Gem State Wire

WASHINGTON—Heading into yet another Congressional recess, U.S. Senator Jim Risch shared a list of several of his priorities for Idaho.

“The Senate’s slow pace often gets in the way of moving the needle on things Idahoans care about,” said Risch. “I’m working on a number of priorities in hopes of making progress for our communities.”

Several issues the Senator is working on include:

• Stopping the Lava Ridge project from proceeding;
• Helping small businesses gain better access to cybersecurity resources;
• Supporting hydropower;
• Updating the reauthorization for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and
• Ensuring Idaho’s lands are healthy and accessible.

On Lava Ridge:

“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again,‘Don’t do it!’” said Risch. “Idahoans have been clear they don’t want the Lava Ridge windfarm on our public lands, and I will continue to be their voice in Washington pushing back against the Bureau of Land Management.”

On Helping Small Businesses with Cybersecurity Access:

“Cyber-attacks are on the rise across America, and unfortunately, our small businesses are especially vulnerable,” said Risch. “I’m working on legislation that will help Idaho’s small businesses gain greater and easier access to cybersecurity resources and information through the Small Business Administration and its partners.”

On Supporting Hydropower:

“Hydropower is an important source of reliable and clean energy for Idahoans. Protecting the Snake River Dams and other federal water infrastructure is pivotal to Idaho,” said Risch. “It’s also extremely important to ensure our other private infrastructure can continue to operate efficiently. I am supporting legislation that will protect our federal hydropower facilities and streamline dam licensing and relicensing efforts.”

On Updating the Reauthorization for the FAA:

“Having an airport within the Boise city limits is not only a great asset but a necessity to residents, though of course, it comes with more aircraft noise disturbance for families and businesses. With the increase of air traffic and the explosive residential growth in west Boise, noise complaints have continued to grow. This is not uncommon for urban airports, and all stakeholders must work together to reach reasonable solutions,” said Risch. “At this time, Congress is working on a five-year reauthorization of the FAA, which provides us with a once in five-year opportunity to address the issue.

“I have been working for some time to address these noise issues, and recently inserted legislative text in the upcoming FAA bill that would standardize flight paths over west Boise in the same way airport cities like Salt Lake City, Denver, Chicago, and Minneapolis/St. Paul already do. The good news is the vast majority of flights on the western side of the airport already fly in the lane provided. This update would minimally affect the status quo, and total discretion would be provided to pilots in the event of an emergency,” Risch continued. “Throughout this process, the FAA and other stakeholders provided lots of helpful feedback, and there’s additional work ongoing. You can find the language here, and please feel free to contact my office if you have feedback to share. While we believe this is the final language or close to it, we want to make this legislative language the best it can be, and reach a reasonable point that all stakeholders can live with.”

On Ensuring Idaho’s Lands are Healthy and Accessible:

“Idahoans love taking advantage of our wonderful land and state,” said Risch. “There are several items we can work on to ensure Idaho’s land is healthy and remains accessible, such as expanding recreation access,ensuring the Endangered Species Act fulfills its intended purpose, working to prevent catastrophic wildfires,and protecting multiple use on federal lands.”

Original source can be found here.