Rural Health Transformation
PLUS: Sen. Crapo looks to close deportation loophole
I took most of the day off to spend with my children, some of whom are starting school in less than two weeks. Time flies, so it’s important to be intentional about spending it well. As a child and teenager, I used to wonder when “real life” would start. I’ve recently realized that this is real life, and we don’t get moments back again.
All that is to say I don’t have a new article for you today, but I was gratified to see Sen. Camille Blaylock post a great Substack about the Rural Health Transformation Program, and thankful for permission to report. The debate over whether or not we should have accepted the nearly $1 billion over five years is done—the money is coming. The question is, how can we help ensure it goes where it is really needed?
A large hospital system has grant writers, accountants, attorneys, government affairs staff, and lobbyists who can sit in Boise all day watching this process.
A small rural clinic may have one administrator doing payroll at 9:00, credentialing at 10:00, filling a staffing hole over lunch, and then trying to decipher a grant application before they go home.
If we make this process complicated, we already know who has the advantage.
So one of my biggest priorities on this committee has been making sure smaller rural providers have a real shot. I’ve pushed to simplify the subgrant process, remove requirements that don’t actually add value, make the scoring more transparent, and make sure the process itself doesn’t become the barrier.
Talking wildfire
Sen. Jim Risch met with several cabinet officials to discuss the ongoing wildfires that are burning this region:
I hosted Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, and fellow Idahoan Tom Schultz, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise this week to discuss this issue directly.
As the only trained forester in the U.S. Senate, and one of the few members of Congress who has worked on a fire line, I’ve seen what happens when our public lands are not properly managed.
Idaho’s public lands are one of our greatest assets. They are not only beautiful landscapes, but are vital to our economy and rural communities.
However, years of fuel build up, insects, and disease have left these lands vulnerable.
Closing the loophole
Sen. Mike Crapo has introduced legislation to ensure that criminal illegal aliens cannot be released back into America if no country will accept them:
The Keep Our Communities Safe Act addresses the six-month legal loophole created by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2001 Zadvydas v. Davis ruling. The legislation would amend Section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to expand the authority of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain criminal aliens.
“Dangerous individuals should not be released into communities simply because their removal cannot be completed within an arbitrary timeframe,” said Crapo. “The Keep Our Communities Safe Act would close this legal loophole and ensure DHS has the tools needed to continue detaining individuals who pose a threat to public safety, national security or public health. This commonsense legislation will help protect Idaho families and communities.”
Video of the day
Nick Freitas broke down yesterday’s results from Minnesota and Wisconsin. Polls turned out to be wildly wrong, as DSA candidate Francesca Hong lost a close primary while pillow king Mike Lindell was solidly defeated in his own primary:
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