Pushing for Affordable Housing, Ensuring Older Americans Can Live With Dignity, Supporting Our Coastal Seafood Economy, and More!
Hi Folks –
Holy cow was that a beautiful weekend! While I had to do some work this weekend, I was grateful to be able to take in some of that amazing sunshine. My dogs got an extra-long walk, and I even went kayaking for a couple of hours. It felt good to get some Vitamin D!
While we’re making real progress against COVID-19, it is critical that we each do our part to curb the spread of the virus - particularly as some counties in our region have recently experienced spikes in cases. With that in mind, I’m pleased to see that investments from the American Rescue Plan are continuing to expand COVID-19 vaccine distribution and availability. In fact, a lot of our region is making real progress in the effort to get more folks vaccinated and protected from COVID-19; Jefferson County is leading the whole state of Washington in the total percentage of fully vaccinated individuals, with Clallam not far behind! Kudos!
The Washington Department of Health also announced last week that all Washingtonians aged 12 and older are now eligible to receive a vaccine. If you or a loved one need to get your vaccine, you can find an appointment near you by visiting https://vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov/.
In the other (less sunny and beautiful) Washington, it’s been a busy few weeks. I’ve been pushing to make more progress for folks in our region. Let’s get into the details.
Pushing for More Affordable Housing
Our nation had challenges with housing before any of us had ever heard of the coronavirus – and those challenges, unfortunately, have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We need more workforce housing, more senior housing, more homeless housing, and more affordable housing. We need more housing units, period.
That’s why last week I introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation called the “Yes In My Back Yard” (YIMBY) Act to help communities in our region and across the country reduce barriers to housing construction.
According to Up for Growth, a leading national non-profit that focuses on housing affordability, from 2000 to 2015, the United States underproduced housing by 7.3 million homes. One considerable barrier to housing construction has been zoning and land use policies that stifle construction. As these regulations have increased, they have resulted in fewer homes being built, and untenable cost increases.
That’s why the bipartisan YIMBY Act that I introduced helps local governments eliminate discriminatory land use policies and remove barriers that prevent needed housing from being built around the country. This will empower communities across our region to clear the path for housing that is more affordable, equitable, and sustainable. It’s a big deal!
I’m thrilled that the bill has already been endorsed by a diverse set of over 250 local and national stakeholder organizations – including AARP, Habitat for Humanity International, the Master Builders Association of Pierce County, the National Apartment Association, the National Association of Home Builders, the National Fair Housing Alliance, National Low Income Housing Coalition, and the Washington Multi-Family Housing Association, among others!
With bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, I’m hopeful we can get this across the finish line and get cooking building more homes!
Ensuring Older Americans Can Live With Dignity
Throughout this pandemic, seniors across our region and our country have faced enormous challenges. That’s why, as part of the American Rescue Plan, I pushed Congress to focus on ensuring that the federal government stepped up to help make sure that seniors weren’t being left behind and had access to vaccines, caregiver support, mental health resources, nutritious meals, and more.
I was thrilled to announce last week that the Biden Administration released over $30 million in investments for critical Older Americans Act programs in Washington State as part of the American Rescue Plan to help folks in our region.
This funding invests in programs that support seniors by:
- Providing meals for older adults;
- Investing in Home and Community Based Services through the Older Americans Act, which helps older Americans age with dignity and safety in their homes and communities;
- Supporting evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention;
- Providing help to family caregivers to support their loved ones; and
- Investing in safeguarding the health and welfare of residents in Washington’s long-term care facilities.
I’m proud that the American Rescue Plan also included measures to increase funding to vaccinate Washington seniors, ensure they can afford their homes and utilities, put food on the table, and more. As we move to recover from this pandemic, I’ll keep working to ensure seniors have the support they need.
(Photo taken in Bainbridge Island in July 2019)
Supporting Our Coastal Seafood Economy
The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on our coastal seafood economy. That’s why, earlier this year, I joined Senator Murray and other West Coast lawmakers in calling for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide urgently needed federal assistance to our coastal fishermen and seafood processors. The folks were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and – unfortunately – have largely been left out of commodity purchasing programs.
I was thrilled this week that the USDA heeded our call – and announced that it would purchase up to $159.4 million in domestically produced seafood, and other goods, for distribution to a variety of domestic food assistance programs, as well as to charitable institutions. It is the largest purchase of U.S. raised seafood in history by the USDA.
This investment will not only help our local economy recover, but help folks in need access healthy, nutritious meals at local food banks and non-profits.
(Photo taken in Westport in January 2020)
Building Our Cyber Resilience
The Colonial Pipeline attack last week was – sadly – just one in a long list of cyber threats affecting our country. With cyber security threats on the rise, the federal government should be devoting more attention and resources to combating cyber threats. Cyber-attacks can threaten our electrical grid, election systems, municipally-owned water treatment facilities, local emergency responder networks, and other vital government systems that impact our communities.
That’s why I joined the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee to introduce a bipartisan plan that gives state, local, and tribal governments more tools to counter these cyber threats. This bill, the State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act, would empower the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to help state, local, and tribal governments shore up their cyber defense before an attack occurs, as well as establish a grant program to incentivize states to strengthen their own cybersecurity programs.
With continued attacks on local governments and the essential services they provide, we can’t afford to wait any longer to provide protection – and I’ll keep working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get this done.
Working for You
Helping Working Families
Over 40,000 households in our region could get monthly payments of up to $300 per child, per month beginning this summer because of the expansion in the Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan. These payments will put more money in the pockets of hardworking parents to help families make ends meet and help set up our kids for success. The best way to make sure you and your family get the correct amount as soon as possible is to file a 2020 tax return before May 17th (that’s today!!) – even if you don’t normally file. Last week, I spoke with United Way of Pierce County CEO Dona Ponepinto about how the Child Tax Credit will help folks in our region and lift thousands of children out of poverty – and about the tremendous services the United Way offers to help families get their tax filings prepared! Check out our conversation:
Protecting Our Democracy
It was inspiring to see folks in Tacoma show up and speak up for voting rights at the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement “Votercade” earlier this month. John Lewis once said, “When you see something that’s not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something. You have to do something.” Every American should have their voice heard and their vote counted!
Celebrating Our Community Leaders
It was really inspiring to be able to participate in the Jefferson County Community Leadership Awards this weekend. Congratulations to all of the nominees and the folks who received awards, including:
- Young Professional of the Year: Taylor Webster, Cascade Community Connections
- Future Business Leader: Nathaniel Ashford
- Rising Entrepreneur: David Griswald, Port Townsend Shipwright’s Co-Op
- Citizen of the Year: Carol Hasse, Port Townsend Sails
- Business Leader of the Year: Ben Bauermeister, Skillmation
- Chamber Champion Award: Ashlyn Brown
All of the nominees do extraordinary work to make Jefferson County the special place it is!
OK that’s it for now, folks. As always, I’m honored to represent you.
Sincerely,
Derek