Mike "No Crap"o's Second Blog: "Traveling Man"
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| (Mike Crapo showing his 'hip-hop" side to future voters at an Idaho elementary school) |
Senator Crapo's Travel
Senator Crapo travels quite a bit especially as the capital of Idaho (Boise) is approximately 2,400 miles away from Washington D.C., which means choosing to keep in touch with his constituents or perform his duty as serving Senator in Washington. From what I have noticed, the Senator spends a majority of his time in Washington D.C., where he feels that he should be at a majority of the time. Crapo even tells his constituents to stop by his office and see him while they are in Washington. The last time Crapo went on a major touring of his state was during his apology tour (source is Politico, which is a well known political website) after his drunk driving incident, but has not done very many large scale Idaho tours. However, in all of Crapo's previous elections, he has not been truly challenged by another candidate, which may play into his mindset. Senator Crapo has been able to travel for recently as Congress has on break for a state work period (the United States Senate's official website). For the most part, it seems that Mike Crapo spends a lot of time on Capital Hill as he has been in session for a good majority of the year so far. Recent places Mike has managed to travel to are:
- On February 23, Crapo was back in his Washington D.C. office voting on Capitol Hill. (Source showed Crapo's recent voting in Washington as he was in Washington for the people)
- On February 20, Crapo visited American Falls, Idaho to discuss creating a sustainable budget, which he is on the Senate Budget Committee (local news source that covered Crapo's visit). Crapo really tried to hammer home his dedication to representing the local, everyday Idaho resident.
- On February 19, Crapo visited Twin Falls, Idaho meeting with several people ranging from local radio hosts, an academic awards dinner, and local newspaper editors.
- On February 18, Crapo visited and discussed various issues, mostly involving the budget, with local constituents at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, ID.
- On February 17, Crapo went before the Idaho House and Senate to discuss current issues such as budget issues.
- February 4, Crapo was in Washington D.C. with the Senate Finance Committee in hearings throughout the day. This is arguably Crapo's most important position in the Senate as this is where he receives a majority of his funding.
- February 3, Crapo helped introduced the Clay Hunt SAV Act in Washington D.C.
Press Releases - Taking Care of Business
When Mike isn't traveling back forth between Idaho and Washington D.C., visiting with his family, cruising around in Virginia (shhh), giving mouth to gill recitation to endangered fish (as shown above), and being an all-around outstanding American, Senator Crapo is working for the people. Speculated to never sleep, Mike Crapo works endlessly to make this great country is up and running. He keeps watch while all others sleep into the night. Mike Crapo has made sure to keep everyone, especially his constituents, aware of the work he has been doing. His website contains Crapo's recent press releases dating back to last year. A few recent press releases are:
- February 18th - Mike Crapo and fellow Idaho senator Jim Risch introduced the SCRAP (Stopping Costly Regulations Against Produce) to the U.S. Senate to combat the FDA's fresh produce rule that negatively impacts farmers. Agriculture is a substantial part of Idaho's economy and makes sense for Crapo to introduce such a bill.
- February 12th - Mike Crapo, along with a few fellow Senators, introduced another piece of legislation called the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program to help support law enforcement, schools, and roads. As Idaho is largely a rural state with small schools dispersed amongst the long, rural roads, this piece of legislation makes a lot of sense for Crapo to introduce and make sure his constituents see.
- February 6th - Mike Crapo made sure that his constituents, especially those of the military and the aerospace background, felt his frustration with President Obama and Congress as the Air Force has planned to retire the A -10 Thunderbolt II.
- February 5th - Mike Crapo, with the two Colorado Senators, introduced the Water and Agriculture Tax Reform (WATER) Act, which seeks to reform outdated tax provisions that have reduced investments in the advancement of infrastructure. The bill would allow for less restrictions on irrigation and ditch companies to raise more capital for further investment. This would help aide the rural farmers, of which there are many, in Idaho especially in the Southern part of Idaho, which is arid and dry.
Mike's Mailers
Senator Crapo is all about making sure that his constituents are keeping up with him by sending
sending out monthly newsletters both electronically and physically. If interested on knowing how much Senator Crapo does for Idaho and more importantly, America, sign up now. In his January newsletter, Mike Crapo lets everyone know what he is doing on the hill with his classic "No Crap"o dealings on Capitol Hill. A few of the topics discussed are:
- Stopping Federal Education Mandates
- Fiscal Reform (The Debt Crisis)
- Reducing Federal Regulations on Small Businesses
- Limiting Presidential Power To Create National Monuments
- Reaffirming the Second Amendment Rights for Americans
Senator Crapo also sends out mass letters to his constituents as he receives hundreds of letters every week and his hands, although the fastest writing hands in Congress, can not possibly be able write back every letter so he responds with letters online that cover the main issues that he receives letters about. Although, it is not unheard of for Crapo do a bit of franking as in 2009 and 2010, he spent $7,657 and $3,537 respectively, even though he had a budget of $50,000 for each fiscal year. These letters cover these issues:
- Mistreatment of Veterans
- Clean Water Act Jurisdiction
- Mortgage Relief
- Immigration Reform and Border Security
- Dissatisfaction with the Obama Administration
Senator Crapo is not bothered to help his local constituents out when they are in a jam or need help speeding up the process with various government agencies.
Crapo's Sponsored and Cosponsored Bills
Senator Crapo has been a busy man on Capitol Hill getting his name on a large amount of bills. However, a lot of his introduced bills have not made a large amount of headway. However, it is interesting that Crapo's amount of bills have increased in recent months. Some of Crapo's recently sponsored bills that he has introduced:
As I read the large amount of bills that Crapo is associated with, it seems that he is consistently playing it safe while making sure to represent his constituents, but also, not rocking the boat. This is Mike "No Crap"o's motto and it has got him pretty far.
- S.494 - A bill to prohibit the use of any Federal funds to finalize, implement, or enforce the proposed rule entitled "Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption". Referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
- S.440 - The name of this bill is the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act. This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.
- S.383 - A bill is to mainly provide for Indian trust asset management reform. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
- S.331 - The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2015 that extends the compensation trust fund for 19 more years. The Act has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Crapo has also been active in recently cosponsoring numerous amounts of bills. A few of these are:
- S.1 - Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act, which was presented to the President on February 24, 2014 as it has passed through both houses.
- S. Res. 30 - A resolution designating the week of January 25 through January 31, 2015, as "National School Choice Week", which has passed through the Senate without amendment.
- S. Res. 76 - A resolution welcoming the Prime Minister of Israel to the United States for his address to a joint session of Congress, which was introduced to the Senate and referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
