Kilmer Makes Good on Pledge for Town Hall Meetings
U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer resurrected the congressional town hall meeting Friday, allowing anyone with a few spare minutes on Friday afternoon to voice their concerns and talk to their congressman.
It may sound like common sense for a congressman to meet his constituency, but Grays Harbor College instructor Gary Murrell pointed out to Kilmer and the crowd that in his 20 years of living on the Harbor, a congressional town hall meeting has simply not happened.
Murrell’s comment drew loud applause from about 110 people who packed the Rotary Log Pavilion in Aberdeen Friday afternoon.
Kilmer’s predecessor, Norm Dicks, just never made himself available for any town hall meetings. Kilmer says he’s done plenty of fairs, chamber events and company visits, but he heard loud and clear that residents wanted to do town hall meetings.
“I committed I would do this,” Kilmer said after the town hall. “I take seriously the notion that I work for the people I represent and, from that standpoint, I take value to hear what’s on their mind because I think that makes me a better representative of their interests and I am being accountable to them and let them know the good, the bad and the ugly in our nation’s capital.”
Congressman Kilmer says he joins the rest of the country in the frustrations over Congress and in his five months in office, he’s quickly learned how the inaction in passing budgets and finding common ground on the other side of the aisle has given Congress a worse reputation than a cockroach or a colonoscopy. He’s serious, too, with the survey from Public Policy Polling in January backing up his statements.
Kilmer says the way out of the economic slump is to cut spending, reform the tax system and grow the economy through small businesses.
Ashley West of Aberdeen told him she wants to start a small business locally, but she’s become frustrated with local banks and credit unions because she can’t get a loan or a line of credit for a new herb and tea store.
“I have to have some sort of line of credit first and you can’t get approved for a credit card and yet if you file for bankruptcy you can get approved for a credit card in three months,” West said. “I think that’s a little ridiculous.”
Kilmer said that from a systemic standpoint, West had raised a good point and he says that his office is open to being a resource for West to connect her with the Small Business Administration to see if they can help.
Kilmer notes that since he came to Congress, his office has opened 232 total cases working with Veterans Affairs, the Internal Revenue Service and others when they face roadblocks with federal bureaucracies.
“We have helped constituents receive the benefits they’ve earned from agencies like Medicare and the Social Security Administration, amounting to over $55,500 in benefits,” he said.
Kilmer also fielded questions on genetically modified foods — something he says he needs to get more information on; as well as tax code reform and other issues.
Oil shipments
Donna Albert, a self-described civil engineer, says that she’s worried about the potential crude oil by rail projects proposed for the Port of Grays Harbor.
“There are some great alternatives to fossil fuels and I think we ought to be a part of that,” Albert said, adding that one of the potential sites is by a wildlife refuge in Hoquiam.
Arnie Martin, of the Grays Harbor Audubon Society, echoed those concerns, saying he was worried that not enough attention was being paid to the potential ramification of an oil spill on the Harbor.
“You should have an appropriate permitting process that looks at it both from an environmental standpoint and an economic impact,” Kilmer said. “It should go through that process. I’m certainly sensitive on the environmental concerns. As a dad of two little girls I want to make sure that the air they breathe and the water they drink is clean. At the same time, I’m also sensitive to the fact that Grays Harbor County has an unemployment rate of 12.1 percent and it’s the highest in the state right now. As a consequence, I think we need to be open minded to economic development activities. and if it jumps through those hurdles it should move forward.”
Randy Dutton of Montesano dared Kilmer to take a stand on the recent string of controversies coming out of the Obama Administration. Dutton said that as a congressman, Kilmer’s duties include holding the White House accountable.
“I think you very rightfully point out that one of the fundamental roles of Congress is oversight and accountability,” Kilmer said. “And you’ve all probably seen this in recent weeks as you’ve seen recent scandals. Let’s use one example — the IRS scandal. I was personally outraged by that. I think federal agencies have a job to do from enforcement, but anytime you do enforcement selectively, particularly when it’s politically motivated, I think that is wrong and heads should roll.”