In The News
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
August 22, 2023
BI gets money to revitalize Springbrook Creek
The city of Bainbridge Island has been awarded almost $2.6 million from the state Department of Transportation to revitalize the Springbrook Creek fish passage. “This is a critical step in the recovery of important ecosystems to boost salmon return,” Mayor Brenda Fantroy-Johnson said. The program is designed specifically to help communities remove and repair culverts that block salmon from their natural habitats. It’s part of the National Culvert Removal, Replacement and … Continue Reading
August 21, 2023
Strickland, Kilmer Announce Nearly $9.5M To Improve Fish Habitats In Puyallup River & Wapato Creek
Office of Rep. Marilyn Strickland announcement. Today (August 18, 2023), U.S. Representatives Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) and Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Co-Chairs of the Puget Sound Recovery Caucus, announced that the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and the Port of Tacoma will receive grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to improve fish passage in the South Sound. “The anadromous fish are an integral part of the South Sound … Continue Reading
August 19, 2023
OMC financial woes continue
Olympic Medical Center commissioners were reminded of the organization’s persistent financial challenges related to revenue loss, stagnant patient volumes and low government medical reimbursement rates this week. Wednesday evening’s commissioner meeting was conducted virtually only out of caution due to concerns about a local resurgence of COVID-19. Chief Financial Officer Lorraine Cannon reported OMC lost $3.554 million in July. Most of the losses were due from a shortfall in … Continue Reading
August 16, 2023
Washington state legislators make pitch for high speed rail funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democratic members of the Washington state congressional delegation have written Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to lobby for federal funding to support development of a high speed rail route in the Pacific Northwest. The Cascadia High Speed Rail proposal calls for developing a route from Vancouver, British Columbia through Seattle to Portland, Ore. The Washington State Department of Transportation submitted an application to the Federal Railroad … Continue Reading
August 16, 2023
Coastal erosion threatens Kalaloch cabins
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Mother Nature is encroaching on the cabins at Kalaloch Lodge, clawing away at the bluff and sending large chunks of sediment onto the beach below. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Seattle, on a Monday visit to the North Olympic Peninsula, got an up-close look at coastal erosion that has already led Olympic National Park to make plans to remove five of the cabins sitting closest to the rim this fall and implement a plan to address bluff loss estimated at between 1 to 10 feet … Continue Reading
August 15, 2023
Opinion: Want to Solve Polarization? Encourage More People to Volunteer
I grew up volunteering. I taught people with physical disabilities how to swim at the B.R. Ryall YMCA in my hometown of Glen Ellyn, Ill. I tutored Eritrean refugees in English at a community center in nearby Wheaton. I served meals at the Salvation Army, the Men’s Emergency Shelter, and the Center for Women in Transition when I went off to college at the University of Illinois at Champaign. Volunteering was a social norm in my generation. During introductions at the beginning of seminar-sized … Continue Reading
August 15, 2023
New A.I. working group aims to shape policy for key Democratic bloc
WASHINGTON — Democrats on Capitol Hill are forming a new working group on artificial intelligence and prioritizing how to prevent deepfakes from wreaking havoc on personal lives, national security and the upcoming 2024 elections. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., will chair the new AI working group in the New Democrat Coalition, a 98-member bloc of House members that typically avoid the spotlight but wield significant influence over policy within the caucus. Lawmakers … Continue Reading
August 15, 2023
Moderate Democratic coalition creates AI working group
Moderate Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have formed a working group on artificial intelligence aimed at tackling the issue of what restrictions, if any, should be put on the technology. The New Democrat Coalition announced the formation of the group on Tuesday, saying it would work with the Biden administration, companies and other lawmakers to develop "sensible, bipartisan policies to address this emerging technology." While artificial intelligence has been used for several … Continue Reading
August 14, 2023
Op Ed: Major climate legislation will keep ports, air and water clean
As an ocean protection advocate, I am vocal about looking to the ocean as a source of solutions to help us fight and adapt to climate change. Ocean climate action, ranging from renewable energy development to natural carbon-storing solutions, could provide a fifth of the greenhouse gas emission reductions needed globally to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Recent investments from the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to … Continue Reading
August 14, 2023
Kilmer requests include Peninsula projects funds
Five of U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer’s 15 Community Project Funding requests are for projects on the North Olympic Peninsula. Kilmer said he and his staff received and reviewed more than 80 applications for consideration. Clallam County • Port Angeles Waterfront Center; requested amount $4 million; purchase of equipment needed to support completion of Field Arts & Events Hall. • Habitat for Humanity, Sequim; requested amount $2 million; development of … Continue Reading