Tester, on the wrong side of a National Rifle Association priority. The Wilderness Society is worried the bill seems to elevate rights of motorized recreationists, loggers and miners ahead of the wilderness values. If it were just the environmentalists saying so, you might dismiss it/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. Full Cheers & Jeers column here.

Question: Do you think the Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012 compromised our national wilderness?

Incumbent GOP Reps. Mike Simpson and Raul Labrador have received grades of “A-plus” and “A,” respectively, from the National Rifle Association. According to the NRA’s website, an A-plus candidate is “a legislator with not only an excellent voting record on all critical NRA issues, but who has also made a vigorous effort to promote and defend the Second Amendment.” An A signifies a “solidly pro-gun candidate” who “has supported NRA positions on key votes in elective office or (is) a candidate with a demonstrated record of support on Second Amendment issues”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Is a candidate's NRA grade important to you?

Nicole LeFavour knows what it’s like to fight incredible odds. LeFavour, Idaho’s only openly gay legislator, gave copies of the movie “Brokeback Mountain” for Christmas to 60 fellow members of one of the most conservative legislatures in the nation and pushed in vain a bill to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. “Watching good people get hurt is something you can only be a part of for so long,” she said. Now, LeFavour is leaving the state Senate in frustration. She’s taking on Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson, a well-funded veteran congressman of 14 years who has never had even a close race for re-election. No Democrat has held the congressional seat since Richard Stallings, who is LDS like many of his constituents, left office in 1993/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Wouldn't Sen. LeFavour have better served her party & constituency by staying in the Idaho Legislature, where she has a voice, than attempting a quixotic race against Congressman Mike Simpson?

Question:

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, who authored the federal legislation that removed Idaho wolves from protection under the Endangered Species Act, is worried that a wolf-kill bill approved by a Senate committee yesterday goes beyond the wolf management plan Idaho approved in 2002 - and could give a federal judge a reason to return Idaho wolves to the endangered list, the Idaho Statesman reports today.  The measure, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, a sheep rancher, would let let livestock owners whose animals are molested by wolves shoot the wolves from motorized vehicles, powered parachutes, helicopters or fixed-wing planes, by night or day, using rifles, pistols, shotguns, or crossbows, night scopes, electronic calls, and traps with live bait/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

Question: Would the Idaho Legislature be wise to deep-six attempts to kill more wolves?

Keeping company with some prominent national Republicans, Idaho 2nd Congressional District Rep. Mike Simpson made a dubious Top 10 list this week. Simpson was ranked No. 4 by the Los Angeles Times’ editorial board, in a year-in-review list of Congress’ Top 10 “enemies of the earth.” All 10 “enemies” are Republicans. Wrote the Times’ editorial board: “Simpson has stepped to the front lines of his party's war on Mother Nature by adding dozens of anti-environment riders to must-pass budget legislation. Among other things, Simpson aims to let mountaintop coal-mining operations continue to pollute streams, prevent the EPA from regulating coal-ash disposal, and exempt pesticide sprayers from complying with the Clean Water Act”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Do you see bias in that the L.A. Times' enviro “enemies” list has only Republicans in Top 10?

Really. The Sunlight Foundation's revamped “Capitol Words” rivals other online time-wasters. There's an Idaho page where you learn that the top five words spoken by Idaho members of Congress since 1996 are: Idahoans, Idaho's, Idaho, Boise and id. (Id? Is Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson, a notoriously voracious reader, channeling Freud from the well of the House? Oh, ID, as in the postal abbreviation for Idaho!) “Nuclear,” “agriculture” and “timber” are six, seven and eight, and “mountain” comes in No. 19. Also, you can search by legislator's name, and learn fun facts, including that “potato” is Simpson's 14th favorite word, ahead of No. 20 “dental,” a mouthful for a former dentist. Speaking of “potato,” Simpson ranks No. 3 in use of the word, trailed immediately by former Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Which word do you think you say most?

Amidst the noise that passes for discourse these days, the role of Idaho’s “Two Mikes” as national leaders on deficit reduction hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves. Sen. Mike Crapo and Rep. Mike Simpson are abandoning GOP orthodoxy to join hands with Democrats to find the only realistic solution: cutting entitlement spending and reforming taxes in a way that means new revenue. Crapo was a member of the 2010 deficit commission that built a framework for a lasting solution and has tirelessly sustained the effort as a member of the bipartisan “Gang of Six.” Simpson came later to the game, but his partnership with Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., persuaded 100 House members last month to touch their political parties’ third rails. Wise men — from Secretary of State Ben Ysursa to political scientist Jim Weatherby — could cite no previous example of two members of Idaho’s tiny congressional delegation playing leading roles on the major issue of a generation/Dan Popkey, Statesman. More here.

Thoughts?

Idaho Statesman columnist Dan Popkey had an interesting look on Sunday at the role Idaho's “two Mikes,” Sen. Mike Crapo and Congressman Mike Simpson, are playing in the current deficit reduction talks in Washington, D.C., at considerable political risk to their own careers. Writes Popkey, “Wise men — from Secretary of State Ben Ysursa to political scientist Jim Weatherby — could cite no previous example of two members of Idaho’s tiny congressional delegation playing leading roles on the major issue of a generation. 'It takes a lot of guts in this highly toxic anti-tax environment,' said Weatherby.” You can read his full column here.

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson and Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., say they want the “Super Committee” working on national deficit reduction to “Go big,” and they've got a bipartisan group of 100 lawmakers standing with them. The two unveiled a letter to the Super Committee and the names of its 100 signers at a Washington, D.C. press conference today; they want everything on the table in deficit reduction talks – including both increased revenues and cuts in entitlement programs – and they want the goal to be closer to $4 trillion in cuts over a decade, rather than the $1.2 trillion target the panel is required to propose by Nov. 23.

Simpson said, “This letter is signed by conservative, moderate, and liberal members of the House, and while their political philosophies may differ, they all understand the urgency that our national debt crisis represents. They understand that the Super Committee represents our best, and possibly only, chance to make the real reforms needed to return our country to fiscal health.” Click below to read his announcement, along with the full letter and list of signers; you can read a full report here from AP reporter Alan Fram in Washington, D.C.
  

Rep. Mike Simpson is taking the fight to the tea party wing of his Republican Party — and, potentially, taking the fight to his opponents in 2012. Simpson is helping to mobilize a bipartisan group in the House that would be willing to strike a big deal on deficit reduction. This deal could, and most likely would, include new taxes. Fiscally speaking, Simpson and his allies are on the mark. It may take a “grand bargain,” a deficit reduction plan in the $4 trillion ballpark, to take a real bite out of the deficit and head off any future downgrades in the U.S. credit rating. And it is impossible to get to that $4 trillion range without spending cuts and revenues. Politically speaking, though, this is a bold and risky move/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Is there any way to solve reduce our deficits without raising taxes somewhat?

In the same way that “compromise” has become a dirty word in American politics, the phrase “career politician” has little currency with some voters. About half of the 87 first-term U.S. House Republicans have never held elected office before. The problem with that, seven-term U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson says, is that successful business executives often have the hardest time adjusting to the complex and byzantine world of Capitol Hill politics. “It is frustrating to those people,” Simpson told the Statesman editorial board this week. “Our system of government was never meant to get anything done.” That observation prompted me to ask Simpson about the latest flavor of the month in the GOP presidential derby: the campaign of Herman Cain (pictured in AP file photo). The former Godfather’s Pizza executive has become a front-runner for the nomination, partly because of his attention-getting (but unimplementable) 9-9-9 income tax and national sales tax gimmick/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Why is this country so fascinated with non-politicians who aspire to become politicians?

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, who represents the 2nd Congressional District, was asked at the end of his talk to the Idaho Environmental Forum today about what he thinks of Idaho's new congressional districts, which just took effect today. “Love it,” he said quickly to laughter.

He added, “We didn't really participate in that,” and recounted how when he was Idaho House speaker and the late Jerry Twiggs was Senate president pro-tem, both had been through the 1990 reapportionment. “It was ugly, and there were 105 legislators trying to protect themselves,” he said. “We decided … we were going to put together a commission like some other states had done, because we were going to take the politics out of reapportionment.” Amid laughter, he said, “You can't take the politics out of reapportionment.”

“Nevertheless, I think the second commission did a great job, and I hope it's a model that'll be used by commissions in the future,” Simpson said, “to sit down, don't care where people live, don't care if you run incumbents against incumbents. Reapportion it so that it makes sense, which is what I think they did.”

As for the congressional district lines, he said, “That should be a pretty easy one - we've only got two congressional districts in Idaho. Go to Ohio where they're reducing two seats - it's getting kind of ugly there.” He said the new district plan, which simply moves the dividing line in Ada County to the west, “to me makes more sense than some of the other proposals.” He said, “I would ask people, would you rather have one representative who cares about Boise and needs to care about Boise, or two? So actually splitting Ada County, that's OK, and it's evenly split down the middle. … It's worked in the past, and I've always appreciated having Boise in our district.”

Today's job-killer, according to a news release from 2nd Congressional District Rep. Mike Simpson: federal environmental regulations that would extend to the use of manure. Simpson, R-Idaho, has co-sponsored a bill that would ensure that federal Superfund law would not be applied to the cleanup of manure and other “animal emissions. “In light of (the Environmental Protection Agency's) persistence in imposing its job-killing and unnecessary regulatory agenda on the American people, I believe it is important to clarify Congress’s intent on this issue,” Simpson said. “The Superfund law was never intended to regulate manure and other animal emissions as a toxic or hazardous substance. It defies common sense to presume that dairy and other producers who use manure as fertilizer should be regulated the same way as a chemical plant or mining operation”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Have you ever had a job that required you to shovel manure (of any kind)?

Idaho's 2nd District GOP Rep. Mike Simpson is No. 5 on AOL's list (of top energy lawmakers), according to a story published Thursday. Topping the list is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is noted for having blocked bills backed by Simpson and other House Republicans aimed at limiting the power of the Environmental Protection Agency. Simpson chairs the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees EPA spending and has proposed an 18 percent cut in EPA's budget, including funding for air quality rules. He also seeks to prohibit EPA from regulating greenhouse gasses/Dan Popkey, Statesman. More here.

Question: Do you agree with Mike Simpson's energy politics?

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson says a proposed USDA rule to limit potatoes, corn, green peas and lima beans to one cup per week in school lunches was “senseless” and costly, and he's hailing the passage in the House today of the fiscal year 2012 agriculture appropriations bill, HR 2112, which includes language designed to head off the rule. “The USDA proposed rule would have been another completely unnecessary, unfunded mandate by the federal government,” Simpson said, extolling the nutritional benefits of potatoes. “A medium potato contains over 200 milligrams more potassium than a banana and has as much fiber as a similar serving of broccoli,” the congressman said in a statement. Schools would have faced substantial increased costs to comply, he said; the approprations bill includes a clause directing the USDA to issue a new proposed rule that will not carry any increased costs for schools. You can read Simpson's full news release here.

Americans need to have an serious conversation about the federal budget deficit, says Rep. Mike Simpson, without resorting to “politically divisive and patently false claims.” But in defending a deficit-cutting blueprint crafted by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and passed by a GOP House, the Republican Simpson called President Obama's budget “half-hearted” and “un-detailed.” Said Simpson, in a guest opinion issued today, “(Obama) also completely reversed his previous commitment to finding bipartisan consensus, calling Mr. Ryan’s plan un-American and dishonest, and, incredibly, claiming that Republicans are committed not to deficit reduction but to pitting 'children with autism or Down syndrome' against 'every millionaire and billionaire in our society'”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Are you satisifed with the federal budget agreement approved last week?

When the spending cuts bill passed the House today, Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, issued a statement lauding its passage and noting that it includes his language to remove wolves from endangered species protections and defund the Department of Interior's Wild Lands initiative. “Congress has the constitutional responsibility to fund government operations, and choosing not to do so would have been a failure of leadership,” Simpson said in a statement. “It is important to recognize the sea change in public debate about spending has been taken up by Congress.  Just a year ago the conversation was about the government’s growing appetite for spending.  Today we passed a bill that cut more in spending than any other single bill in our nation’s history.  We still have a long way to go to address the deficit crisis facing our nation, but passage of H.R. 1473 is an important step in the right direction.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, voted against the bill. “I have been on the record supporting the delisting of wolves and defunding of the wild lands policy,” Labrador said in a statement. “I co-sponsored separate legislation designed to achieve both of those goals. There were some other aspects of this bill I agree with, but the level of spending cuts simply wasn’t high enough to garner my support.”

Click below for a full report from the Associated Press on today's House vote.

Also: Senate passes cuts 81-19, both Idaho senators vote no/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise

The House has passed a compromise budget plan to cut $37.8 billion in spending for 2010-11 — with Idaho's Republicans divided on the idea. Second District Rep. and House Appropriations Commiittee member Mike Simpson voted for the bill, which passed 260-167. First District Rep. Raul Labrador voted no. The plan contains two add-ons sought by Simpson: language to remove Idaho and Montana wolves from the endangered species list, and language banning the Bureau of Land Management from spending money on a “wild lands” policy that, according to critics, could open the door to additional federal wilderness/Kevin Richert, Statesman. More here.

Question: Are you happy with the compromise federal budget for 2010-11?

Two Western lawmakers say gray wolves in Montana and Idaho would be taken off the endangered list under the budget bill pending before Congress. Inclusion of the language to lift protections for wolves was confirmed by the offices of Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson on Saturday. A Simpson spokesperson said the bill also would prevent courts from reversing any Congressional action/Talk Radio 950 KOZE. More here. (AP photo for illustrative purposes)

Question: Who would you rather have oversight of wolf populations in Idaho, Montana, & Wyoming — the courts or Congress?

ENDANGERED SPECIES — Congressman Mike Simpson fast-tracked wolf delisting legislation Monday by tacking language onto a federal budget bill that would strip Endangered Species Act protection from wolves.

An Associated Press story origining from Eric Barker of the Lewiston Tribune says Simpson’s measure would reinstate a 2009 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule that removed wolves in Idaho, Montana and portions of eastern Oregon, eastern Washington and northern Utah from the list of federally protected species.

It would not be subject to judicial review that has twice overturned wolf delisting rules in the region.

“It makes no sense to call wolves in Idaho and Montana an endangered species. Not only do wolf populations far exceed recovery goals, but without proper management, those populations have grown to the point where they are adversely impacting other wildlife populations in the region and wreaking havoc for ranchers, hunters and public land users in Idaho,” said Simpson, R-Idaho

Read on for more details.

Third time's the charm? Rep. Mike Simpson is pushing a bill that would abolish the Internal Revenue Code and force Congress to come up with a replacement. Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson is an original cosponsor of H.R. 462, the Tax Code Termination Act. This legislation would abolish the Internal Revenue Code and call on Congress to fundamentally reform the federal tax system. “A new tax code should provide tax relief for working Americans, protect the rights of taxpayers, reduce tax collection abuses, and eliminate disincentives for savings and investment,” said Simpson in a news release. A GOP-controlled House has passed similar bills, in 1998 and 2000/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Do you support Congressman Simpson's bill to abolish the IRS and reform the federal tax system?

Speaking of the EPA, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, newly named chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, which oversees funding for the EPA, said of the agency: “The EPA is the scariest agency in the federal government, an agency run amok. Its bloated budget has allowed it to drastically expand its regulatory authority in a way that is hurting our economy and pushing an unwelcomed government further into the lives of Idahoans. As Chairman of this subcommittee, I look forward to bringing some common sense to the EPA and some certainty for our nation’s job creators”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

Question: Should environmentalists fear that Simpson is running the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment?

Speaking of the EPA, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, newly named chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, which oversees funding for the EPA, said of the agency: “The EPA is the scariest agency in the federal government, an agency run amok. Its bloated budget has allowed it to drastically expand its regulatory authority in a way that is hurting our economy and pushing an unwelcomed government further into the lives of Idahoans. As Chairman of this subcommittee, I look forward to bringing some common sense to the EPA and some certainty for our nation’s job creators.” Click below to read his full statement.

Idaho's Rep. Mike Simpson was holding the gavel today while part of the U.S. Constitution was being read on the floor of the House of Representatives, and he was quick to bring it down on someone shouting out a challenge to President Barack Obama's citizenship.

Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., was reading from Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, the part that says who can be president, and got to “No person, except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President…” when a cry came from the gallery.

“Except Obama! Except Obama!” a woman shouted.

Simpson banged the gavel, reminded everyone present of the need for following the rules of the House, and ordered the sergeant of arms to eject the woman.

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today cosponsored the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act.  This bill would fully repeal the job-killing health care law and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 that were signed into law last year. The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote on this bill as early as next week/Mike Simpson news release. More here. H/T: Idaho Reporter.

Question: Do you want to see the repeal of the 2010 Health Care & Education Reconciliation Act?

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an amendment to the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act which would repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy regarding homosexuals serving in the armed forces.  Idaho’s House delegation vote was split; Congressman Walt Minnick voted to repeal it, while Congressman Mike Simpson voted to keep it in place/Jay Howell, Idaho Reporter. More here.

Question: Which Idaho representative voted the way you wanted?