In The News
Retiring Port Angeles school orchestra director picked for hall of fame
by Jesse Major
PORT ANGELES - Longtime Port Angeles High School orchestra director Ron Jones was selected this year for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame, said WIAA assistant Executive Director Andy Barnes. Jones, who is retiring after 42 years with the Port Angeles School District, was selected for the Hall of Fame, which recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions and have had superb accomplishments in high school sports and activities. Lauded by lawmak… Continue Reading
06.06.17
Rep. Derek Kilmer To Hold Telephone Town Hall; Talks Climate And Budget
by KXRO News
Highlighting climate change and the impacts of the federal budget on the Olympic Penninsula, Representative Derek Kilmer will speak directly to residents in a telephone town hall. Kilmer, in an email says that the recent changes with the US pulling out of the Paris Accord and the proposed national budget, he says that our region has "A Need for Leadership". "Just look at our region. Tribal members and coastal homeowners facing rising waters, shellfish growers watching changing ocean chemistry … Continue Reading
06.05.17
NW lawmakers urge President Trump: Don't sell off BPA assets
WASHINGTON - Northwest members of Congress voiced their join opposition Monday to a proposal in President Trump's budget to sell off the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) assets. In their letter to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, 15 members of Congress -- Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Denny Heck (D-WA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Derek… Continue Reading
06.05.17
President's budget proposal is a step backward for region
by Rep. Derek Kilmer
As you approach the Wishkah River Bridge you'll see that great sign declaring "Gateway to the Olympics." That is not just a sign for tourists looking to explore our forests. For generations of families in Grays Harbor, that gateway has meant livelihood. Sons and daughters listened in wonder to parents and grandparents tell stories about a life spent in timber. They dreamed about making a good wage and a full life in the woods and on the water. We have a responsibility to keep that dream alive. … Continue Reading
06.05.17
Pacific Northwest U.S. Representatives Urge Administration to Not Privatize Bonneville Power Administration
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Pacific Northwest Members of Congress voiced their opposition to a proposal in the President's budget to sell off the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) assets. In their letter to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, fifteen Members of Congress - U.S. Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Denny Heck (D-WA), Pram… Continue Reading
06.05.17
Democrats Cry Foul on Stonewalling at Trump's OPM
by Anne Kim
Democrats in the House are protesting what they say is a new Trump administration policy aimed at blocking federal agencies from communicating with Democratic members of Congress. In a letter released today, Reps. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) and Derek Kilmer (D-WA) allege that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) now seems to require that every request for information from Congress have the sign-off of a committee or subcommittee chairman - i.e., a Republican - before the agency will respond. It's… Continue Reading
06.05.17
House Dems: Administration ignoring hundreds of oversight requests
by Cristina Marcos
House Democrats pushed the Trump administration on Monday to acknowledge officially if it has instated a new policy not to respond to oversight requests from Congress unless they are signed by senior Republicans. The office of Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), who chairs a Democracy Reform Task Force, has tracked about 275 unanswered Democratic request letters since President Trump's inauguration in January. Sarbanes's office tallied 118 unanswered oversight requests from three days after the inaugu… Continue Reading
06.05.17
Trump administration has failed to answer 275 inquiries: Democrats
House Democrats sent a letter to the inspector general at the Office of Personnel and Management today asking for clarification and answers about a new White House policy to not respond to their oversight requests unless the queries come through House committee or subcommittee chairs. According to Democratic Reps. Kathleen Rice of New York and Derek Kilmer of Washington, who penned today's letter, a senior official from the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) called Rice's office in May to… Continue Reading
06.04.17
Congress should fund earthquake warning system
by Seattle Times editorial board
President Trump's proposed budget would needlessly kill an earthquake warning system for the West Coast. Congress must step up and continue its funding. America provides for the common defense of its people in many ways, and not all involve the military. One inexpensive way to protect millions of citizens is to warn them of major earthquakes, which are a real and persistent threat. Less than a minute of warning can be enough to close gas lines, stop traffic heading onto a perilous bridge and … Continue Reading
06.03.17
Letting national parks crumble ought to be unthinkable
by The (Tacoma) News Tribune Editorial Board
At a time when talk of America's failing infrastructure focuses on roads, bridges and airports, leave it to a pair of Puget Sound area congressmen to bring vital attention to our crumbling national parks system. Reps. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, and Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, are part of a bipartisan team that recently introduced the National Park Service Legacy Act. If it passes as we hope, the Park Service will be able to take gradual steps to address a daunting backlog of deferred maintenance … Continue Reading
06.02.17
Democracy awards
SEATTLE - Fix Democracy First will honor Linda Brewster of Port Townsend and U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer at its inagural awards dinner Sunday. The dinner will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Centilia Cultural Center, 1660 S. Roberto Maestas Festival St. in Seattle. Tickets are $75 in advance through Brown Paper Tickets and $85 at the door. Brewster, past chair of the Washington Coalition to Amend the Constitution (WAmend), will receive the Democracy Volunteer of the Year award for her work during … Continue Reading
06.01.17
Washington state lawmakers react to President Trump's decision on Paris Accord
by Bryce Newberry
Reaction from lawmakers across the state began pouring in Thursday as President Donald Trump announced his decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Accord. Senator Patty Murray tweeted expressing her disappointment in the decision. Rep. Denny Heck issued a statement also expressing disappointment in the decision to take the U.S. out of the agreement. "President Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change puts politics ahead of the wellbeing of o… Continue Reading
06.01.17
'Disturbing,' 'Shameful': Local Reaction to Trump Paris Agreement Withdrawal
by Neal McNamara
SEATTLE, WA - Puget Sound Republicans and Democrats are reacting negatively to President Donald Trump's announcement Thursday that he would withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Trump announced the withdrawal from the White House on Thursday. The U.S. becomes the third country on Earth along with Nicaragua and Syria to decline to participate. Trump did say that he would seek to renegotiate U.S. reentry into the agreement. Here are reactions from local elected officials: … Continue Reading
06.01.17
'Legacy Act' Could Jumpstart Work on National Park Service's $12B Backlog
by Iris Dimmick
U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and a bipartisan coalition of Texas representatives introduced the National Park Service Legacy Act to the House earlier this month as part of an effort to boost park maintenance funding. The measure could provide up to $500 million annually through 2047 by allocating existing, currently unassigned revenues from oil and natural gas royalties that flow to the U.S. Department of the Interior into a restoration fund. The National Park Service (NPS) currently faces an … Continue Reading
06.01.17
Democrat Needs GOP Sign-Off To Get Question Answered, Federal Agency Says
by Yashar Ali
A major government agency refused to answer a Democratic legislator's routine inquiry unless she got a Republican to co-sign her request, the congresswoman told HuffPost. Rep. Kathleen Rice (N.Y.) said she faced an unprecedented barrier when she asked the Office of Personnel Management about its training process and suggested changes that would help the agency recruit more cybersecurity workers. Janel Fitzhugh, OPM's legislative director, told Rice's legislative aide that she needed a Repub… Continue Reading
06.01.17
Congressman Kilmer: Trump decision 'shameful'
U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA) said the move to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement was "shameful." Kilmer, a 6th District congressman, released the following statement Thursday: "When I was growing up my soccer coach talked about the importance of being in the game. It's shameful that when it comes to the climate challenge our world faces, the United States is going from being a captain to riding the bench with only two other countries - Syria and Nicaragua. … Continue Reading
06.01.17
Left Coast vows to continue fight for climate justice as Trump abandons Paris accords
The United States is withdrawing from the landmark Paris climate accords, pollution lover Donald Trump confirmed today at a shameful event ironically held in the White House's Rose Garden - complete with a jazz band. The accords, which most of the world's nations have agreed to, will remain in place, but the U.S. is abandoning the commitments it made under President Obama to reduce climate damage. Not to mention abdicating its moral leadership. In advance of the announcement, elected leaders f… Continue Reading
05.31.17
Spend more on national park upkeep
At a time when talk of America's failing infrastructure focuses on roads, bridges and airports, leave it to a pair of Puget Sound area congressmen to bring vital attention to our crumbling national parks system. Reps. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, and Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, are part of a bipartisan team that recently introduced the National Park Service Legacy Act. If it passes as we hope, the Park Service will be able to take gradual steps to address a daunting backlog of deferred maintenance … Continue Reading
05.31.17
'Wild Olympics' Proposal Harnesses Economic Power of Public Lands, Supporters Say
by Bryce Oates
A measure to protect land and waterways in Washington's Olympic Peninsula will preserve environmental assets while creating jobs, supporters say. The days of "either/or" are over, says U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (D) of Washington's 6th District. U. S. Representative Derek Kilmer is a native of his home district, raised by two educators in Port Angeles, Washington. The city of 19,000 is the largest along the 90-mile northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula . Kilmer speaks fondly of a child… Continue Reading
05.30.17
Ruckelshaus Center Lauds Clallam EMD
The Clallam County Sheriff's Emergency Management Department received special recognition in a recent report by the prestigious William D. Ruckelshaus Center. The Ruckelshaus Center helps resolve difficult public policy issues in conjunction with Washington State University Extension Service and the University of Washington's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. The report titled "Washington State Coast Resilience Assessment Final Report" was developed for U.S. Representative… Continue Reading