A
Note From Senator Crapo:
We have
entered the second half of the 119th Congress. I will
continue serving as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee,
which has jurisdiction over many matters related to:
-
federal tax policy;
- federal social safety net and health
care programs, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid;
and
- implementation of foreign trade agreements.
The Finance Committee has the broadest jurisdiction of any
committee in Congress, the substance of which directly impacts
Idahoans’ daily lives. For a comprehensive description of
the Committee’s jurisdiction, please visit the Committee
website HERE.
Pro-Worker, Pro-Business Success in Idaho
On
July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the Working Families Tax
Cuts into law. This legislation not only prevented the
largest tax hike in history, but it also restored and made permanent
critical pro-growth tax provisions that are already increasing
domestic investment and boosting economic growth. Moreover,
through policies likethe New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC),
communities of low- and middle-income families have new
opportunities to flourish.
The NTMC program incentivizes
investment in low-income and rural communities across the
country. These incentives have contributed to making Idaho one
of the fastest growing states in our nation: over the past 20 years,
the program has brought $470 million in private capital to projects
across Idaho.
Business owners feel confident
making major investments in new production facilities and other
infrastructure when they have certainty. As Chairman of the
Finance Committee, my top priority was to secure a permanent expansion
of the NMTC and other pro-growth tax provisions to help fuel the
economy.
Watch
this video about Pipeline Plastics (or click the
image below), a new facility in Rupert, to see how the Working Family
Tax Cuts are already creating jobs for Idahoans.
You can read
more about the NMTC on
my website HERE.
ICYMI:
Idaho receives $185 million award to bolster rural health care
infrastructure
Also under the Working Families Tax
Cuts, I spearheaded the creation of the Rural Health Transformation
Program (RHTP) to supply $50 billion over the next five years to
support rural hospitals. Rural providers have faced challenges
for years like low patient volumes and outdated technology, resulting
in higher compliance costs compared to their urban counterparts.
This funding will help improve quality and access to care in
hard-to-reach areas.
At the end of December 2025, the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Idaho would
receive $185 million in 2026 from the RHTP. The
projects supported by this grant will help Idahoans in remote areas
get the care they need, even long after the program ends.
Programs like the RHTP allow states to tailor health care programs to
the individual needs of their communities instead of following a
one-size-fits-all federal strategy. Americans from every state
have good reason to celebrate this significant investment in rural
health care.
Read more via the Idaho
Press HERE, or on my website
HERE.
America Must Set the Tax Rules of the Road for
Cryptocurrencies
In recent years, digital assets,
such as cryptocurrencies, have become an important part of our global
financial system. Because of its jurisdiction over federal tax
policy, the Finance Committee is discussing how our tax code can
provide a clear framework to ensure American leadership in this
innovative industry. As Congress further discusses these novel
and complex topics, the importance of getting this tax structure right
becomes even more apparent. Simply put, our tax code must adapt
its treatment to new and diverse cryptocurrency products and
functions.
I wrote about this topic in a recent opinion
piece in the Bonner
County Daily Bee. You can also read it on
my website here.
Continuing to Address Health Care Affordability
As we enter the second half of the 119th Congress,
health care affordability remains one of the biggest issues in
America. U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) and I put
forward a fiscally responsible proposal to reduce premiums, save
taxpayers’ money and give Americans control over their health
care. In line with President Trump’s call to give money
directly to patients instead of large insurance companies, our plan
would provide pre-funded Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for low-income
families. Families could use that money to cover costs not
handled by their insurance policy, resulting in lower costs as care
providers compete to offer better value to patients.
Although
Democrats rejected that plan, Republicans will continue to seek
fiscally sustainable reforms that address the root causes of rising
health care costs. We cannot continue to throw good money after
bad policy to paper over the cracks in our health care system.
Hear more in my recent interview with KTVB
HERE. You can also read and hear more about what I
have said as Chairman of the Finance Committee through the following
links:
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