Message from Dave

Dear Friend,

Like many of you, I believe Thanksgiving is an important time to reflect on the many gifts this nation, our friends and family, and our communities have given us. Before you start your weekend, I want to tell you a little bit about why I am thankful for our first responders and the men and women who protect our nation, Washington’s strong trade economy, and new opportunities coming our way.

Local Hero Released from Hospital

I am so pleased to say that earlier this week, one of our local heroes, Daniel Lyon was released from Harborview Hospital after spending three months undergoing treatment for the burns he suffered from fighting a wildfire this past summer. Daniel, only 25, showed great bravery that day, along with his three fellow firefighters who tragically succumbed to the flames. I had the privilege of visiting him this afternoon and was overwhelmed by his resilience and positive attitude. Instead of focusing on his own hardship, Daniel has instead spent his energy thanking those around him and remembering the friends he lost that day in the fire. His story is a reminder of the incredible sacrifices our first responders make every day.

Why Trade is Important to Washington State

Earlier this week, I was honored to be named Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade. In this new role, I will be in a unique position to lead on and champion some of the issues that have the greatest impact on Washingtonians. 

Whether we realize it or not, trade is an integral part of our daily lives here in Washington State. Next time you take a bite of a Washington grown apple, take a second to think about the many moving parts required to get that Honeycrisp from an orchard in Wenatchee into your hand. First, the apple will be picked, sorted, and placed into storage.  From there, they can either be transported by distributors to your local grocery store, or they will make their way to one of Washington State’s ports if they are headed to a foreign market. Through this process, our region is able to produce over 55 percent of the apples grown in the United States annually, making us the nation’s largest apple producer. The apple business alone creates more than 60,000 local jobs and generates over $7.5 billion for our state economy.

While Washington is well known for our apples, the efficiency and reliability of this same system is critical to the many other goods and products our state exports, both internationally and here in the United States. In fact, with 40 percent of our jobs tied to trade and more than $90 billion in annual exports, we are one of the country’s most trade-dependent states. In the Eighth District alone, 77,100 jobs are supported by trade, and our growers, producers, and businesses export approximately $8.6 billion in goods and services each year. 

Fighting for a Long-Term Highway Solution

As the story about the Washington apple market illustrated, a strong transportation system and the success of our trade economy are closely intertwined. This week I was selected to serve on the conference committee for the long-term highway bill. In this role, I look forward to working with other lawmakers from the House and Senate to negotiate and come to an agreement on legislation to reauthorize and fund the nation’s highway and transit programs. Doing so is critical for our roads, bridges, economic competitiveness, and public safety. To watch a video of my opening statement at our first conference meeting, click here.             

Protecting Our National Security

The United States is the most compassionate nation in the world – a fact in which we should all take great pride.  However, that compassion cannot come at the expense of our citizens’ security.  Starting with my service in the Air Force Reserves, through my 33 years in law enforcement, and now as a representative, my first priority is the safety of Washingtonians and all Americans. If the U.S. is going to allow Syrian refugees into our country we must have strong safeguards in place to ensure terrorist attacks, like those that recently occurred in France, do not happen here at home.

That is why this week I voted for a bill to provide those safeguards.  After the FBI, the National Counterterrorism Center, and Homeland Security admitted last month that they do not have adequate intelligence on Syria to ensure our safety, it was clear to me that the status quo is not enough.  Our law enforcement officers and the communities they protect need to know their security is the federal government’s top priority. This bill gives that assurance by requiring our intelligence community and homeland security agencies to unanimously certify that each refugee has been given a sufficiently thorough background investigation and determined that he or she is not a threat.  As a country, we must remain strong and must act when radical extremists make threats to our homeland.

From my family to yours, have a wonderful weekend and Thanksgiving holiday!

Sincerely,

Dave

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