Press Releases
Kilmer Announces More Than $12 Million in Federal Investments for the Port of Port Angeles and Northwest Seaport Alliance
TACOMA, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded more than $12 million in funding through the EPA’s Clean Ports Program’s Zero-Emission Technology Deployment Competition to two ports in Washington’s Sixth District for the deployment of zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure, and climate and air quality planning. Made possible by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act - the largest … Continue Reading
October 15, 2024
Kilmer Introduces Bipartisan Resolution to Create Congressional Modernization Competition
Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Joe Morelle (NY-25), and Mike Carey (OH-15) introduced a bipartisan resolution that would create a congressional modernization competition for students, enabling young people to contribute ideas for making Congress work better for the American people. The proposed Congressional Modernization Competition is intended allow the House to both encourage students’ participation in civic life and provide Congress with additional … Continue Reading
September 17, 2024
House Passes Kilmer’s Bipartisan Legislation to Honor Vietnam Veterans
Washington, DC - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation led by U.S. Representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) to award Dustoff crews of the Vietnam War with the Congressional Gold Medal. Dustoff crewmembers - helicopter air ambulance pilots, crew chiefs, and medics - performed aeromedical evacuation of over 900,000 U.S., Vietnamese, and allied forces from May 1962 to March 1973. The legislation, which has now passed the House and … Continue Reading
September 17, 2024
Kilmer Announces $13.5 Million Investment for Kitsap Transit to Purchase New Passenger Ferry
TACOMA, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded $13.5 million in federal funds to the Kitsap County Public Transportation Benefit Area Authority (Kitsap Transit) through the Fiscal Year 2024 Passenger Ferry Grant Program to support Kitsap Transit’s Kitsap Transit Fast Ferry Passenger-Only Vessel Replacement project. In June of this year, Rep. Kilmer wrote to Secretary of … Continue Reading
August 26, 2024
Kilmer Introduces Legislation to Return Land to Quinault Indian Nation
Tacoma, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) introduced the Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer Act, legislation that would transfer 72 acres of land, known as Allotment 1157, to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be held in trust for the benefit of the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN). The Quinault Indian Reservation was set aside for the Quinault Indian National for their exclusive use following the Treaty of Olympia of 1856, whereby the QIN ceded millions of acres it had freely … Continue Reading
August 16, 2024
Kilmer, Ciscomani Introduce Legislation to Expand Midwifery Care Coverage for U.S. Servicemembers and Their Families
Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) introduced the Maternal and Infant Delivery: Wellness, and Integration with Vital Expertise Support (MIDWIVES) for Servicemembers Act. This legislation would increase access to maternity care for servicemembers by extending TRICARE coverage to additional types of certified midwives through a 5-year pilot program. Certified Midwives (CMs) and Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) are licensed … Continue Reading
August 16, 2024
Kilmer Introduces Legislation to Protect Sacred and Cultural Lands for Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
Port Angeles, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) introduced the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act, legislation that would restore more than 1,000 acres of ancestral land along the Elwha River to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. These parcels of land were acquired by the National Parks Service under the Elwha River Ecoystems and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992 to facilitate the removal of two dams on the Elwha River. By taking these lands into trust for … Continue Reading
August 09, 2024
Kilmer, Olympic Peninsula Community Celebrate $35 Million Award to Create Jobs and Reinvigorate North Olympic Peninsula Economy
Port Angeles, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) held a press conference celebrating a new $35 million Recompete Grant awarded to the North Olympic Peninsula Recompete Coalition (NOPRC) to reinvigorate the economy on the North Olympic Peninsula. The historic federal funding is being administered by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) through the Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program (Recompete Pilot Program), which was created based on legislation authored by … Continue Reading
August 05, 2024
Kilmer, Murray, Cantwell Announce $35 Million Award to North Olympic Peninsula Recompete Coalition
Kilmer Authored Legislation to Create Recompete Program, Which Has Become the Most Popular Program in the History of the Economic Development Administration Port Angeles, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that the North Olympic Peninsula Recompete Coalition (NOPRC) was awarded $35 million by the U.S. Department of Commerce to reinvigorate the economy on the North Olympic Peninsula. The historic … Continue Reading
July 25, 2024
Kilmer Announces Nearly $1 Million for Small Shipyards in Bremerton and Tacoma
TACOMA, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has awarded nearly $1 million in federal funding through the Fiscal Year 2024 Small Shipyard Grant Program to two organizations in Washington’s Sixth District. This investment includes nearly $400,000 for Inventech Marine Solutions in Bremerton and more than $578,000 for Motive Power Marine in Tacoma. Earlier this year, Rep. Kilmer wrote to … Continue Reading
July 21, 2024
Kilmer Statement on President Joe Biden
TACOMA, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) issued the following statement: “President Joe Biden has spent his entire life working on behalf of our nation to leave it better, fairer, and stronger for future generations. He has led one of the most successful and historic administrations in history - pulling us out of the COVID pandemic, signing laws to lower health care costs, to invest in our infrastructure and in American manufacturing, and to combat the climate crisis. Time … Continue Reading
July 17, 2024
Kilmer Announces More than $20 Million for Transit Projects in Pierce, Clallam, and Grays Harbor Counties
TACOMA, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded more than $20 million in federal funding through the Fiscal Year 2024 Buses and Bus Facilities program to support transit projects in Pierce, Clallam, and Grays Harbor Counties. This funding includes more than $6.2 million for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and more than $14.7 million for the Pierce … Continue Reading
July 17, 2024
Kilmer Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Help Ensure Tsunami Alerts Reach Those at Risk
Tacoma, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) introduced new legislation that would implement recommendations from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) that aim to help improve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) ability to send tsunami alerts to the public. Following a review of how NOAA sends tsunami alerts to the public, the GAO has recommended that NOAA (1) assess NOAA Weather Radio’s coverage of populated areas at risk of tsunamis and … Continue Reading
July 09, 2024
Kilmer Recognizes Tacoma and Gig Harbor Students in Congressional Art Competition, Welcomes First Place Winner to Washington, D.C.
TACOMA, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced Charles Wright Academy student Mera Foster as the first-place winner of the 2024 Congressional Art Competition for Washington’s Sixth Congressional District. The annual nationwide art competition allows high school students from across the United States to showcase their artistic ability. Mera’s work, titled “Piecing Together a Memory,” will now be displayed for eleven months in the tunnel leading to the U.S. Capitol in … Continue Reading
June 27, 2024
Kilmer Announces New Federal Investments for Kitsap Transit and the Makah Tribe
TACOMA, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will be awarding more than $18.3 million in federal funding to two projects in Washington’s Sixth Congressional District through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program for 2024. This funding includes $17 million for Kitsap County Public Transportation Authority (Kitsap Transit) and more than $1.3 million for … Continue Reading
May 23, 2024
Kilmer Announces More Than $18 Million in Funding for Culvert Restoration Across Washington’s Sixth Congressional District
TACOMA, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded $18.4 million in new federal funding to four fish passage restoration projects in Washington’s Sixth District. This funding, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act, aims to restore aquatic access to healthy habitats through the Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal program and the Restoring … Continue Reading
May 22, 2024
Kilmer Announces Historic Investment in Tribal Housing Across Washington’s Sixth Congressional District
TACOMA, WA - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded a total of more than $21.5 million in federal funds through the Indian Housing Block Grant Program to Tribes in Washington’s Sixth Congressional District to support Tribal housing projects. These funds may be used for affordable housing activities, including new housing construction, rehabilitation, housing services, and more. “Across our region, … Continue Reading
May 15, 2024
Kilmer Introduces Bill to Ensure Fair Adoption Tax Credits for Tribal Families
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Mike Kelly (PA-16), Gwen Moore (WI-04), and John Moolenaar (MI-02) introduced the Tribal Adoption Parity Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at establishing parity between state and Tribal governments in determining whether an adoption qualifies as “special needs” and is thus eligible for the full adoption tax credit. U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (MN) and John Hoeven (ND) previously introduced companion legislation in the Senate. “The … Continue Reading
May 15, 2024
Kilmer Legislation to Improve Rural Airport Resiliency Passes House, Now Heads to President Biden’s Desk
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Derer Kilmer (WA-06) applauded the passage of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2024 to reauthorize the FAA for five years. The FAA Reauthorization Act includes Rep. Kilmer’s Resilient Airports Act, bipartisan legislation to improve emergency and disaster response capabilities at airports nationwide, including those located in rural communities. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of our airports in times of crisis, … Continue Reading
May 14, 2024
Kilmer Introduces Legislation to Protect Elections from Deceptive Artificial Intelligence in Political Ads
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and Tony Gonzales (TX-23) introduced the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, bipartisan legislation to safeguard the integrity of federal elections. This pioneering legislation aims to combat the rise of deceptive AI-generated content in political campaign advertising. U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (MN), Josh Hawley (MO), Susan Collins (ME), and Chris Coons (DE) previously introduced companion legislation in the … Continue Reading