An Update on Rebuilding Local Economies, the 2023 Congressional Arts Competition, and the Return of the “Fix Congress” Committee
Hello Folks –
I hope this finds you well as we press onwards into March Madness (Go Zags!) and warmer, sunnier weather! It’s been a busy few weeks in DC and across our region – so let’s jump right in!
Rebuilding Local Economies
As many readers of this newsletter know, I grew up on the Olympic Peninsula in the district I now have the honor of representing. I was in high school when the timber industry took it on the chin, and I saw a lot of my friends’ parents lose their jobs. It had a big impact on me - and I've spent much of my adult life trying to figure out how to make sure we are doing a better job of protecting workers and communities so that folks don't get left behind in our economy.
We know that the economic changes - and the economic distress - we have experienced is not unique to our community. Indeed, too many communities across our region and our country are being left behind. In fact, roughly 30 percent of the U.S. population live in economically distressed communities that have largely been left out of the economic growth, jobs, opportunities, and investment that have been concentrated in a handful of major metropolitan areas in recent decades.
That’s why I’m proud that a pilot version of the bipartisan Rebuilding Economies and Creating Opportunities for More People Everywhere to Excel Act (RECOMPETE Act) -- legislation I introduced – was signed into law as part of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.
In looking at the challenges facing communities like those on the Olympic Peninsula, the Recompete Pilot Project aims to provide flexible, long-term grant assistance to communities that have faced persistent economic challenges. Communities could use these grants to invest in workforce, infrastructure, or other priorities to help turn things around. It’s about ensuring people have economic opportunity – regardless of what zip code they live in.
Last week I was excited to host the U.S. Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and other leaders from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) in Tacoma. We sat down with community leaders from across our region to hear their input and perspectives about how to build the Recompete Pilot Program and ensure it can help meet the needs of communities like ours.
I firmly believe that as our economy recovers from this pandemic, we can’t leave any community behind. I’ll keep working to help our community get in on the action!
Standing up for Tribal Communities
Climate change and rising sea levels are threatening coastal communities across our region – including the ancestral homelands of four coastal Tribes. The federal government has an obligation to fulfill its trust and treaty responsibilities and to make sure that people aren’t put at risk.
Earlier this month, I was honored to welcome tribal leaders from across our region to Washington, DC, as they testified in front of the House Appropriations Committee. As the representative for our region, I have seen first-hand the impact of climate change and rising sea levels on our coastal tribes. But it is incredibly important that they’re able to come speak to my colleagues in Congress to directly share their stories – and directly explain the challenges they see. They also had the opportunity to speak with lawmakers about what is needed to help ensure Tribal communities in our region get the support they need as they build climate resilience, move to higher ground, and keep their people out of harm’s way.
While I am encouraged to see last year’s year-end spending package recognize “the urgency and severity of the situation” faced by tribes requiring full or partial relocation due to “risks related to flooding, erosion, sea level rise, and tsunami threats impacting human health and safety, infrastructure integrity, and quality of life,” more needs to be done. The testimony of community leaders helps to shine a light on that.
I have fought for increases to the Tribal Climate Resilience funding in the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget, which provides tribal relocation grants, and I intend to continue to do so. I’ll keep fighting to make sure the federal government fulfills its trusty and treaty obligations to tribal communities.
Working in a Bipartisan Way to Fix Congress
It’s a huge priority for me to get government working better for folks back home.
As part of that effort, I was proud to lead the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (aka the “Fix Congress Committee”) – which over the last four years passed over 200 recommendations, with bipartisan support, to make Congress more effective, efficient, and transparent (you can listen to a discussion on that effort in a new episode of the podcast “Pantsuit Politics”).
The recommendations passed by this Committee do all sorts of things to make Congress work better for the American people: they improve the way Congress engages with the people it represents; they streamline things like constituent services and improve feedback methods to help Members of Congress be more responsive, accessible, and accountable to folks at home; they bolster staff capacity to ensure Congress can do its job and enact legislation that moves our country forward; they help bring congressional technology into the 21st century to improve efficiency; they facilitate bipartisan collaboration, and more. All of these go towards making government work better – and they all had the backing of a bipartisan majority of the Fix Congress Committee.
While the work of that Committee has ended, I’m proud that Democrat and Republican leaders in the House have decided that it will be important to make sure those recommendations get implemented – so they have established a new Subcommittee on Modernization under the House Administration Committee and appointed me Ranking Member.
If there is one thing I have learned during my time as Chair of this Modernization Committee, it’s that there is no silver bullet to “fix” Congress. I think it's more like silver buckshot—there's a whole bunch of stuff that we've got to do to modernize the institution to get it more focused on the needs of the American people. That’s why I’m excited to keep working on these issues this Congress!
Calling All High School Artists!
I am thrilled to announce that the annual art competition for high school students across our region is back! This nationwide competition allows students from across the country to showcase their artistic ability - with winning artwork from our region and across the country displayed at the U.S. Capitol! The first-place artist will win a trip for two to Washington, D.C. where they will be recognized for their achievement alongside winners from across the nation.
See below for more information or click here.
Working for You
Supporting Local Farmers & Food Advocates
Every few years Congress moves to pass a "Farm Bill" - which helps set national agriculture, nutrition, and forestry policy. It was great to sit down with local farmers and food advocates in Poulsbo, including the team at Kitsap Fresh, to talk about food and agriculture priorities for our region. I'll keep pushing to get them included in the final bill! Count me on the home team.
Advocating for Our Armed Forces and their Families
If you serve this nation, the federal government should have your back. I was honored to speak at the recent Bremerton Olympic Navy League Luncheon about my work in Congress to support our armed forces, their families, the civilian workforce, and our local military assets.
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Protecting Puget Sound
Puget Sound is critical to the environmental and economic future of our region. I was proud to join Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Hilary Franz, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards, Makah Tribal Chairman TJ Green, and others in Tacoma last week to speak about the importance of efforts in Congress, and in Olympia, to protect and restore the Sound (read more about recent big wins in the Seattle Times!). I’ll keep at it!
OK – that’s it for now, folks. As always, I’m honored to represent you.
Sincerely,
Derek Kilmer