Making some progress
Friend,
It’s been a hectic couple of weeks, so I've got a lot to share. Apologies in advance for what will be a lengthy update.
Making Real Progress for our Forests and Communities
As many of you know, I grew up in Port Angeles. Living on the Peninsula I developed an appreciation for both the beauty of the forest and the opportunities it provides. I can remember plenty of trips through the woods with family and friends.
Communities on the Olympic Peninsula are intricately tied to the health and wellbeing of our forests. Forests help keep our waters clean and provide habitat to all kinds of amazing wildlife. That’s why each year visitors from all over the world come to spend vacations taking in the breathtaking sites. Think about this, in 2014 alone 3.2 million visitors came to Olympic National Park!
Forests on the Peninsula also provide an important source of timber supply that supports our mills, good middle-class jobs, and the local economy.
But when I was a kid, towns like Port Angeles saw the timber industry take it on the chin and many people lost their jobs. The fights over the future of our forests are well-known – you'll even find books about it. For too long, the debate over our national forests has been split into different camps. We've seen litigation, aggravation, and not enough progress.
After taking office I made it a priority to meet with a wide variety of stakeholders, including environmental groups, forest experts, folks who work in the timber industry, and constituents to see where we could find common ground.
It turns out both sides agreed there are some areas where we can responsibly increase our harvest in a way that would benefit the health of our forests.
So two years ago we embarked on a project to bring together leaders from our region and see if we could work to rebuild the trust that we need to restore our forests, promote harvest levels, and support our local communities. And a couple of weeks ago I joined folks in my hometown to mark the official launch of the Olympic Peninsula Collaborative.
The Olympic Peninsula Collaborative is modeled after similar partnerships in Washington state like the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition. It is the first of its kind on the Peninsula solely dedicated to creating environmentally sound forests while increasing sustainable timber harvests.
We still have a lot of work to do but this launch marks real progress towards showing we don’t have to choose between protecting our environment and creating a more vibrant economy.
Check out my hometown paper, the Peninsula Daily News, if you want more info on the collaborative.
Protecting our National Park
The collaborative isn't the only interesting thing that happened related to our forests in the last two weeks. Many of you have been following the news about the Navy's proposal for electronic warfare training missions and how this could increase jets flying over Olympic National Park.
Nearly all the folks I talk to strongly support our men and women in uniform and want them to be adequately trained. At the same time, nearly all the folks I talk to also strongly support our natural environment and want to protect it for future generations.
I don't believe that the objectives of maintaining well-trained service-members and protecting one of our most pristine environments are mutually exclusive.
I think we need to make good decisions based on good information. With that in mind, I want to take a look at how additional flights would actually impact the park.
That’s why I sent a letter to experts on jet air noise asking them to weigh in. Specifically, I’m asking the National Park Service, the staff who know the park better than anyone else, to collect new noise samples and data. Then, the Federal Interagency Committee on Aviation Noise (which looks at how projects will impact air traffic) should take a look at what the National Park Service has gathered, along with any other agencies like DOD who have studied military jet noise, to reach a conclusion.
My hope is that if the committee finds that mitigating steps are needed, they will be able to prescribe the right approach.
You can read more about my efforts in the Seattle P-I.
Providing Financial Aid Opportunities for Future Teachers
As the son of two school teachers (and as the dad of two awesome little girls), I know how important it is to attract and retain great educators.
All too often, schools in high-need areas find it hard to find quality teachers. But by improving loan assistance programs we can better attract talented educators to schools where students are in danger of falling behind.
That's why I joined a bipartisan group of House and Senate members in sending a letter to the Department of Education (DOE) recommending measures to simplify the loan forgiveness process for teachers.
Existing programs to help ease the burden of teacher loans all too often don’t accomplish that goal. For example, since 2008, 36,000 grants awarded through the TEACH Grant Program have been converted into unsubsidized loans. That leaves many qualified candidates with costlier payments and more debt.
It’s time to create a more effective approach that gives teachers the support they need to make a difference in the lives of kids everywhere. Stay tuned as I continue to work on this issue in the months ahead.
You can read the full text of this letter here.
Fighting for our Servicemembers and Civilian Workers
You may remember that earlier this month I spoke a bit about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a big bill that covers everything related to the Defense Department.
Last week this bill passed the House of Representatives with measures I have long fought for to support civilian workers and servicemembers in our region.
For example, I successfully included a provision in the bill to authorize an extension of the policy that ensures that civilian shipyard workers actually receive overtime pay when they work overtime overseas. This is particularly important to our shipyard workers who are often asked to work over in Japan and shouldn't have to take a financial hit when asked to do so.
Some of you may recall that I've also been working to stop a Department of Defense policy that lowers travel-related compensation (aka “per diem”) for federal employees and active-duty servicemembers who travel for work for long periods of time. It’s only right that when we ask workers to leave their families for four to six months to help maintain our naval edge we treat them fairly. The same principle applies if you are a worker or servicemember looking for decent lodging while traveling to support military missions. With that in mind, I’m pleased to report that we successfully included language in the NDAA to protect our servicemembers and civilian workers from this huge hit to their family finances.
While it wasn't perfect, the bill does authorize funding levels that allow the Department of Defense to support our servicemembers. And it helps our servicemembers and civilian defense workers receive proper compensation for their hard work.
Our vote in the House was the first step in the process toward authorizing funding levels that allow the Department of Defense to properly support our servicemembers. It’s essential that Congress honor our commitment to the men and women who serve – as well as to their families. That means ensuring that they receive adequate compensation and that they have the equipment and training required to keep them safe.
While I supported this bill, I want to point out that, as the budget process moves forward, Congress should eliminate the across-the-board spending cuts for all of government. It’s important that this mindless policy of sequestration be eliminated – not just for military spending, but for the rest of the budget as well. In our region, we saw how sequestration led to furloughs that hurt workers and families. Getting rid of sequestration – for all of government – is the best way to set our sights on long-term growth that creates opportunities for all.
I will remain focused on fighting for a bipartisan budget deal that ends these across-the-board cuts.
Putting Democracy Back in the Hands of “We the People”
Our democracy was founded on people-power. All throughout history we've been at our strongest and best when citizens have raised their voices.
But all too often these days, people don't feel like they have a stake in the game. The flood of money that is flowing into our elections and political system is drowning out the voices of those that really matter. In fact, we've seen political dysfunction rise just as SuperPACs and the amount of money in politics have risen.
That’s why I was happy to join WashPIRG, the Tacoma-Pierce County League of Women Voters, and a distinguished panel of guests (including Professor David Sousa and Tacoma City Councilman Ryan Mello) at the University of Washington Tacoma to have a discussion about how to get our country's campaign finance laws back in line with the public's interests.
In a democracy, “We the People” should have the primary say in our government – not deep pockets or special interests.
I’ll give you an update on some of the campaign finance-related legislation I’ve sponsored in an upcoming newsletter.
Answering Your Questions
We are keeping my ‘Ask Derek’ video series going with answers to questions about how Congress decides what bills to consider and why I voted against the budget that passed the House.
You can watch this latest episode here and please, send in your questions!
Travelling Around Our Neck of the Woods
I also got to spend another great week meeting and working with folks in our region. Here’s a snapshot of what I've been up to…
I joined representatives from the private sector, military, academia, and government to continue the regional conversation around growing a cyber security cluster in the South Sound. We have a responsibility to make sure that our critical infrastructure is protected from threats, and our region is leading the way in innovation.
I continued my week at a Regional Access and Mobility Partnership (RAMP) meeting at the Port of Tacoma. I focused my remarks on the need for Congress to get to work on the Reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Bill and fixing the long term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. Our region has a lot to gain from these federal investments in transportation infrastructure - from our ports to local businesses to users of public transit.
I was happy to join the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancment Group (also known as the SPSSEG for those of you into brevity) and stakeholders like Metro Parks Tacoma and EarthCorps to tour an innovative habitat and salmon restoration project at Tacoma's Titlow Beach! A big thanks to Lance Winecka for the invitation and to all of those working so hard on this effort!
I finished up my week with another delicious Kilmer at Your Company for the books. Clark and Tami showed me around their company, CB's Nuts. Not only do they roast all their own nuts and sell their product nationally, but they are employing 30 folks in Kitsap County!
If there's a local company you’d like me to visit or a community event you think I should attend, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office.
Thanks for reading. As always, I'm honored to work for you.
Sincerely,
Derek