What Happens In DC (Doesn’t Need To Stay In DC)
Hi Folks,
As many of you know, I travel around our region quite a bit. I do a lot of town hall meetings and meet with many of the folks I represent. At these get-togethers, I’ve found that some of the same questions come up over and over.
Perhaps more than anything, I get asked “Why on earth would you want to be back in DC when it’s such a mess and you have two little kids?” I always tell folks the same answer - “Because it’s a mess and I have kids! I don’t want their future dictated by a messed up federal government!”
And beyond that, I’m frequently asked, “What happens back in DC? What does a day look like?”
With that in mind, I’m going to do something a little different with this newsletter. I’m going to give you a rundown of a recent day - Wednesday, March 6 - to give you a flavor for what happens back there.
6:45am - Wake Up
This is usually the hardest part of the day for me... On this day (like most), I eat a quick bite, chug a couple cups of coffee, and get ready to roll for the day.
7:45am - Walk To Work
When I’m in DC, I sleep in an apartment that I share with our neighboring congressman, Denny Heck. (For the record, I’m the neat one.) It’s about a 20-minute walk from my apartment to my office - good “thinking time.”
8:15-9:00am - Meeting With The Chairs (Not The Sitting Kind)
Every Wednesday morning, the chairs of all of the House committees meet to discuss what’s cooking in their committees. Now that I’m Chair of the new Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, I’m invited to attend. At this meeting, people get to share their priorities, ask questions, and get a sense of what’s coming down the pike.
9:05-9:55am - Interior Appropriations Tribal Witness Hearing
Next, I made a speedy walk to the Rayburn House Office Building where I attended a hearing of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment. This hearing focused on tribal issues and included witnesses from all over the country. During this morning block, we heard testimony from the Seattle Indian Health Board and others who spoke about the federal funding shortfalls that impact health care in Indian country. They also spoke about a recent report on Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls. It was heartbreaking to hear that Seattle and Tacoma combine for the most cases of missing and murdered indigenous women in the country.
10:00-10:35am - Meeting With Speaker Pelosi
After another speedy walk back to the Capitol, I had a meeting with Speaker Pelosi to discuss the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. We talked through the committee’s upcoming meetings and discussed some ideas for how to make Congress more responsive and representative of constituents. You can read more about some of my work on this committee here. This past week, we had our first hearing, which you can read about here.
Then it was time to head to my office in Longworth for meetings, meetings, and more meetings!
10:45am-12:20pm Constituent Meetings
Without a doubt, my favorite part of each day is meeting with my constituents. During this block of time, I met with:
- The Quinault Indian Nation to discuss tribal fisheries, coastal resiliency, and the impacts of the government shutdown on the tribe,
- The American Battlefield Trust to learn about their efforts to preserve and protect America’s battlefields,
- Constituents from the Boys and Girls Club of the Olympic Peninsula to discuss their capital project in Clallam County and the need for investments in work readiness, mentoring, and child nutrition programs,
- Constituents from the Washington Multi-Family Housing Association to discuss the need for affordable housing,
- Constituents from the Ocean Conservancy to discuss funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and programs to support climate science and coastal communities, and
- Constituents from the American Institute of Architects to discuss federal tax incentives to help retrofit buildings to be more energy efficient.
12:20-12:30 - Congratulating A Constituent
As a Member of Congress, I have the distinct honor of being able to nominate constituents to serve in American military service academies. During this block of time, I called a local high schooler who was accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2023. It is awesome to hear kids respond to such a terrific opportunity - and to tell them how proud I am of them.
12:30-1:15pm - Discussion About Healthcare Over Lunch
While some of the tumult in our healthcare system may cause some of you to lose your appetite, for me, lunch time meant talking healthcare. I chaired a meeting of the New Democrat Coalition where we heard some health policy experts share their ideas for how to lower healthcare costs and cover more people. (I downed a salad and Diet Coke in the midst of it all.)
1:15-1:45pm - Interior Appropriations Tribal Witness Hearing (Part 2)
Back to the Rayburn Building for another witness panel at the Interior and Environment Subcommittee. Ray Peters from the Squaxin Island Tribe discussed tribal treaty rights on a panel with other tribal leaders from around the country.
1:55-2:25pm - VOTES
I ran back to the Capitol for a series of votes related to H.R. 1, a big democracy reform bill. As I wrote in my last newsletter, this bill is focused on strengthening ethics rules to hold elected officials accountable, reducing the role of money in politics, and making it easier - not harder - for Americans to vote. You can read more about this bill - and my involvement with it - here.
2:25-2:35 - Speech On The House Floor!
Following votes, the House began general debate on H.R. 1, where Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle discussed the bill and its merits. I’ve been working hard on these issues, and H.R. 1 includes two bipartisan pieces of legislation that I led to reform the FEC and shine light on the murky world of political advertising. Check out my speech!
2:45-3:35pm - Interior Appropriations Tribal Witness Hearing (Part 3)
Back to the Rayburn Building! (Are you starting to see a theme?) We heard testimony from several more tribal leaders - including Ron Allen from the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and Ed Johnstone from the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission - regarding our fisheries and other environmental priorities.
3:45-4:15pm - New Democrat Coalition Press Conference On H.R. 1
Then I ran back to the Capitol for a press conference to announce the New Democrat Coalition’s support for H.R. 1 (detailed here) and H.R. 4 - a bill to ensure that Americans don’t face discriminatory barriers to the ballot box.
4:30-5:00pm - Allen Institute Congressional Briefing
Back to the Rayburn Building! This time, I spoke at a congressional briefing regarding scientific research being done by the Allen Institute and its partners. I spoke about how the late Paul Allen was a pioneer in research and how collaborative, innovative scientific research can hopefully lead to solutions for many of the challenges we face.
5:15-6:00pm - Meeting With House Leaders
Back to the Capitol! Once a week, in my role as the Chair of the New Democrat Coalition, I’m invited to a meeting with House leadership and others to discuss some of the issues of the week. At this particular meeting, the focus was on H.R. 1.
6:15-7:00pm - Staff Time
To the Longworth Building! The next half hour or so was spent back in my office meeting with members of our team, debriefing on progress we are making on the issues affecting you. We also go over my schedule for the weeks ahead. We are constantly trying to figure out how we can best utilize my time to meet with more constituents and be responsive to you!
7:00-8:45pm - Dinner With Colleagues
Next up was a working dinner with some of my colleagues. On most evenings, I will have events with constituents, meetings with colleagues, or some other work to do during the dinner hour.
9:00-9:45pm - Writing Thank You Notes In The Office
When folks fly 3,000 miles to come meet with me, not only do I try to make the time to meet with them... I try to send them a thank you note for their time (yes - my mom is proud of my manners).
9:45-10:05pm - Walk Back To My Apartment
10:15-11:10pm - Exercise
I try to get about an hour in on the elliptical each day. I’ve got shoddy knees, so the elliptical is the best I can do!
11:30pm - Call Home
Without exception, I end each day by calling my wife Jen and my daughters. My day isn’t complete without hearing about their days.
Midnight - SLEEP
And that's a wrap! Back at it again early tomorrow.
The final count for Wednesday - 10.2 miles walked, 20,850 steps, 51 flights of stairs. No wonder I’ve got bad knees...
Working For You
My days in DC are long... but every day is an adventure. That’s true when I’m back home too!
Thanking Our Coast Guard
I had an awesome visit to the Coast Guard Station in Port Angeles. Many thanks to CDR Jackson and others for the update on your projects and priorities... and for all you do to protect folks on the peninsula!
Celebrating A New Maritime Heritage Area
This past week, we had events in Port Townsend and Westport to celebrate the passage of the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area Act, which designates the majority of Western Washington’s shoreline as a national heritage area. This designation will help promote maritime-related tourism, economic development, and maritime history.
Working For Jobs
I could not be more excited about McKinley Paper gearing up to re-open the mill in Port Angeles. I had a terrific tour of the site and visit with the team!
Finding Common Ground
Finally, I was honored to receive a national award from the Bipartisan Policy Center for my bipartisan accomplishments as your representative. The folks I represent want to get this economy on track - and they want Congress to get on track too. There’s been far too much bickering and far too little progress in recent years. That’s why I keep working to find common ground in hopes of moving our country forward.
That’s it for this week! Remember - you’re the boss. Don’t be afraid to reach out if I can ever be of assistance. As always, I’m honored to represent you!