Updates on Building a More Perfect Union, Protecting Our Environment, and Supporting Those Who Served
Hello Folks –
It's hard to believe that September is already in full swing and football season is back! Great wins for the Huskies and the Cougs this weekend (I would prefer not to discuss the ‘hawks this morning).
The last few weeks across the district and back in DC have been jam-packed. Importantly, I took time earlier this month to host a telephone town hall so I could hear from folks across the district about how things are going and answer a lot of important questions. We covered a lot of ground: from the importance of reducing the costs of childcare, to my work to protect Social Security and Medicare for seniors, as well as the new Inflation Reduction Act – which aims to lower the costs of health care and prescription drugs for folks across our region and invest in our efforts to combat the climate crisis – just to name a few! If you happened to miss it, you can listen to the full telephone town hall HERE.
OK – on to the news.
Building a More Perfect Union
President Kennedy once said, “For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, ‘holds office’; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends on how we fill those responsibilities.”
I’m a believer that each of us has a role to play to help our nation form a more perfect union. A healthy, diverse democracy relies on everyday citizens to live, work, and serve alongside people who look, pray, and think very differently than they do.
Unfortunately, we know that in recent years, division in this country has risen to all-time high. In fact, earlier this year, a poll found that on a scale of 0-100, with 0 being no conflict and 100 being civil war, Americans put our country at a 70 when asked to rate where we stand as a nation – the highest rating on record. That's concerning for all of our communities. What’s more, an NBC News poll earlier this year found that 70% of Americans think that, because our nation is so divided, it is now incapable of solving big problems.
I believe we can do better, and much of my work in Congress has been focused on that end. That’s why I’m proud that, last week, I was invited to participate in the United We Stand Summit at the White House.
America needs to reject hate-motivated violence, take steps to foster unity, and build relationships across lines of differences. The United We Stand Summit brought together extraordinary citizens from across our country who are doing just that: leading efforts in their communities to build bridges and address hate and division.
Like so many of the attendees at the Summit, I believe that our nation needs to take steps to build more unity – and less division. In our neck of the woods, we’ve seen inspiring efforts to counter increased division. After a series of horrific attacks—including assault, vandalism, and arson — against faith-based institutions in our region, we saw an interfaith group rise up to foster community understanding and build community cohesion. In response to conflict at a local YMCA, we saw a group of leaders work to bring in conflict resolution capacity and work to sponsor community events to build understanding across differences. In both cases, we saw inspiring local examples of folks in our region trying to advance civic bridgebuilding. However, in both cases, when they asked if there were resources available from the federal government to support this vital work, the answer was ‘Not really. At least, not currently.’
That’s why, earlier this year, I led 9 Democrats and 9 Republicans in introducing the Building Civic Bridges Act – bipartisan legislation that would lend support to these local civic bridgebuilding efforts to bridge divides and strengthen democracy. Ultimately, the legislation would empower communities like ours to tackle sources of division while assisting local civic and community organizations with ongoing efforts to foster dialogue, defuse and address sources of conflict, and bridge differences.
I’m hopeful that we can mend some of our nation’s division so that we can continue the effort to build a more perfect union.
Protecting Our Environment and Our Economy
Growing up in our neck of the woods, I always appreciated the beauty and diversity of Puget Sound and our coastlines. Today, that same beauty and diversity is threatened by the invasion of a new species, which poses a major threat not only to our environment, but to our region’s economy: the European Green Crab. This damaging invasive species poses a threat to native shellfish, eelgrass, and estuary habitats that are critical for salmon and other wildlife. Consequently, the expansion of the presence of these crabs puts at risk the harvest of wild shellfish and the shellfish aquaculture industry, the Dungeness crab fisheries, and salmon recovery.
Earlier this month, I had the chance to visit Nick’s Lagoon near Seabeck on Hood Canal with leaders from the Washington Sea Grant Crab Team (WSG), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and local Tribal representatives to discuss the recent drastic expansion of the European green crab and the impact it’s having on the region. I was reminded of the urgency of this challenge when we found two European green crab during our visit.
This threat to our region’s ecosystem and economy is why, a few weeks ago, I led a bipartisan effort to urge the U.S. Department of the Interior to combat invasive species across the nation – and particularly right here in our region. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law actually included some funding to fight invasive species. Our letter pointed out that there’s no time to waste.
We need the federal government to step up and support the ongoing state and local response. I will keep working to secure more federal investments to help fight this invasive species.
Supporting Those Who Served
Our region is stronger because of the brave women and men who served in uniform and then chose to call Washington home. Our veterans deserve to have a government that is behind them every step of the way – and that includes improving access to mental health care.
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to speak at the Kitsap World Suicide Prevention Day event hosted by the Veterans Advisory Board and Suicide Prevention Workgroup. We need to recognize that when we ask people to serve our country and protect our freedom, we owe them something in return.
When I’ve met with senior military leadership and asked what keeps them up at night, they’ve frequently said “mental health.” I remember meeting with a leader at JBLM and having him say “I’ve lost more soldiers to suicide than to foreign adversaries”
I am thankful to report that in this Congress, there has been a lot of support for mental health services, specifically for veterans. The STRONG Veterans Act is just one example. This bill, which has passed the House, included provisions based on 22 bipartisan bills. The package is designed to support veterans’ mental health and prevent suicide by:
- Expanding and improving training of VA’s mental health provider workforce;
- Strengthening VA’s crisis response system;
- Increasing mental health and suicide prevention outreach to traditionally underserved veteran populations;
- Broadening mental health services delivery to reach more veterans; and
- Deepening research knowledge to further guide evidence-based prevention and care services.
This bill will grant and extend necessary mental health services to veterans and their families. I am committed to fighting for improved access to mental health care for our veterans, as well as our active duty servicemembers and all of our community members.
Working for You
Honoring Our Heroes
On September 11, 2001, our nation suffered an unthinkable tragedy – and witnessed the incredible bravery of so many. I joined the Bremerton community at the 7th Annual Sacrifice of Service Commemoration to remember the lives lost and honor the heroic acts of our first responders. A big thank you co-organizers Martitha May, Karen Vargas, and Tom Vargas, for continuing to bring us together.
Celebrating Our Maritime Heritage
Did you know that the largest wooden boat festival in North America is in Port Townsend?! It was great to stop by and see 200+ vessels, amazing presentations, and an awesome sense of community spirit. Thanks to the Northwest Maritime Center’s fearless leader, Jake Beattie, for showing me around – and letting me check out a paddle-wheeler!
Supporting Employers in Our Region
It was great to visit with the awesome team at The Home Depot in Aberdeen! In addition to visiting with their team and learning more about their work to employ folks in our region, help educate more people in the skilled trades, and serve our veterans - I had the opportunity to mix a can of paint, demo a few power tools, and play corn hole with a high-powered leaf blower (which should absolutely be a new sport!).
OK – that’s it for now, folks. As always, I’m honored to represent you.
Sincerely,
Derek