August State Work Period: Visiting
Idahoans on the Ground
Congress typically
takes a break from votes and the hustle and bustle of Washington,
D.C., in August in order to spend more time on-the-ground in our
respective states and districts. I’m in Idaho this month
visiting with folks in almost every region, discussing the hard work
Idahoans are doing and learning about policies that would better
support those efforts here at home. Below is a snapshot of a few
of my visits so far. You can keep up with more of my visits on X
(@MikeCrapo)
or Facebook (Facebook.com/MikeCrapo).
Senator Crapo visits
Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, the region’s largest
medical facility and Idaho’s only burn center.
Senator Crapo visits
with Dr. Rich Aman, former President, and Dr. Lori Barber, current
President, of the College of Eastern Idaho.
Senator Crapo
assembles solar light kits for war-torn families in Ukraine with
Idahoan Lena Contor.
Senator Crapo visits
Idaho State University and the Veterans Student Services
Center.
IN CASE YOU MISSED
IT:
As Ranking Member of the Senate Finance
Committee, I am committed to ensuring tax, health care and trade
policies best meet the needs of Idahoans. Below is a snapshot of
some of the headlines of my efforts you may have missed.
RealClearMarkets:
A Call to Extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
By Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo, August 20
As the Democratic National Convention kicks off, the Biden-Harris
administration is forced to defend four years of reckless spending and
the ensuing inflation crisis. With no way to justify the prices
crushing American families, the DNC platform targets the Trump tax
cuts, promising another Democrat term will “make the wealthy and
big corporations pay their fair share.” Vice
President Harris has said that she would raise the corporate
tax rate; she has previously
supported repealing Republicans’ tax cuts
altogether. With many of the Republican-enacted Tax Cuts
and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions set to expire at the end of 2025, and
amid Democrats’ continued attacks on many of those provisions,
now is a good time to evaluate how the bill really
worked.
Idaho
State Journal: Sen. Crapo talks nuclear energy, federal
judges and debt during Pocatello visit
By Journal
Staff, August 6
He's also nervous about the economic
impact of the 2017 tax act. If the act is allowed to expire at the end
of 2025 it will mean a tax hit of over $4 trillion for the American
people. Crapo said the debate in Congress over what to do about the
expiring tax act will be "the biggest tax battle in a decade."
He said if the Democrats get their way and raise corporate tax rates,
corporations will pass on those tax hikes to consumers in the form of
higher prices. He said labor will be impacted in terms of
fewer jobs and lower wages and retirees will take a financial hit via
a diminished stock market.
Axios:Drug
Pricing
By Peter Sullivan, August 15
The
other side: “Although affordable health
care remains a pressing challenge for too many Americans, misguided
government overreach is not the solution,” said Senate Finance
Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo, one of the few Republican
lawmakers to weigh in. He pointed to Finance’s bipartisan PBM
legislation as an alternative.
Newsweek:Republicans
Warn Joe Biden's Medicare Plan May Break the Law
By
Suzanne Blake, August 14
Based on these concerns,
Republicans are asking the Government Accountability Office to look
into the Medicare changes. "Consideration of these types of
programmatic changes should fall within the purview of the legislative
branch," Senate Finance Committee ranking member Mike Crapo
(R-Idaho), House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith
(R-Mo.) and U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy
McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said in a letter to the agency.
Financial
Regulation News:Sens. Crapo, Wyden seek information from Social
Security Administration on use of AI
By Dave
Kovaleski, August 9
U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo (R-ID)
and Ron Wyden (D-OR) are seeking information from the Social Security
Administration (SSA) on its use of artificial intelligence (AI),
particularly when it comes to making decisions about benefit
eligibility or payment amounts. The SSA has used AI systems
for more than 20 years to help with important tasks such as reviewing
and expediting certain disability claims, identifying possible fraud
or abuse, and flagging cases with high expected overpayment for
additional review.
CNBC:
The unemployment insurance program is unprepared for a recession,
experts say
By Greg Iacurci,
August 9
Renewed fears of a U.S. recession have put a
spotlight on unemployment. However, the system that workers rely on to
collect unemployment benefits is at risk of buckling — as it did
during the Covid-19 pandemic — if there's another economic
downturn, experts say. . . . U.S. Senate Finance Committee
Chair Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking committee member Sen. Mike Crapo,
R-Idaho, and 10 co-sponsors proposed bipartisan legislation
in July to reform aspects of the unemployment insurance
program.
Contact
Me
Have questions about a
federal policy issue not listed here, or need help with navigating
paperwork at a federal agency? Contact me at one of my seven
offices across Idaho and Washington, D.C., by visiting my website
at: https://www.crapo.senate.gov/contact
