Free Republic

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers, agriculture groups and farmworker organizations are pushing to pass an overhaul of the farmworker visa program through both chambers of Congress before the GOP takes control of the House next year. A bill providing a path to citizenship for about one million farmworkers—and creating a capped number of new year-round visas—passed the House in March 2021, with the support of 217 Democrats and 30 Republicans. The measure is generally supported by immigrant advocacy groups and by farmers who say they struggle to find enough people to harvest their crops. Republicans generally oppose efforts to provide legal status to people...

Under pact, 20% of profits above 10% margin would be siphoned off by tax authorities in participating countries where corporations operate. ============================================================================= President Joe Biden and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen are urging Congress to approve an international agreement for a global corporate tax of 15%, raising alarm among key GOP senators of an administration plan to circumvent the Senate's treaty power under the U.S. Constitution. Some Republicans argue the global tax — on top of other tax hikes proposed by the Biden administration — would destroy American businesses and worsen the U.S. economy. The global tax is necessary to...

Former President Donald Trump announced three endorsements on March 5, backing the reelection of Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, and the Arkansas attorney general bid by the state’s Republican Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has struck a gentlemen’s agreement with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) to allow a vote on his trade deal with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) as an amendment to a China competitiveness bill. The amendment has a good chance of passing, and the breakthrough between Schumer and Crapo means there’s now a chance the competitiveness bill, which has been renamed the Innovation and Competition Act, could pass Thursday.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Angus King (I-ME), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Mike Lee (R-UT) reintroduced the bipartisan Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act, S. 4074, to protect property owners’ rights, defend innocent Americans, and restore the Fifth Amendment’s role in civil forfeiture proceedings. “The federal government has made it far too easy for government agencies to take and profit from the property of those who have not been convicted of a crime. The FAIR Act will uphold the Fifth Amendment and ensure government agencies no longer profit from taking American citizens’ property without due process....

The three-term senator, who is on the ballot next month, first disclosed his intention to vote for the Republican ticket during an interview with conservative talk show host Neal Larson last Friday. Though Crapo said he wanted a “different choice” for his party’s nominee, “that’s not what we’re going to get,” the senator acknowledged. Crapo wasn’t the only senator to reverse his decision to un-endorse Trump. Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and Deb Fischer of Nebraska similarly waffled days after they revoked their support for the Republican nominee.

Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho says he’ll be voting for Donald Trump after all. This, after Crapo earlier this month rescinded his endorsement of the presidential candidate. In a statement released Monday, Crapo says he will vote for Trump to keep Hillary Clinton from becoming president. “The choice we have is between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Given that choice, I will vote for the Republican ticket, Trump and Pence. We must elect a President who will appoint strong Supreme Court justices who will interpret the Constitution as it was written and who will help lead us to...

Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence today in an Alexandria, Va., court and was sentenced to 180 days, all of them suspended. He will also be paid a $250 fine and court fees, will take a DUI course, and will have his driver's license suspended for 12 months. He could apply for a restricted license in the meantime. Crapo, a Mormon who has said he does not drink alcohol, was arrested on December 23 in Alexandria, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C. His blood alcohol was recorded at 0.14 after he was brought to jail,...

Sen. Mike Crapo talks to media in November 2010 on the night he was elected to his third six-year term. DARIN OSWALD — Darin Oswald / Idaho Statesman |Buy Photo The senator has 'significant concerns' about Saturday's trading five Taliban leaders for the Idaho soldier. GOP Sen. Mike Crapo said Thursday that he earlier objected to an Obama administration proposal to free six Taliban prisoners in exchange for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Congress was informed about the plan to exchange prisoners at Guantanamo for Bergdahl and Crapo was among those who “pushed back very strongly,” he told the Statesman....

The 60 Plus Association today released TV and radio advertisements in seven states targeting Senate Banking Committee Members who are sponsoring recently introduced legislation that will allow the government to take over the mortgage industry in an action 'disturbingly similar' to Obamacare. 60 Plus targeted three Democrat and four Republican U.S. Senators supporting this government take-over, including Joe Manchin (D-WV), Mark Warner (D-VA), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Dean Heller (R-NV), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Jerry Moran (R-KS).

Last month on February 25, 2013, Idaho United States Senator Mike Crapo in a response letter to citizen concerned about Obama's eligibility made this statement: "The Constitution and federal law require that, among other things, only native-born U.S. citizens (or those born abroad, but only to parents who were both American citizens) are eligible to be President of the United States." According to the republican Senator, that makes Ted Cruz, who was born in Canada to one American parent, not eligible to be president. Where the Senator gets it wrong is when he says 'native-born U.S. citizens are eligible to...

Police in Alexandria, Va., said Sunday that the Idaho Republican was pulled over after his vehicle ran a red light. Police spokesman Jody Donaldson said Crapo failed field sobriety tests and was arrested at about 12:45 a.m. He was transported to the Alexandria jail and released on an unsecured $1,000 bond at about 5 a.m.... Police said Crapo, who was alone in his vehicle, registered a blood alcohol content of .110. The legal limit in Virginia, which has strict drunken driving laws, is .08.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- Authorities say U.S. Sen. Michael Crapo has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence in a Washington, D.C. suburb. Police in Alexandria, Va., said Sunday that the Idaho Republican was pulled over early Sunday morning after his vehicle ran a red light. Police spokesman Jody Donaldson said Crapo failed field sobriety tests and was arrested at about 12:45 a.m. without incident. He was transported to the Alexandria jail and released on an unsecured $1,000 bond at about 5 a.m.. Donaldson said he didn't immediately know what Crapo's blood alcohol level was. Crapo has a...

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that a proposal offered by Republican and Democratic senators is “a very significant step” that represents “the potential for bipartisan consensus” on resolving the impasse over cutting the deficit and raising the debt ceiling. In an appearance in the White House briefing room, Obama urged congressional leaders to embrace the “Gang of Six” proposal, which would slash the deficit by $3.7 trillion over 10 years, in part by raising about $1 trillion in new revenue. We have a Democratic president and administration that is prepared to sign a tough package that includes both spending cuts,...

  The once moribund Senate “Gang of Six” regained new life Tuesday after Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn unexpectedly rejoined the group — and more senators are now coalescing around a new proposal that would cut the debt by as much as $3.7 trillion over the next decade. Other top senators are also getting behind the plan, including Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the No. 3 Senate Republican, who told a group of senators Tuesday he would back the Gang of Six’s proposal, sources say. The fast-moving developments mean that elements of the proposal could influence the stalled talks to raise the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Time running short to raise the government's borrowing limit, President Barack Obama on Tuesday hailed a plan by a bipartisan senators' group on deficit reduction as the kind of "balanced approach" the nation is looking for. He said it's time for Congress as a whole to rally around such a proposal. "We don't have any more time to engage in symbolic gestures, we don't have any more time to posture. It's time to get down to the business of actually solving this problem," the president said. Obama spoke even as House Republicans pushed toward a vote on...

Gang of Six negotiators are close to striking a deal on a deficit-reduction package, according to Senate sources.  White House officials and Democrats are pressing for the six negotiators to wrap up their talks by the Easter recess beginning on April 16. There is no deal yet, however, and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has made clear that he will not be held to an arbitrary timeline.  Coburn has also insisted that a broad deficit reduction package include Social Security reform, something that Democratic negotiators such as Sens. Kent Conrad (N.D.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.) argue should be handled separately.  The...

Two Republican senators on President Obama's deficit commission -- Tom Coburn and Mike Crapo -- announced Thursday that they support the recommendations put forth by the panel's chairmen, which include $2.2 trillion in cuts to discretionary spending and $1 trillion in tax increases over the next nine years.

Republican Senator Mike Crapo continues to hold a big lead over Democrat Tom Sullivan in his bid for reelection in Idaho. The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Crapo picking up 64% support, while Sullivan picks up 27% of the vote. Just three percent (3%) prefer another candidate in the race, and six percent (6%) are undecided. In May, Crapo held a 66% to 22% edge over Sullivan. Crapo was unchallenged for reelection in 2004 in the strongly Republican state and faced no serious opposition this year until Sullivan, a businessman, recently entered the race. Rasmussen...