Committee or Subcommittee.. That is the question.

Mike Crapo- Where the Fun Happens

Committees and Subcommittees

(Mike Crapo playing copy cat with his fellow Congressman)

Committee Work-

Everyone is begging for Mike Crapo to join their committees and subcommittees. If there were a Senator fantasy draft, Mike Crapo would be the overall #1 pick in everyone's draft. The reason, you may ask, is due to Mike Crapo's knowledge on large range of topics, his ability to adapt to any situation, his excessive background in law, his calm demeanor, and his overall, awesomeness. Mike Crapo's committee assignments (govttrack.gov is a very accessible and informative presentation of each Congressman's assignments and current events):

• Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs- is responsible for "areas of jurisdiction include, but are not limited to: banking, insurance, financial markets, securities, housing, urban development and mass transit, international trade and finance, and economic policy." This committee bodes well for Mike Crapo as banking and insurance happen to be the two biggest industries that help donate large contributions, so obviously, it is important to donors within his state that he maintains a position on this committee. This committee as large as it is busy. The committee is constantly voting on legislation such as the reforming of national usury laws or dealing with relations with Iran. Sadly, all of Mike Crapo's proposed legislation has been heard, but the committee is listening, so the bills have gathered dust. However, Crapo is able to show off his contributions and his work on such an important committee especially to more prospective contributors. 
• Senate Committee on Finance- To quote the Senate Finance Committee's website: "The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to: taxation and other revenue measures generally, and those relating to the insular possessions; bonded debt of the United States; customs, collection districts, and ports of entry and delivery; reciprocal trade agreements; tariff and import quotas, and related matters thereto; the transportation of dutiable goods; deposit of public moneys; general revenue sharing; health programs under the Social Security Act and national social security." (BROAD) For Crapo, this committee is his calling card especially as Idahoians are known for their watchful eyes on their purses. It is what he wants to be known for since this committee has power and publicity. This committee has power over a lot of money, which garners lots of attention and is great for credit claiming, advertising, and position-taking. The committee itself has not voted on much, but it is in the subcommittees where most bills are transported and deliberated on.
• Joint Committee on Taxation- is a nonpartisan committee that serves and discusses literally all aspects of taxation (zzz...snore...zzz). This committee has been quite bust of late recommending and clarifying specific legislation that has crossed its desk. Although this committee is not extremely influential in the passing of legislation as they lack authority to do so, being knowledgable on the ins and outs of the tax code can be very useful especially for someone like Crapo, who is constantly calling out Obama and his tax policies as well as the government in general. This committee gives him a large amount of credibility with voters and may make him useful to other Congressman due to his enhanced tax knowledge. 
• Senate Committee on the Budget- is charged with the monumental task to try to create a budget that can be agreed upon by most of Congress as it has be pass through both the House and the Senate and then through the President. But if everything were easy, then there would be no need for Mike Crapo in Congress. Mike Crapo is a strong critic of the budget in terms of the outrageous amount of debt and the excessive spending that has continued to raise this debt. To Idahoians, Crapo is our only hope to bringing this spending under control with his service on the budget committee. (or so he says) Year after year, this committee deals with one of the biggest issues facing Congress today.
• Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works- this committee may fly under the radar, but it is fairly important as they address and discuss important issues ranging from the Keystone Pipeline to air pollution. This committee tends to be either a no brainer like combating wildfires or a tough debate such as the Keystone Pipeline that has ignited a lot of debate. Idaho is a largely rural state that encompasses a lot of nature and wildlife that falls under the jurisdiction of this committee. Crapo is able to gain some credit claiming from this endeavor especially with the bill S.538, which is about Idaho's vehicles and highway maintenance. Although this bill has not left subcommittee, Crapo is able to soak up every little drop of publicity and credit for his state that he can muster. 
• Senate Committee on Indian Affairs - "The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has jurisdiction to study the unique problems of American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples and to propose legislation to alleviate these difficulties. These issues include, but are not limited to, Indian education, economic development, land management, trust responsibilities, health care, and claims against the United States". This committee is useful for Mike Crapo as Idaho has several reservations throughout the state that harbors a rather substantial Native American population, which can be useful for Crapo's campaigning strategy and garner some credit claiming. On February 5, 2015, Crapo introduced the Indian Trust Asset Reform Act, which is legislation intended to ensure continued benefits going to Native Americans, was referred to the Indian Affairs committee where it has sat idly for 2 months gaining dust. From an outside perspective, this looks like just a credit claiming move for Crapo and can easily shift the blame for lack of motion to the rest of the committee. Overall, the committee has not been very busy recently

Subcommittee-

In all honesty, the subcommittees are where the true magic happens as they deliberate about the specifics of the bill, nitpick every aspect of the bills, and find out what will be sufficient to pass on the floors of Congress. Unlike the committees that have broad, overreaching jurisdictions that reach far beyond the scope of just their title, the subcommittees are more narrowed and specific in their dealings. Although Congressman Crapo wishes he could be on every subcommittee, he was limited to these few:

• Securities, Insurance, and Investment (Chairman)- For the committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, this subcommittee is rather important especially for Mike Crapo as the donors who contribute to his campaigns are from this industry specifically. Currently, they have legislation that has been deliberated openly or that has been recommended, but Mike Crapo has made sure to emphasize his importance in this subcommittee.
• Financial Institutions and Consumer Protections- Once again, this is a large portion of the banking aspect of government and where Crapo wants to be in terms of expertise and knowledge as well as credit claiming. The name consumer protections implies that Crapo is doing his best to protect consumers, who just happen to be almost everyone in Idaho. They have no sponsored legislation yet.
• Housing, Transportation, and Community Development- Crapo deals with a lot of transportation throughout his (sub)committees and as shown with his new proposed legislation that deals with transportation. This subcommittee is rather large in scope, but deals with the major issue of housing reform and maintaining the housing market. This subcommittee has yet to pass any legislation as of late. 
• Taxation and IRS Oversight (Chairman)- Crapo was most likely able to get the appointment for this position through his extensive knowledge of tax code and taxation in general. In this position, Crapo has a lot of power over bills relating to taxation, which is useful as that is what people tend to complain about most. With the combination of this subcommittee and the joint committee on taxation, Mike Crapo holds quite a bit of power when it comes to taxation and combined with a chairman position, this may be his most important subcommittee.
• Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure- Strangely enough, this subcommittee is a part of the Senate Finance Committee that discusses issues like "Natural Gas Vehicles: Fueling American Jobs, Enhancing Energy Security, and Achieving Emissions Benefits". This subcommittee is useful to Crapo as he is able to show to his state, which has an abundance of natural resources, that he is making a difference for them in Washington and best representing their interests.
• Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth- Although this committee is rather small in its composition (only 4 Senators), they cover a key issue that Crapo is constantly relaying back to this state: fiscal responsibility. He is constantly discussion the lack of conscience Congress has when it comes to money and how he is trying to change that culture. This committee is currently discussing issues like "Examining Whether There is a Role for Tax Reform in Comprehensive Deficit Reduction and U.S. Fiscal Policy".
• Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight- Crapo was selected for this committee as he is not afraid to take out the trash when it comes to legislation. Although he use to be ranking member (replaced by Mike Rounds), Crapo's dedication has ceased to lessen. This subcommittee deals a lot with environment maintenance and the overseeing of those programs that do so. Currently, the subcommittee has not passed any legislation, but that makes sense as Senator Crapo has been cleaning up trash since the 1990s.
• Clean Air and Nuclear Energy- this subcommittee deals a lot with the topic of climate change, which is a rather large topic to tackle, but an important one. They also deal with cleaning air pollution and nuclear waste. This subcommittee is an important one for Crapo as it encompasses a lot of pollution work, which is a problem in Northern Idaho from all the coal mining.
• Transportation and Infrastructure- the major issue being dealt with here is the federal highways and public works projects, which tend to be overlooked sometimes, but not by Mike Crapo, who sees this subcommittee as an opportunity to fix up what he can with what he has. This subcommittee is useful to Crapo for one big topic and that is the reforming of the federal highways in Idaho, which has been campaigning for since he got into office.

As you can tell, Mike Crapo is a busy man, but he lives for this. He asks for these assignments because he can handle it and it is what the people want. However, he must be careful because you know the old saying, "More Committees, More Problems".