Mike Simpson

The cornerstone of the reforms is a permanent pay increase through a new authorization of a base rate salary table.

Funding or building and maintenance of roads in Indian Country is inadequate.

We don't want to be forced into a position where all of a sudden that, because of the annual appropriation process, you are going to have to lay off a couple thousand people or something like that.

I think that is a good discussion to have, but I think it should happen as part of the annual appropriations process.

I am very concerned, however, with the amount of new staff that are planned to be hired with this funding because, as you know, this funding will run out.

You need to come to Idaho and speak to some farmers because I will tell you, and these are not extremist farmers, MAGA farmers.

They ought to all be treated equally.

We are hearing from the Tribes and every entity. They train the law enforcement officers, and the law enforcement officers then go to the cities, you know, that have higher pay.

Somehow Congress has got to change the way we do NEPA and those other environmental laws, not to weaken them, not to take away the public's right to have a say in how things are managed

I agree with you fully that the public has a right to say how the public lands are managed.

I am not going to bring up whether it ought to be one land management agency with the BLM.

The Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho is the largest antimony reserve outside of Chinese and Russian control.

Idaho is rich in critical minerals, and it is vitally important we get these minerals out of the ground in Idaho and around the country.

It would be beneficial to discuss the Forest Service's plans for implementing these additional sources of funding.

They joined the Forest Service for their love of the outdoors and want to do their part to conserve and protect it.

Do you really think our adversaries, Russia and China, care what the Department of Defense and whether our NNSA can handle what they are requesting?

We ought to be able to come up with a rule that makes sense.

I support it. I support it fully.

Farmers are fearful of their practices and what they're going to be able to do and so forth.

I have some real problems with the WOTUS rule.

But before I die, I'm going to save Idaho's salmon runs. I hope you'll help us do that.

The major part of it is going to be nuclear energy.

What you and Congressman Zinke were talking about, you and I talked about at my office. We love our national parks to death.

We, technically, are not supposed to fund anything that is not authorized.

At that time, it had been 23 years since the Endangered Species Act had been reauthorized, and we knew that there would be an amendment to put the money in.