In-Person Town Hall Meetings Happening This Week
Hello Folks –
Happy President’s Day! February is well underway, and I’m knee-deep in a two-week district work period, meeting with folks from across our region to hear their concerns and answer their questions. This time of the year is always jam-packed with town halls, constituent meetings, local business visits, and more. I pride myself on keeping busy on behalf of the folks I represent. With that, let’s jump into the news.
Happening This Week: In-Person Town Hall Meetings
I work for the people I represent, and it’s important that I get opportunities to hear directly from you. That’s why I hope folks will be able to join one of this week’s town hall meetings in Shelton and Tacoma to share their ideas and concerns, and to hear more about my work to cut costs and create jobs for working families across our region.
Shelton Town Hall – Tuesday, February 21st, 2023, at 5:30 p.m.
- Who: Representative Kilmer, Residents of the 6th Congressional District
- What: Town Hall
- When: Tuesday, February 21st, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. (doors will open at 5:00 p.m.)
- Where: Residents of the 6th District are invited to join Representative Derek Kilmer for a town hall in Shelton, located at the Mason PUD #3, Skookum Room, 2621 E Johns Prairie Rd, Shelton, WA 98584.
- You can RSVP here.
Tacoma Town Hall – Thursday, February 23rd, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.
- Who: Representative Kilmer, Residents of the 6th Congressional District
- What: Town Hall
- When: Thursday, February 23rd, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. (doors will open at 5:30 p.m.)
- Where: Residents of the 6th District are invited to join Representative Derek Kilmer for a town hall in Tacoma, located at the McCormick Social Hall, Centre at Norpoint, 4818 Nassau Ave NE, Tacoma, WA 98422.
- You can RSVP here.
Advocating for Our Tribal Partners
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend President Biden’s State of the Union address. President Biden’s address outlined how we can continue to grow our economy, create more jobs in our communities, and strengthen America’s middle class.
We’ve made real progress in the past couple of years with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fix our infrastructure, the CHIPS and Science Act to boost American manufacturing, and the Inflation Reduction Act to lower costs for working families. At the same time, there’s more work to do to finish the job for folks living in our neck of the woods.
Congress needs to continue standing up for workers and ensure America’s working families have access to affordable childcare and an affordable home. The president also reminded people across the country that America is a story of progress and resilience, that strong democracy makes this work possible, and that Congress and the president together can deliver for the American people – building on the progress of the last two years.
I was honored to attend the State of the Union address with Bill Sterud, Chairman of the Puyallup Tribal Council. Chairman Sterud has been a terrific partner in our work to protect natural resources, including salmon, throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Two weeks ago, I introduced the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Land into Trust Act. This legislation will help restore the Puyallup Tribe's homelands – ensuring the Tribe can continue to diversify and grow economic opportunities and create jobs across our region. I’ll keep working to ensure the federal government fulfills its trust and treaty obligations.
Supporting Local Investments
Recently, I joined Clallam County Commission Mark Ozias to highlight the positive impacts of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), legislation I supported to help Washingtonians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the ARPA, I helped secure more than $15 million in federal funding for Clallam County to improve public health, protect the local economy, enable local government to help more people, improve water infrastructure, make up for lost revenue, and expand high-speed internet access.
This funding has gone toward a variety of projects, including the Dawn View supportive housing project, the Boys & Girls Club in Port Angeles, Clallam County PUD, and the Sequim Food Bank.
Earlier this month, I had an opportunity to visit a few of these projects to see their progress and hear how federal funds continue to make an impact here at home, including at Peninsula Behavioral Health’s new supportive housing project. Combined with state, local, and community investments, federal ARPA funds made Peninsula Behavioral Health’s transformation of the old All View Motel into supportive housing units would not have been possible. In a region plagued by housing shortages, this project is a testament to what can be accomplished when local, state, and federal resources work together.
I also had the chance to visit the Boys & Girls Club of the Olympic Peninsula, which received ARPA funds for childcare support; the Sequim Food Bank, which received ARPA funds to help provide food assistance to people and organizations in Sequim; and Clallam County PUD, which received ARPA funds to support utility assistance for over 300 Clallam County households and businesses, and to improve water conveyance infrastructure to the community of Carlsborg.
I’m thrilled to see these ARPA dollars hard at work, improving lives, growing our economy, and expanding infrastructure throughout our region. I’m also thrilled to share that additional funding may be available soon for similar county projects through the Community Project Funding process.
I’m looking forward to reviewing proposals from organizations and communities across our region, and I encourage local community and government leaders to start thinking now about their proposals.
To evaluate the requests, I’ll once again convene an independent advisory panel of local stakeholders to help inform the selection process and evaluate the degree to which the requests have strong community support, capture the geographic and demographic makeup of the district, and achieve at least one of following goals:
- Create sustained job growth and/or economic opportunity;
- Address imminent threats to public health, safety, or the environment;
- Promote equity and inclusion for underserved populations;
- Fulfill unmet federal obligations, including treaty and trust responsibilities to Native American tribes.
For more information on last year’s process in preparation for this year, you can find my previous FY2023 Community Project Funding request resource guide available here.
As the work continues, I’ll stay committed to putting federal resources to work across our region.
Doing Things Differently in Congress
It is no secret that folks across America see divisive rhetoric from our nation’s lawmakers in Washington, D.C. However, as Chairman of the bipartisan Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (aka the “Fix Congress Committee), I worked over the past four years to demonstrate what’s possible when lawmakers work together to focus on solving problems rather than scoring political points. I’m a big believer in the notion that – if you want things to work differently in Congress – you need to do things different. In four years’ time, the Modernization Committee did things differently – and in the end adopted 202 bipartisan recommendations, with two-thirds of those having been put into motion in some way.
The Modernization Committee’s mission was to fix Congress, a seemingly insurmountable task given the events that later unfolded on January 6, 2021. As your representative, and as Chairman of the Modernization Committee, I was and continue to be committed to solving the challenges that everyday Americans face. But to do that, we have to fix Congress. That means starting at the root of the problem, and, as Amanda Ripley put it in her recent op-ed, we “made a series of blazingly logical changes to [our] work routines and behaviors that were, in the context of Congress, straight-up radical.”
From reforming congressional freshman orientation so that new Republican and Democratic members actually get some opportunities to interact to simply coming together in a roundtable style instead of separating by party and speaking to the back of each other’s heads, the Modernization Committee made a point to do things differently. Some of our changes were also discussed on the CBS Evening News which you can watch here.
The Modernization Committee is a testament to how much can be achieved when those tough conversations are had between Democrats and Republicans, and I hope that moving forward, Congress will continue to find a way to have those tough conversations and work better on behalf of the American people.
While the Modernization Committee came to an end last month (as do all temporary congressional committees), I’m pleased that a new Modernization Subcommittee has been created as part of the Committee on House Administration. I will be the lead Democrat on this subcommittee as we push to implement the Modernization Committee’s recommendations. I’m committed to working to keep the momentum moving forward.
Working for You
Bringing Our Veterans and Students Together
We can never thank our veterans and first responders enough. On Valentine’s Day, I delivered messages from local students to veterans and first responders in Kitsap County. Thanks for keeping our community safe – and thanks to local kids from Central Kitsap School District and South Kitsap School District for making some terrific valentines.
Celebrating Black History Month with the Tacoma Pierce County Black Collective
I recently joined folks at the Tacoma Pierce County Black Collective to provide an update on what’s happening in Congress and to join an inspirational discussion regarding Black History Month.
Honoring Our Vietnam Veterans
I recently held two veteran pinning ceremonies to honor veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War period. It was an honor to thank these veterans for their service and present them with a small token of the Nation’s thanks.
OK – that’s it for now, folks. As always, I’m honored to represent you.
Sincerely,
Derek Kilmer