Message from Dave

Dear Friend,

Unfortunately, he did not, but the Santa María, Nina, and Pinta did guide him on his journey to the Americas. Before you begin your holiday weekend, I want to let you know about some of the things I have been up to since I spoke with you last:

Restoring Trust and Civility within Communities

Local governing officials know the pulse of the small communities they serve better than any federal official in Washington, DC. They also understand the unique challenges facing their cities and the people who work tirelessly to keep their constituents safe. As a former law enforcement officer who served the greater King County area for 33 years, I was honored when the National Association of Counties (NACo) invited me to their annual symposium last weekend to give my perspective on what Congress and local officials can do to work together to promote effective community policing strategies.

Over 100 local country officials from across the country came to Seattle to participate in the event, and like them, I am deeply concerned about the tragedies that have occurred since Ferguson and the growing tensions between law enforcement and the communities they protect. We had a productive conversation about the importance of restoring trust and civility within our local communities so that these tragedies do not become the status quo.

I continued that conversation this week in Washington, DC when I held a hearing with the Law Enforcement Task Force titled “Examining the State of Relations Between the People and Their Protectors.” We invited law enforcement officials and policy experts from around the country to explain what they perceive as flaws in the system and where they believe improvements can be made. I look forward to continuing to listen to folks around Washington State and the country so we can find actionable solutions.

Reforming Graduate Medical Education

Here in Washington State we have some of the best medical facilities and schools in the country, but the current Graduate Medical Education (GME) system is in need of reform to ensure the doctors we’re graduating can stay in our state and meet the health care needs of our communities, particularly in rural areas.. Earlier this week, I met with folks from across the 8^th District and state, including Providence, HealthPoint Community Health Center, UW Medicine, the Pierce County Medical Society, Issaquah Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, and other medical professionals to discuss how we can reform the GME system to increase our supply of primary care physicians and provide better care to patients in rural areas.

Washington Roundup

One of the highlights of these past few days in Washington, DC was recognizing Kim Emmons as an Angel in Adoption. Mrs. Emmons has not only provided a forever home to a foster child, but she decided to dedicate her life to supporting foster children and their families in our region by founding Foster Champs in Maple Valley. I am so grateful for Mrs. Emmons’ compassion and her unrelenting commitment to some of our District’s most vulnerable members.

This week lawmakers also passed legislation, which I cosponsored, to waive visa renewal fees for adoptions from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In 2013, the DRC suspended the issuance of exit letters for intercountry adoptions, forcing American families to continually renew expensive immigration visas as they wait to be united with their adopted children. I am hopeful that the President will quickly sign the Adoptive Family Relief Act into law and provide families in the 8th District who have been fighting to bring their adopted children home with this needed financial relief.

I was also proud to join a bipartisan group of colleagues in introducing the Reach Every Mother and Child Act. This important legislation would accelerate international efforts to eliminate preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths by providing mothers and children with the care and resources they need. Not only does this bill have the potential to give children a chance at a future, but it would help foster stability and security around the world.

Lastly, today I joined  with  my House colleagues in signing a discharge petition to bring a vote to reauthorize the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the United States to the House floor. I know that when Washington State businesses operate on a level playing field with foreign businesses, they win, and hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs are created here in our state. But when Congress failed to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank this past summer, we put over 230 of our state’s exporters that have relied on Ex-Im and the jobs they support here at home at risk. Too much is on the line, which is why I joined my colleagues in taking this step to force action on this critical resource for our nation’s job creators.

That’s all for now, have a safe holiday weekend!

Sincerely,

Dave