In The News

November 15, 2023

Kilmer will not run for reelection in ’24

by Olympic Peninsula News Group

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer is leaving the House of Representatives, where he has served for nearly 11 years. The Democrat from Gig Harbor, a native of Port Angeles, said on Nov. 9 he won’t seek reelection to the 6th Congressional District — which includes the North Olympic Peninsula — in 2024. It has been an honor to serve, he said, but it’s time to move on from Congress. “I’ve looked at life in chapters,” Kilmer said in a press release. “The decade I spent working in economic development. The … Continue Reading


November 13, 2023

It would bring low-cost childcare to hundreds — plus jobs. On Hilltop, it’s big news | Opinion

by Matt Driscoll

Grassroots. It’s a description that gets thrown about to the point it’s become almost meaningless. One-person soup kitchens are labeled that way. So are well-oiled political campaigns with millions in backing. Gail Neal probably wouldn’t use such a term to describe the Hilltop childcare center she launched nearly two decades ago, at least as a way to attract attention, even if it was fitting in the truest sense of the word. She’s too humble, and the spotlight isn’t her thing. They’re two … Continue Reading


November 10, 2023

Congressman will not run for reelection in ’24

by Peninsula Daily News

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer is leaving the House of Representatives, where he has served for nearly 11 years. The Democrat from Gig Harbor, a native of Port Angeles, said Thursday he won’t seek reelection to the 6th Congressional District — which includes the North Olympic Peninsula — in 2024. It has been an honor to serve, he said, but it’s time to move on from Congress. “I’ve looked at life in chapters,” Kilmer said in a press release. “The decade I spent working in economic development. The … Continue Reading


November 09, 2023

Rep. Derek Kilmer will not run for reelection in 2024. Here's why

by Hong Ta

WASHINGTON D.C., DC — U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced in a statement Thursday he will not be seeking reelection in 2024.  He was elected to Congress in 2012 after serving in the Washington State Legislature as a Democrat. His district represents the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas and most of Tacoma. He currently resides in Gig Harbor and is from Port Angeles.  In his letter, he emphasized his desire to make more time for his family, attributing the strain of work commitment … Continue Reading


November 09, 2023

US Rep. Derek Kilmer announces he won't seek reelection to Congress in 2024

by Kitsap Sun staff

U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, announced Thursday that he won't seek reelection in 2024, and by Friday at least one Democratic candidate had emerged and a local Republican expressed some initial interest. Kilmer, who has represented the 6th District in the House of Representatives since 2013, announced the decision in a lengthy - and personal - statement on Thursday, saying in part, "In a letter I recently shared with my kids, I told them what I am now sharing with the folks … Continue Reading


November 09, 2023

I won’t run again for Congress, but I remain hopeful that we can make things better

by Derek Kilmer

“Still hopeful?” That was the question I got recently from the editorial page editor of The Seattle Times, Kate Riley.  Over the years, despite frequent bad news emanating from Washington, D.C., I would consistently be asked by Kate whether I was optimistic. And consistently, I’d tell her that I had hope.  Not a blind belief, like Kevin Bacon yelling at rioters in “Animal House” that “All is well!”  Not a Pollyannish view that, despite evidence to the contrary, there are no reasons to be … Continue Reading


November 08, 2023

‘Dustoff’ Crews Deserve Recognition

by Mike Kerrigan

In my pro bono work as a lawyer, I’ve stumbled on a truly uplifting and too-little-known story—of the U.S. Army helicopter crews that evacuated some 900,000 people to safety and lifesaving care during the Vietnam War. Each crew consisted of two pilots, a medic and a crew chief. The aeromedical evacuation crews operated under the radio call sign “Medevac” and, more colorfully, “Dustoff,” named for the dust kicked up during landing. Between May 1962 and March 1973, Dustoff crews evacuated sick … Continue Reading


November 08, 2023

Kilmer: Sequim lab gets $1.35M for clean energy research

by Sequim Gazette Staff

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer on Nov. 3 announced $1.35 million in new federal funding for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to evaluate the feasibility of extracting Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) from macroalgae for use in energy applications. REEs are essential for manufacturing high-efficiency electric motors and generators, Kilmer’s office noted in a press release, while PGMs play a “pivotal role” in technologies aimed at reducing carbon emissions, … Continue Reading


November 07, 2023

PGST, Suquamish receive federal funding for heating, cooling

by Staff report

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer recently announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $403,447 in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds to eight Native American tribes in his 6th Congressional District, which includes the Suquamish and Port Gamble S’Klallam tribes. PGST will receive $25,387 while Suquamish will receive $15,220, a news release states. The program provides heating and cooling assistance to roughly 6.7 million households annually. “As we head … Continue Reading


November 06, 2023

Sequim lab gets $1.35M for project

by Peninsula Daily News

SEQUIM — The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will receive $1.35 million in federal funding to spearhead extraction of critical minerals for energy applications. PNNL-Sequim is set to receive funding through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Critical Mineral Extraction from Ocean Macroalgal Biomass Exploratory Topic. The Sequim lab will evaluate the feasibility of extracting Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) from macroalgae for use in energy … Continue Reading


November 05, 2023

Port to receive $54 million to boost WA export economy

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, has announced that the Port of Tacoma will receive a $54,233,330 federal grant for phase one of the Husky Terminal Expansion project. The grant was awarded through the Cantwell-championed U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). "This funding will double the capacity of the Port of Tacoma Husky Terminal for … Continue Reading


October 20, 2023

Kilmer still trying to ‘fix’ Congress partisanship woes

by Mike De Felice

As recent events in the halls of the U.S. Congress have demonstrated, a disturbingly large number of legislators live to throw firebombs in the form of attention-getting tweets and personal attacks. The result is that those elected officials get nothing of substance accomplished. But others, including U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, the Democrat representing Kitsap County’s 6th Congressional District, eschew the headlines and instead work behind the scenes to tamp down partisanship. Kilmer’s latest … Continue Reading


October 06, 2023

Undeterred, US. Rep. Derek Kilmer has high hopes for Congress

by Kate Riley

Friday morning, I was waiting for a call from U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer when his office dropped an email into my inbox. I planned to ask what next steps are after the House’s historic dethroning of the speaker. Turns out Kilmer never broke his stride. During a week when partisan vitriol was swirling around Capitol Hill, the news release announced the Gig Harbor Democrat was fraternizing with a Republican. Finding common ground, Reps. Kilmer and Don Bacon of Nebraska introduced the Mental Health … Continue Reading


October 04, 2023

Project tells sometimes harrowing stories of vets

by Mike De Felice

The goal of the Veterans History Project is to capture first-hand accounts of what it is like to serve in the military, often in war-torn corners of the world. U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer of the 6th Congressional District is encouraging veterans across Kitsap County to talk about serving overseas to preserve the conversations for prosperity. Retired Army soldier Don Ray Hill of Poulsbo recently sat down in front of a tape recorder to talk about the project and his harrowing experiences during the … Continue Reading


September 26, 2023

Clallam County to get almost $3M for construction of Emergency Operations Center

by Brian Gawley

PORT ANGELES — Clallam County will receive for almost $3 million for the Emergency Operations Center construction thanks to a federal grant. The three commissioners are scheduled to formally accept the Federal Emergency Management Agency grant at their regular meeting today, set for 10 a.m. in the commissioners meeting room at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St. in Port Angeles. The $2,965,800 reimbursable grant, meaning the county must spend the money first, requires a 25 … Continue Reading


September 25, 2023

Kilmer wins award for innovation and modernization in Congress

U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) has received the Democracy Award for Innovation and Modernization at the Congressional Management Foundation’s (CMF) annual awards ceremony. The Democracy Award is CMF’s award recognizing non-legislative achievement and performance in congressional offices. The Innovation and Modernization category honors offices for their outstanding achievements in innovation and modernization of their office services, practices, and the institution of Congress around … Continue Reading


September 21, 2023

Northwest lawmakers weigh in as House GOP infighting raises government shutdown risk

by Orion Donovan Smith

WASHINGTON - As House Republicans struggled to overcome internal divisions and pass a short-term spending bill, Northwest lawmakers from both parties on Wednesday said a government shutdown appeared increasingly likely. After striking a deal with Democrats in May to limit federal spending in exchange for raising the nation’s debt ceiling to avert economic disaster, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has bowed to pressure from far-right lawmakers to demand steeper budget cuts and … Continue Reading


September 20, 2023

Why the White House is letting McCarthy flail

by Jennifer Haberkorn, Adam Cancryn

Speaker Kevin McCarthy is struggling to pass a bill to fund the government — and the White House isn’t about to throw him a lifeline. With just days to go before the government runs out of money, Biden’s team is watching Congress steam toward a shutdown, resigned to the reality that there’s little they can do now to fix the situation and confident the politics will play out their way. President Joe Biden has steered well clear of the chaos engulfing the House, where Republicans are … Continue Reading


September 09, 2023

Point of View: Bill aims to aid rural hospitals

by Derek Kilmer U.S. Representative

FORTY-NINE YEARS ago, I was born at what was then called Olympic Memorial Hospital. Over the years, members of my family and I received good, quality care from what is now known as Olympic Medical Center’s well-trained physicians and nurses and from a staff that genuinely cares about the community. But the future of health care in rural communities faces extraordinary challenges that threaten the ability of folks to access the care they deserve. Unfortunately, the reality for many Americans … Continue Reading


September 01, 2023

The Recompete Pilot Program can help rebuild distressed places—if policymakers properly fund it

by Timothy J. Bartik, Mark Muro

As politicians and pundits debate the merits of “Bidenomics,” one part of the administration’s economic strategy deserves special attention: the significant investments in “place-based” policies designed to boost growth in particular locations. Among these new investments is the Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program, authorized in the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. This initiative is aimed at funding distressed local labor markets to bolster their prime-age (25- to 54-year-olds) employment … Continue Reading

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