{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.risch.senate.gov/news/press-releases/idaho-senators-seeking-idaho-student-to-light-u-s-capitol-christmas-tree-in-washington/", "Idaho Senators Seeking Idaho Student to Light U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree in Washington", "2026-09-09", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "ID", "James E. Risch", "R000584", "www.risch.senate.gov", "risch", "https://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2013U.S. Senators, Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (both R-Idaho), announced a statewide contest to select one Idaho student to assist in powering the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree this December.\n\n\u201cIdaho\u2019s youth is blessed to grow up and explore some of the best forests in the country,\u201d said Risch. \u201cThis year, I encourage Idaho\u2019s fourth graders to write about the importance of these lands and resources for the opportunity to light the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, which has been selected from Idaho\u2019s own Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest.\u201d\n\n\u201cIdaho\u2019s fourth graders have a special opportunity to share what the Gem State\u2019s forests and clean water mean to them while competing for the chance to help light the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree,\u201d said Crapo. \u201cI invite students across Idaho to participate and tell us, in their own words, why protecting these treasured resources matters for Idaho\u2019s future. This year\u2019s tree from the Nez Perce-Clearwater Forests will showcase the remarkable beauty of Idaho and the natural resources making our state such an extraordinary place to call home.\u201d\n\nIdaho fourth-grade students interested in participating in the contest and serving as the Tree Lighting Helper are invited to submit an entry to the essay contest.\n\nTradition holds that one youth from the state providing the tree serves as the Tree Lighting Helper during an annual ceremony formally illuminating the tree, along with the Speaker of the House and other public officials. Idaho\u2019s Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests will provide the 2026 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, which will stand on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.\n\nIn line with the Every Kid Outdoors program, the competition is open to Idaho fourth-grade students and will run from Tuesday, September 8, 2026, through Wednesday, September 30, 2026. Submissions must be between 350-500 words, and answer the prompt, \u201cWhy are healthy forests and clean water in Idaho important?\u201d The prompt follows this year\u2019s Christmas theme, \u201cOver the Rivers and Through the Woods.\u201d\n\nAll submissions must:\n\nadhere to the word limit,\n\nbe received by the closing date of the contest,\n\nbe an original essay written by the contest participant,\n\ncertify the essay is not originated by AI and\n\nhave approval of a parent or guardian to participate.\n\nEntries will be reviewed and verified for accuracy by Senator Mike Crapo\u2019s team, and the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, in collaboration with the Idaho Forest Restoration Partnership, will select the contest winner and make the notification.\n\nThe winner of the essay contest, along with three family members, will be flown roundtrip to Washington, D.C., with hotel accommodations and a stipend for meals provided. Other expenses are at the expense of the winner. The essay winner must be willing to read the essay at the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony the first week of December, which is live-streamed and available for media broadcast. The contest winner will be publicly announced and invited to join other public events in Idaho as part of the 2026 program (at their own expense) and will be asked to provide parental/guardian permission to use and publish name and likeness in connection with the program.\n\nSubmission form is available at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/YouthTreeLighter. Additional details are located on Senator Mike Crapo\u2019s website and on the Capitol Christmas Tree website: https://www.uscapitolchristmastree.com/. Taxpayer funds are not used to fly the winner to Washington.", 1, "2026-09-10T09:25:58Z", "2026-09-10T09:27:09Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.risch.senate.gov/news/press-releases/idaho-senators-seeking-idaho-student-to-light-u-s-capitol-christmas-tree-in-washington/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0576737113296986, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}