Time to get outside
Dear Friend,
Sometimes on a weekend afternoon or a day off from school I run into a challenge. It usually starts along these lines – my two daughters have already watched Frozen 45 times. They’ve built entire communities in Minecraft and they’re uninspired by Barbie (and even Skipper). When they start to pull out the Pretty Pedicure Salon and eye my feet for a makeover, it’s about time for me to declare, “Let’s go outside!”
For Sophie and Tess, there is nothing better than escaping the house to go play outside. It’s important to me that they have a chance to put down the screens and enjoy the outdoors. It’s one of the things that makes Washington state a special place to call home. Our region has some of the most stunning open spaces, parks and recreational hot spots in our country.
But places like Eddon Boat Park in Gig Harbor or Point Defiance Park in Tacoma have just lost a critical tool that has supported them in the past. It’s a federal program I’ve written about before called the Land and Water Conservation Fund (the LWCF, for short). For fifty years the LWCF has protected community greenspaces, built parks and trails, and improved boating and recreational access. And quietly, when the calendar turned to October 1st, the program ended as a result of Congressional inaction.
This fall I’ve often written about the big things that could happen (a government shutdown, defaulting on our debt) because of Congressional inaction. But essential programs like the LWCF have also languished as Congress focuses on political parlor games instead of the business of the American people.
Folks want members of Congress to focus on jobs and progress for our entire country, not to obsess over who will take the top job under the Capitol dome. Progress for our region is what I remain focused on. It’s why I’m a sponsor of a bipartisan bill to permanently reauthorize the LWCF and will continue to fight to make sure Congress does not careen off any cliffs.
The Future Forum Takes the Puget Sound
Last April I joined a number of my colleagues in Washington D.C. to launch the Future Forum. The Forum is a group of House members focused on the issues impacting young Americans. All year we’ve been involved in a national listening tour to hear directly from millennials about the issues impacting them and what we can do in Congress to help.
Recently, I hosted some of my Forum colleagues in the Puget Sound region. It was a day full of great conversations and interesting ideas, some of which we hope to incorporate into new legislation.
It began bright and early with Representatives Eric Swalwell and Ruben Gallego at the University of Washington Tacoma, where we spoke with a group of young veterans and service providers regarding the challenges and opportunities they face transitioning out of the military. We discussed issues like access to benefits, unique issues facing Guard members and Reservists, and efforts to find quality jobs.
We then held a student town hall at the University of Puget Sound with attendees from UPS, UWT, and several of the local community and technical colleges. The students had some good questions for us and it was a lively discussion that touched on everything from college affordability and economic inequality to criminal justice reform.
After departing UPS we stopped at Amazon and Zillow in Seattle to meet with younger workers and hear about the issues on their minds. Many folks wanted to talk about items like affordable housing and the need for campaign finance reform.
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After spending time hearing what’s on the minds of young folks in our region I came back to Washington D.C. and joined a push to make some actual, honest to goodness progress.
For far too long the Ex-Im Bank has been treated like a political hot potato. You may remember me writing previously about the importance of the institution in a couple of newsletters and how arguments against this valuable economic development tool belong on an episode of MythBusters.
For a quick recap: It does not compete with private industry, it does not cost taxpayer money (it actually contributes to our Treasury), and it’s a tool that nearly all our competitors use.
We are in a global competition and we can’t let our businesses lose this key tool to sell American products abroad. Unfortunately, though there’s bipartisan agreement about the value of the Ex-Im Bank, House leadership has prevented a vote from taking place to maintain this resource. As a consequence, on July 31, because of Congressional inaction, the Ex-Im Bank went dark.
Given the failure to allow a vote on the bill to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, members of Congress took the issue into our own hands. A bipartisan majority of my colleagues, 218 to be exact, came together to sign a discharge petition that would force a vote on the reopening of the Export-Import Bank to help create jobs on our shores.
It’s tremendously rare to successfully execute a discharge petition and it's been years since the last one (not including the successful passage of Bruisers Bill by Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde).
I’m glad Democrats and Republicans have agreed that we need this bank so we can export products – not jobs. With the bank's reauthorization we can get back in the business of helping ship American-made goods around the world and supporting the growth of our local businesses.
A lot of people (including my colleague Denny Heck) have had their oars in the water to move this forward. Stay tuned! I’m hopeful we can get this done!
An Honored Visit
Last week I was honored to welcome Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to Aberdeen. The Secretary is a strong voice for our rural communities and knows that creating jobs and protecting our environment are not mutually exclusive.
Secretary Vilsack got to take a close look at the sawmill Sierra Pacific Industries runs in Aberdeen to get a sense of the importance of the timber industry to our community. The Secretary also saw how the Olympic Peninsula Collaborative that we’ve launched has brought all sides to the table – the conservation community and the timber industry – to work toward real progress in improving the health of our forests and strengthening our local economy.
In fact, at the meeting with Secretary Vilsack, the group announced a proposed pilot project on the Olympic National Forest that will feature forest restoration treatments that benefit the ecosystem and provide for additional harvests in the region. On top of that we will have a series of public meetings for the collaborative, the first happening in Forks this December.
Secretary Vilsack applauded the group’s efforts. He said:
“I think this is an example of what needs to be done more of in this country. You’ve got competing interests that have in the past … basically stymied each other. They have gone into courtrooms and they have fought out lengthy court battles, despite the fact that they have a shared interest and shared value, which is to have a sustainable forest.”
You can read more about Secretary Vilsack’s visit here. Stay tuned for more details!
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Billy’s Legacy
It was an honor to be in Bremerton to participate in the induction of Billy Frank Jr. into the Wild Salmon Hall of Fame at an event hosted by the Hood Canal Salmon Center.
Billy was the ultimate servant leader whose advocacy on behalf of salmon recovery and tribal treaty rights will outlive him.
Now, we’ve got more to do to protect and further his legacy. To me, the true mark that Billy left on so many people was a sense of responsibility to continue this passion and advocacy in his name.
And at the Salmon Center they are doing just that – educating young people about the importance of habitat and protecting salmon while leading research and restoration projects that help recover wild salmon on the Hood Canal and throughout Puget Sound.
Working for You
I had the joy of visiting both Eastside Baptist Church (where I visited with Pastor Arthur Banks and got to honor Roscoe Van Buren) and then Shiloh Baptist Church (where I delivered a photo from the President to Deacon Johnson). Here I am with Reverend Gregory Christopher, Deacon Johnson and his wife, and my daughter Tess.
It was terrific joining the Bremerton/Kitsap Navy League for a celebration of the Navy's 240th birthday. I had the honor of introducing Rear Admiral Dave Kriete, who spoke of the history and future of our sea services. It's also an honor to represent our sailors and our Navy in Congress.
Finally, I was proud to help lead the inaugural meeting of the South Sound Behavioral Health Coalition in Tacoma. We have helped assemble an incredible group of community leaders that are committed to helping solve the mental health crisis that exists in our community. Stay tuned for more information about this important community effort.
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