Saying thanks for service
Dear Friend,
Each year on Veterans Day we get a chance to say thanks for the bravery and service our veterans have shown defending our nation. It means a lot in our neck of the woods since so many of our friends and neighbors have answered the call to serve. Around here we know it’s important for our kids to understand that it’s not just a day off from school or a day off of work to buy a mattress or an appliance. It’s meant to be a day to honor our veterans.
Last week I joined the celebration at the Kitsap County Veterans Day Event and I was struck by the fact that, in our region, we turn our words of thanks into deeds. Not only were dozens of veterans in attendance, a bunch of community members were there to support them and community organizations committed to helping veterans and their families
As someone who represents this region, I’m honored to get to share in those missions. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation to make changes within the Veterans Health Administration and have fought to improve the Choice Program – so veterans can receive the care that they’ve earned. It’s why I’m fighting for a new community based outpatient center to meet the needs of veterans in Kitsap County. It’s why I’m working with AMVETS and other veterans’ organizations on legislation to remove barriers that impede the ability of veterans to enter the civilian workforce. And it’s why I invite you or anyone you know who may be struggling to get the benefits, care, recognition or resources you need to contact my office. Our team believes that if you serve our country, we should have your back. And we’ll do everything we can to help if you need it.
At the event at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds, I had the honor to visit with a group of World War II veterans and a group of sailors from the soon-to-be commissioned USS Washington.
It was inspiring to meet with veterans who represent an important chapter in our nation’s history and servicemembers who are helping us write a new one. We should never forget the unique stories of each man and woman who has served, and the sacrifices they make on our behalf.
This sentiment extends to our Native American veterans too, who often face real challenges after leaving the service. I was reminded of this when I joined the Suquamish Tribe at an event the tribe hosted to honor veterans.
Tribal veterans can find themselves trapped in red tape trying to access the benefits they deserve. Often times, tribes have resources to help veterans navigate the process; however, the tribal organizations, up until now, haven’t had permission from the VA to act on behalf of tribal veterans. Thankfully, after I pushed the VA for changes, they recently announced that they will be moving forward with an effort to ensure that tribal governments have the right designation so they can help Native American veterans get the care they are owed.
You can read more about these efforts here.
Working Together
Veterans Day is also a reminder that for decades servicemembers at key installations like Naval Base Kitsap and Joint Base Lewis-McChord have been our neighbors. Not every neighbor can offer great advice like Wilson in Home Improvement, but it’s always good to be able to talk across the fence with those you live near.
It’s why I’ve continued to urge the Navy to be a great partner in our region as it contemplates changes to their operations here. With that in mind, earlier this year I called for a closer look into noise from Navy training missions.
I am pleased to report that the Navy and the National Park Service (NPS) are coordinating efforts (along with the Federal Interagency Committee on Aircraft Noise) to monitor jet noise over Olympic National Park.
I’ve been engaged on this because I want to make sure we get it right. It’s good news that the Park Service – the staff who are charged with protecting the visitor experience at Olympic National Park – and the Navy will work together to monitor noise issues and evaluate any increase in noise from proposed Navy training activities.
We all want our service members to be properly trained. By taking an approach grounded in science, we can ensure that happens in a way in which the soundscape and environment of our iconic park are respected.
If you want to read more about this news, check out this article on the Peninsula Daily News website.
Helping Folks Facing Disaster
This past summer our state was rocked by heat waves and forest fires.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has stated that during the height of the summer fire season the U.S. Forest Service spent around $200 million a week battling wildfires. In the last two years, fires have destroyed 400 homes and eaten away at 1.4 million acres in our state alone. But a critical tool for folks in the aftermath of disasters like this, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Individual Assistance, was denied to Washingtonians who lost everything.
With that in mind I joined other representatives from our state in sending a letter to FEMA’s Administrator Craig Fugate expressing concern over the slow pace of FEMA’s progress updating its criteria for Individual Assistance. After Hurricane Sandy, Congress passed legislation directing FEMA to review, update, and revise its process regarding how it determines whether assistance to individuals and households is approved. Unfortunately, this process remains unfinished.
The unfinished process has left many communities in our state in a lurch. I want to see this uncertainty end. The updated criteria will help ensure that Washingtonians can receive aid in the event of future disasters – something we should have in place given the intense fire seasons we’ve seen recently.
You can read the full text of the letter here.
You should also know that I’m working on legislation to help folks in our state and others obtain individual assistance when a disaster strikes. Stay tuned for more information on this in the weeks ahead.
Moving Forward
Whether you live on the Peninsula or near I-5, you don’t have to be told that our nation is failing to make adequate investments in transportation infrastructure. We see the impacts of that failure in the large number of structurally deficient bridges, in the crowded highways and ferries in our region, and in the lack of adequate transit options in many parts of our state.
Unfortunately, rather than acting like adults and coming up with a long-term solution, Congress has voted more than 30 times for short-term transportation funding bills – seeking to fix our transportation issues with duct tape and plugging in three months of investments at a time. That’s no way to do business.
Since my last newsletter Congress voted on a bill that extends our current transportation funding levels for three years. While the bill isn’t perfect, it’s a start. It means we’ll see important transportation investments move forward in our neck of the woods and throughout this country. And it means we’ll have some semblance of predictability for local governments, contractors and workers who need to know whether funding will be available. With that in mind, I gave it my vote.
That being said, my hope is that Congress can continue to work on an approach that further steps up to our long-term challenges. No one should be happy with a transportation system that grades out at a D+. We should never accept bridges going down. Too many Americans are stuck in traffic rather than being able to make it to work or spend time with their families.
My hope is that Congress can continue to work on an approach that further steps up to our long-term challenges. Democrats and Republicans have work to do here. In my last term in the Washington State Senate we dealt with our fiscal challenges and took strides to get our economy moving. Together we passed a balanced bipartisan budget, a bipartisan amendment to our constitution to reduce state debt, and passed a bipartisan construction bill that put more than 18,000 people to work.
Congress can follow that example. Our transportation system needs to continue to move forward. But that means Congress has to continue to move forward too.
Protecting our Sound
All those cars sitting in traffic are also part of a problem for our iconic Puget Sound. It’s a threat that happens when heavy rains wash toxic mixtures of oil and heavy metals off our city streets and highways, and into waterways like the Puget Sound. We don’t often think about it, but this stormwater mix creates pollution that lingers.
It’s something I talked about with my colleague Representative Denny Heck (and cofounder of the Puget Sound Recovery Caucus) along with local municipalities, tribes, federal and state agencies, non-profit leaders, and researchers at a recent roundtable focused on stormwater. It was a great discussion and I’d like to say thanks again to the Washington State University Stormwater Center (who are also doing remarkable work with things like rain gardens to tackle this problem) in Puyallup for hosting.
If you want to read more about these challenges, check out an article that the Seattle Times recently wrote on the subject. You can read it here.
We are working on a bill that will help local governments and landowners access additional resources and incentives to improve their stormwater infrastructure. Stay tuned in future newsletters for more details!
Engaging Tribal Communities from Throughout America
I was also honored to participate in the White House Tribal Nations Conference. President Obama invited leaders from 567 federally recognizes tribes to Washington D.C. to talk about how our federal government can be a good partner to them.
During the conference the President sat down with a group of tribal youth to discuss some of the challenges facing Native Americans. One of the many issues discussed was the importance of having our educational system understand and appreciate their cultures. It was an inspiring afternoon.
Giving Thanks
The Holiday season is fast approaching, with Thanksgiving kicking things off. Everyone has their traditions associated with the day – whether that’s watching football until you drop, making Grandma’s timeless sweet potatoes, or arguing about literally everything with your uncle. But we shouldn’t forget about the ‘thanks’ in the holiday. Especially at a time when a lot of folks are feeling left out and left behind.
To show my support to those in need, I’ll be launching my own “Week of Thanks” leading all the way up to the day itself. I’ll be starting off the week on Monday in Poulsbo at the North Kitsap Fishline sorting donations and stocking the shelves. On Tuesday you can find me behind the counter at the Boiler Room in Port Townsend. Then on Wednesday I’ll be at the Tacoma Narrows Airport for a Basket Brigade that organizes Thanksgiving meals for families in need. And the morning of Thanksgiving I’ll be at the Life Center Central Campus in Tacoma helping accept donations before heading to the Tacoma Rescue Mission helping serve lunch to folks at the Mission.
I hope you will join me in volunteering some of your time, wherever and however you can.
Working for You
Thanks to Facebook for hosting a Boost Your Business Event right here in Tacoma! A few hundred small business owners, a majority of whom were veterans came out to learn about resources to help them grow their businesses.
It was an honor to join the Hood Canal Coordinating Council (HCCC) for their Environmental Achievement Awards. For 30 years, HCCC has been bringing together federal and agencies, counties, tribes, and citizens to talk about how we can protect our region’s most valuable natural resources. A big congratulations to all the Achievement Award nominees. What you do matters!
As always, it’s an honor to serve as your representative. Please don’t hesitate to holler if I can lend a hand to you or someone you know.
Sincerely,
Derek Kilmer