By Cong. Russ Fulcher
After a busy and productive district work period, Congress is back in session, and we have hit the ground running.
Recently, I reintroduced H.R. 4324, the One Subject at a Time Act. I firmly believe Congress must address its broken budget process, which has repeatedly led to massive omnibus bills and continuing resolutions (CRs) due to missed deadlines and a failure to go through appropriations in regular order.
H.R. 4324 will increase transparency for the American People regarding legislation, help restore trust in our representative government, and improve the federal budget process by focusing every bill legislators consider on a single subject, ensuring each topic receives a separate vote. This is how it is done in Idaho, and I believe it is key to how the U.S. Congress can right America’s fiscal ship and put her on a path of budget sustainability. I will keep you posted on this legislation over the coming months.
As always, thank you for staying engaged, and I hope this e-newsletter provides a beneficial update on what my team and I have been working on as of late.
Legislation That Directly Impacts Idaho
I am proud to co-sponsor the Freedom from Improper Regulation and Enforcement (FIRE) Act.
This legislation protects the Second Amendment rights of Idahoans by prohibiting any federal agency from imposing restrictions on firearm magazine capacity.
The disastrous Lava Ridge Wind Project, greenlit by the Biden administration, has officially been CANCELED.
Idahoans have been consistent, clear, and concise—this enormous wind farm, which would have blanketed over 57,000 acres of Idaho’s beautiful land, was never welcome.
I applaud the Trump administration and the Department of the Interior for taking this action and for reigning in costly, unreliable energy projects that make the U.S. dependent on our top foreign adversary—Communist China.
I have signed on to the bipartisan Religious Workforce Protection Act, H.R. 2672. Foreign-born priests, ministers, and qualified religious workers serving in congregations across America—and right here in Idaho—should not be penalized due to a federal bureaucratic backlog on unrelated work visa processing.
This legislation will ensure these individuals can continue their impactful service with churches until a decision is made on their EB-4 application.
Legislation With National Impact
The safety of American communities and the environmental health of federal landsalong the U.S. Southwest border were devastated under the Biden-Harris administration’s historic border crisis.
The FLASH Act, legislation I am an original co-sponsor of, will further efforts to increase security at our southern border, protect against taxpayer dollars from being used to house illegal immigrants on federal lands, address the toxic trash piles left along the Southwest border, and ensure immigration law enforcement has the land access necessary to do their job.
Another bill I have joined as an original co-sponsor to is the Sanctuary Penalty and Public Protection Act.
Federal taxpayer dollars should not be going to sanctuary jurisdictions that obstruct immigration law enforcement and choose to put the interests of those in this country illegally above the safety and security of U.S. citizens.
Meetings
The Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) print circuit board facility in Moscow is a powerful example of American innovation and advanced manufacturing.
The work they are doing right here in Idaho not only strengthens our domestic supply chain but also creates high-quality jobs and new opportunities throughout surrounding communities. Thank you to the SEL team for the informative tour and insightful discussion!
It was a pleasure to meet with Raya Kenney, the Executive Director of the WWII Women’s Memorial Foundation.
Rosie the Riveters were vital to the war effort during WWII. In Idaho, civilian women worked and volunteered at the Farragut Naval Training Station in North Idaho. Built shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, it became the second-largest naval training base in the country.
I’m proud to co-lead the bipartisan, bicameral World War II Women’s Memorial Location Act to honor their service, sacrifice, and patriotism by securing the location for a memorial in our nation’s capital—supported entirely through private funds.
We had a great roundtable discussion in Caldwell with local Idaho business leaders on the pro-growth business tax provisions in H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
This legislation delivers for hard-working Idahoans and Main Street. It made the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) lower tax rates permanent for small businesses, while doubling their deductions on expenses. It also eliminated taxes on tips and overtime pay—a tax measure I was inspired to spearhead in Congress after speaking with a constituent at a town hall meeting in Sandpoint.
I am grateful to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce for facilitating this valuable conversation and for all those who came out!
We had a terrific meeting with the Lucky Peak Dam and Power Plant teams.
The important work being done at these facilities provides irrigation and recreation to the Boise area, and is helping to stabilize the power grid in Idaho through safe, reliable, and clean hydropower!
Micron Technology is a global leader in advanced memory storage and they are headquartered right here in Boise.
I am grateful to their leadership for giving my team and I a tour of their growing state-of-the-art facility, which provides thousands of high-quality jobs for the surrounding communities.
Casework Reminder
Since arriving in Congress, I am pleased to share that my terrific casework team has successfully returned over $20 million to hardworking Idahoans. This is money that was owed to constituents but was held up in a federal agency.
If you are a resident of Idaho’s First Congressional District and are unable to get a timely response from a federal agency, or if you feel you have been mistreated, please contact my office. We are here to serve you!
Your opinions, encouragement, and feedback are so important, and they do not go unheard. Each call, email, and letter are considered as I represent you and make decisions on important pieces of legislation.
I will send another update soon. In the meantime, I encourage you to keep in touch by following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Sincerely,
Russ Fulcher
Member of Congress
About Russ Fulcher
Russ Fulcher is a fourth-generation Idahoan, grew up on a dairy farm in Meridian, Idaho. He was elected to Congress to represent Idaho's first congressional district in 2019 after serving in the Idaho State Senate for ten years. Visit https://fulcher.house.gov/ for more information or to find contact info.
