40 Facts About Mike Simpson

Mike Simpson served as Speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives from 1992 to 1998.

Mike Simpson graduated from Blackfoot High School in 1968, Utah State University in Logan in 1972, and the Washington University School of Dental Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, in 1977.

Mike Simpson practiced dentistry in Blackfoot until his election to Congress in 1998.

Mike Simpson was elected to the Blackfoot City Council in 1980 and to the state legislature in 1984, the first of seven terms.

Mike Simpson was the Speaker of the Idaho House before his election to Congress.

Mike Simpson did not face serious opposition in 2000,2002, or 2004.

Mike Simpson is known to have broken several sounding boards with the gavel while calling the House to order.

Mike Simpson serves as the small state representative on the 33-member House Republican Steering Committee.

In December 2020, Mike Simpson signed an amicus brief in support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Mike Simpson rankled Senate leadership during the Craig scandal by criticizing them for their treatment of Craig.

In October 2013, Mike Simpson voted to end the United States federal government shutdown of 2013.

Mike Simpson voted for and presided over the vote on the American Health Care Act of 2017, which passed the House on May 4,2017.

Mike Simpson voted for and helped pass the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.

Mike Simpson has faced substantial resistance from groups like the Sierra Club, which claim the bill lacks "wilderness values" because it allows for motorized access to certain parts of the wilderness area and some federal land would be transferred to the State of Idaho to promote the economic development of the local community and the recreational use of National Forest land and other public lands in central Idaho.

Mike Simpson has faced opposition from groups that oppose new federal land designations, and wilderness designations particularly, because of restricted access to wilderness areas.

Mike Simpson said, "this legislation clarifies Congress's intent of the 2004 amendments to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act which continued the existing use and occupancy of commercial services in this corridor of the Salmon River".

In February 2021, Mike Simpson announced a "Salmon and Energy" concept intended to restore Snake River salmon while protecting agricultural and energy interests across the Columbia River basin.

Mike Simpson has actively pushed to divide the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sponsoring bills to that effect in 2007,2011,2017, and 2021.

Mike Simpson voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

In December 2020, Simpson was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump.

On May 19,2021, Mike Simpson was one of 35 Republicans to join all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6 commission meant to investigate the attack of the US Capitol.

In 2021, Mike Simpson voted for the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021, which passes work visas for undocumented farm workers.

Mike Simpson voted for the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, which authorized DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020.

In 2021, Mike Simpson was among the House Republicans to sponsor the Fairness for All Act, the Republican alternative to the Equality Act.

In 2021, Mike Simpson was one of 29 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

In 2022, Mike Simpson was one of 47 House Republicans to vote with the Democratic Party to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and replace it with the Respect for Marriage Act.

Mike Simpson is a Republican who is known to be pragmatic on certain issues.

Mike Simpson has supported the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, voting each year against Republican amendments to strip them of funding.

The magazine wrote, "More than any other representative, Mike Simpson lives by the philosophy that democratic representation is a matter of finding not advantageous positions but common ground".

Mike Simpson played a key role in the election of John Boehner as House Majority Leader in the 109th United States Congress.

Mike Simpson is a strong supporter of domestic sugar beet producers and Idaho potato growers.

Mike Simpson has committed to repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, questioning its constitutionality and effectiveness.

Mike Simpson was close and loyal to Speaker John Boehner.

Mike Simpson is known as an outspoken proponent of nuclear power, extolling its virtues as an environmentally friendly source of energy with minimal carbon output.

In 2022, Mike Simpson voted to provide approximately $14 billion to the government of Ukraine.

Mike Simpson opposes using federal monies to fund abortions, embryonic stem cell research, restricting the transport of minors over state lines to receive abortions, partial-birth abortions except to save a mother's life and human cloning.

Mike Simpson has a "D" rating from NORML for his voting history on cannabis-related causes.

Mike Simpson opposes veterans having access to medical marijuana if recommended by their Veterans Health Administration doctor and if it is legal for medicinal purposes in their state of residence.

Mike Simpson has had a zero score from the Human Rights Campaign for his LGBT voting record as recently as the 115th Congress, but in the 117th Congress he received a 14, in part for his votes for the Respect for Marriage Act and the Violence Against Women Act.

In 2022, Mike Simpson was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.