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Message from Dave
Dear Friend, As someone who has valued sports and fitness my whole life, I know how big of an impact physical activity can have on a young man or woman's overall health. It was great to have an opportunity to meet with former Seahawks cornerback Shawn Springs and his son this week to talk about what we can do to get kids off the couch and up on their feet moving again. Whether you play in the NFL or on a little league team, being active is critical to both our mental and physical health and we must encourage children to be active from a young age.
Bringing Our Kids Home As some of you may know, around 400 U.S. families were unable to be united with their children after the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s government placed a moratorium on exit visas for foreign adoptions in 2013. This week, I joined some of my Washington State colleagues from both sides of the aisle in urging Ambassador François Nkuna Balumuene of the DRC to ensure all of the remaining adoption cases are resolved by the end of the month. Although the DRC recently agreed to issue 200 exit permits to adopted Congolese children, there are still many waiting to be united with their parents in Washington State and across the country. Rest assured, I will continue fighting until each adopted child is finally home with their families. Read the letter, HERE. Promoting Women in Trade We benefit from the achievements of women in our communities every day. In honor of Women’s History Month, I was pleased to recognize some of the remarkable women who are members of the Association of Women in International Trade. By promoting the importance of trade, they are supporting both women here and abroad who want to expand their businesses and create good-paying jobs. This week, I had the privilege of speaking to some of these women about how we can work together to promote trade as well as thank them for their role in the international trade community.
Connecting to Congress Often times when you pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV, all you see is coverage of the presidential campaign or news about crimes that have been committed in your area. Unfortunately, this leaves out some of the important work that is being done by lawmakers. This week, I had the opportunity to speak with KOMO News about some of my priorities in Congress and what I am doing to strengthen Washington State’s economy and to make our communities safer. To watch the video, click HERE. Modernizing Our Foster Care System Due to states’ outdated and inefficient processing systems, foster kids wait much longer than they need to when being placed into a home in another state. This is unnecessary and not fair to kids. I am a cosponsor of a bill, the Modernizing the Interstate Placement of Children in Foster Care Act, which would set funds aside to help states connect to an electronic interstate care-processing system. By utilizing this system, we can greatly reduce the amount of time foster kids have to wait before entering loving homes while saving states $1.6 million per year in copying and mailing costs alone. This week as the Ways and Means Committee was considering the bill, I spoke to my colleagues about the importance of adopting this new technology. I am pleased to say that this bill passed out of committee and is now cleared to be considered on the House floor. To watch my remarks, click HERE. Allowing Families to Live with Dignity While there are many factors that contribute to our region’s problem with homelessness, it pains me to see young individuals and entire families lose their sense of pride and dignity by living under a tent or a bridge. Last weekend, I spoke to a group at Tahoma High School about a proposed project in Maple Valley called the Family Hope Center, which would offer a potential alternative for homeless families by not only giving them a place to live, but by providing them with resources and education to one day leave the center.
Happy belated St. Patrick’s Day and enjoy the rest of your weekend! |
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Dave
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