Washington, DC - The Idaho Congressional Delegation had this reaction to the news that the ten American detainees in Haiti have been charged with child kidnapping and criminal association in their attempt to take 33 children to the Dominican Republic. Eight of the detainees are from Idaho.

“We have been in regular communication with the State Department from the beginning of this situation, as well as working with the families of those involved. Our first concern has been that all ten of the detainees have their physical and medical needs met, as well as access to legal representation.

“While it is not good news that they have been charged, we are continuing to make certain they are treated humanely while this matter is resolved; we hope that the judge will act quickly. Additionally, we will continue our efforts with the Department of State to ensure the Haitian judicial process is followed and the case comes to a swift conclusion. This is a difficult time for the families of the individuals involved and we will continue to do what we can for them.”

Washington, D.C. – Staff members from Idaho Senator Mike Crapo’s Washington, D.C. office will visit several Idaho colleges and universities this month to inform students about internship possibilities in the Senator’s Idaho and Washington, DC offices.

Crapo’s Staff Assistant Mandi Critchfield, a former intern herself from Oakley, will meet with students and faculty during meetings in classrooms and student centers during mid-February. Critchfield will be joined by Legislative Correspondent Rachel Johnson, also a former intern and from Boise, who was recently promoted after managing the intern program for the last eighteen months.

The schedule for Crapo’s intern information meetings includes the following dates and locations:

Thursday, February 11
Boise All day, Boise State University, Career Center
(Information at Career Center, Classroom Presentations throughout the day)

Friday, February 12
Nampa 9:00 a.m.—Noon, Northwest Nazarene University, Student Center
Caldwell 2:00—4:00 p.m., College of Idaho, McCain Student Center, Student Union Building

Tuesday, February 16
Moscow 8:00—4:00 p.m., University of Idaho, Commons and Career Center

Wednesday, February 17
Lewiston 8:00—1:00 p.m., Lewis-Clark State College, Fine Arts Building

Thursday, February 18
Logan, Utah 9:30 a.m.—Noon, Utah State University, Career Center
(Individual interviews)

Friday, February 19
Rexburg 10:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m., Brigham Young University, Idaho, Ricks Building

More information can be obtained about Crapo’s internship program on Crapo’s website at http://crapo.senate.gov/resources/interns.cfm or by contacting the Senator’s Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-6142.

Washington, D.C. – Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, said today that three things are all Idahoans need to know about the Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Proposal released today by the White House: more spending, higher taxes and record deficits. Crapo said the proposal falls short of the spending restraint needed to address our skyrocketing debt.

“This budget proposes the opposite of what we need to revive the economy,” Crapo noted. “This proposal contains a record budget deficit of $1.56 trillion. It calls for $3.8 trillion in spending. It contains tax increases on working Americans and still pursues a government takeover of health care. Even with our fragile economy, and unemployment over 10 percent, the proposal would raise taxes on small businesses beginning in 2011. Our current level of debt, and the path of future debt that we are currently on, is both unsustainable and unacceptable.” Just last week, Crapo voted no as the Senate Majority approved a record debt increase to more than $14 trillion.

Crapo said the White House should provide increased incentives for job creation through tax policy, meaning tax relief, not tax increases. “There is a clear understanding that the worst thing we can do in times of recession is to increase taxes,” Crapo said. Spending has surged well beyond our historic average of revenue, and that is the cause of our deficits.

“This budget would continue the expansion of government by means of a second stimulus plan, when there is considerable evidence that the first one added nearly $800 billion to our national debt with little benefit for the economy. “We cannot spend ourselves into prosperity,” Crapo added. “More debt, higher deficits and more taxes are not the solution. We must encourage the efforts of the private sector to create jobs and not increase government. This budget will encounter very careful review in Congress and I encourage all Idahoans to review it closely.”

Crapo noted his support for some of the energy provisions in the budget to increase nuclear power generation by expanding loan guarantees, but he disagreed with plans to permanently close Yucca Mountain with no alternatives for the disposal of nuclear waste. “I appreciate that the Administration is trying to address the nuclear waste issue by appointing a Blue Ribbon Commission, and the membership of the panel is, on the whole, quite good,” Crapo noted. “However, that does not change the fact that having such a commission is unnecessary because the solution to our nuclear waste problem is obvious and clear. There is no scientific basis for closing Yucca Mountain; yet the Blue Ribbon Commission is prohibited from even considering Yucca Mountain as a possibility for future storage.”

Washington, D.C. – Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, along with Congressmen Mike Simpson and Walt Minnick issued the following statement today regarding the arrest of several Idahoans in Haiti relating to child abduction charges. The Idahoans, members of the Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian and the East Side Baptist Church in Twin Falls, were part of a U.S. delegation seeking to provide safe housing for Haitian children displaced by the earthquake in Haiti.

“Our offices are often asked to intervene to help Idahoans and, while it is not customary to discuss any details because of constituent privacy, family members and church leadership have allowed us to comment on the situation,” delegation members said.

“We are in steady contact with the U.S. State Department and the U.S. offices in Port-au-Prince regarding the holding of the 10 Americans, many of them from Idaho. We are working with the State Department to monitor the safety of these Idahoans and to make sure they have adequate food, water, medical care and proper housing. We hope for their return to the United States as quickly as possible.”

Washington, DC—Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch introduced a bill today that gives the U.S. Forest Service authority to permit private land owners to repair and maintain existing water-diversion facilities within the Frank Church-River of No Return and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness areas.

The affected diversions provide water for a number of purposes, including drinking water for private cabins and ranches. In some cases their lack of maintenance threatens the environment and watersheds.

To qualify for the permits, diversions must have been in existence at the time of wilderness designation and the owner must hold a valid water right predating that designation. Additionally, the facilities must have been in continuous use and their relocation outside of the wilderness area is not practical.

“These common-sense technical adjustments are normal and vital corrections that result in providing a win-win for landowners and the Forest Service,” Crapo said. “This action will not compromise continued use, wilderness values or the wilderness act. Allowing the Forest Service to provide permits for continued use as well as maintenance and repairs will be the correct path to resolving a lingering need.”

“This legislation gives the Forest Service another tool to protect some of the most rugged and scenic parcels of lands in all of Idaho while balancing the rights of those who used the land before it became wilderness area,” said Risch.

The bill, S. 2966, now moves to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on which Risch serves. A similar bill introduced by Congressmen Simpson and Minnick passed in the House earlier this week.

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate is bringing an expanded focus on teen dating violence through a resolution unanimously passed by the Senate earlier this week and championed by Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut), Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and others. S.Res. 373 designates the month of February as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, expanding the previous Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week (held the first full week of February).

Crapo worked with Lieberman, Whitehouse and Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi), James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and David Vitter (R-Louisiana) to win unanimous passage of the legislation that calls for prioritizing efforts to stop teen dating violence and outlines some of the disturbing trends regarding teen dating violence.

“Statistics show one in three adolescent girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner,” Crapo said. “We intend to increase our focus on stopping this form of domestic violence against all victims by expanding this national awareness to a full month and repeat our call to protect federal dollars designated to help all victims of domestic violence.”

The Senate Resolution approved unanimously by the Senate calls on communities to “empower teens to develop healthier relationships” and promote programs and activities to draw attention to the issue that puts teen victims at risk for “substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior, suicide, and adult revictimization.”

The Resolution says that “nationwide, 1 in 10 high school students (9.9 percent) has been hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend of girlfriend.” It calls for awareness among parents and children and community events on the issue and notes that abuse can keep victims from attending school and result in psychological problems later in life.