Dear Friend,
After a lifetime of training for many of our athletes, the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea are finally underway. As Co-Chair of the Olympic and Paralympic Caucus, I am excited for our 242 athletes to participate in this year’s games. This team, which has members hailing from 32 states, will be the largest athlete delegation for any nation in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. Our Olympic athletes have tirelessly worked for the honor of representing our nation at the highest level. We look forward to cheering on Team USA as they compete for gold in all 15 sport disciplines. The Olympics is a testament to the power of international competition to unite us in common spirit, and the games act as a reminder that we can achieve our dreams with courage and determination.
Some fun facts about this year’s Winter Olympic Games: PyeongChang is the sister city to Auburn, Washington, my hometown. Washington sends its support to our local Team USA athletes - cross country skiers Sadie Bjornsen and Erik Bjornsen from Winthrop, WA and short track speed skaters J.R. Celski and Aaron Tran from Federal Way, WA.
Wishing Team USA all the best! We’re cheering for you here at home!
Setting a Disappointing Precedent
This week, overnight on Friday, there was a lapse in government funding. I was extremely disappointed that some of my colleagues allowed this shutdown to occur, but am pleased that we finally reached a bipartisan budget agreement that will allow us to fund critical government programs, strengthen our military, and avoid continued short-term spending bills.
In our final solution, we came together to make important investments in our country’s future through medical research, programs to combat addiction and community support through a reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. For the health of American families, we extended funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Community Health Centers. I am also proud to say we have updated our tax code to support the work of philanthropic businesses that donate their profits to support their communities. These investments and this certainty will positively impact American families.
Reemphasizing a Commitment to Washington Businesses
Earlier in the week, my colleagues and I on the House Ways and Means Committee had the opportunity to meet with United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer. It was a pleasure meeting with him again to discuss how we can best support American workers, farmers, and businesses through trade. Our trade agreements have greatly benefited communities across the country, but we can and should update our agreements and make improvements. I’ve made clear that the best way to improve our trade agreements is to require ambitious and fully enforceable commitments from our trading partners.
In addition, we must create certainty and confidence in the relationship so that foreign customers want to buy from our companies and benefit our constituents. I have spent my time in Congress fighting to keep Washington’s workers and businesses globally competitive as they sell their high-quality goods and services around the world, including passage of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. I remain committed to strong agreements and working with Ambassador Lighthizer and his team to create new opportunities for my constituents.
My Ways and Means colleagues and I also introduced important legislation that will help Washington businesses to grow, invest, and hire through the renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). GSP eliminates tariffs on imports on thousands of products from 121 designated developing countries in a manner that does not hurt U.S. producers. The program’s last authorization expired on December 31, 2017. When enacted, the bill we introduced will extend the program through December 31, 2020, and retroactively extend benefits to covered imports that have been made since the program lapsed.
As Chairman of the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, I have been a long-time supporter and advocate for GSP, the largest and oldest U.S. trade preference program. I support GSP because of businesses like Rain City Music in Bonney Lake, WA. Rain City Music is a great example of a local company in Washington’s Eighth District that benefits from this legislation through their import of musical instruments from India. With the renewal of GSP, Washington’s businesses will be able to put their tariff savings into hiring new workers, investing in their company, and providing additional benefits to their employees. In 2017 alone, GSP saved Washington’s businesses $11 million in tariffs.
Continuing to Fight for Law Enforcement
As co-chair of the House Law Enforcement Caucus, I worked with my fellow co-chair Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and more than 130 of our colleges to send a letter to President Trump outlining the importance of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office and urging him to include robust funding for this office in his budget for Fiscal Year 2019.
My 33 years of law enforcement experience has showed me just how important the COPS Office is for our country. I have seen the benefits of their programs first-hand which is why I have consistently fought both to keep the office in place and ensure it is adequately funded each year. I sincerely hope that the President will also see its value and support our local law enforcement agencies across the country with the funding they desperately need to hire and take care of our cops. Now, more than ever before, our country must continue to bridge the divide between our nation’s law enforcement and the communities they serve. Funding the COPS Office is essential to doing this.
Since its inception, the COPS Office has placed more than 130,000 law enforcement officers in communities across the United States by providing grants for the hiring of officers through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program. These grants provide federal resources to communities with public safety needs that may lack the funds to hire law enforcement officers. The COPS Office programs provide invaluable resources and technical assistance to state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
Additionally, the COPS Office is responsible for implementing legislation authored and co-sponsored by Rep. Pascrell and myself. Specifically, the COPS Office oversees implementation the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act (Public Law: 114-12), which establishes a nationwide Blue Alert communications system to help disseminate information on serious injury or death of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, an officer who is missing in connection with the officer's official duties, or an imminent and credible threat that an individual intends to cause the serious injury or death of a law enforcement officer. Finally, the COPS Office is responsible for overseeing implementation of the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (Public Law: 115-113), which allows the COPS Office to make grants available to initiate peer mentoring pilot programs and develop training to meet law enforcement mental health needs.
Honoring America’s Youth
I had the honor of awarding Blaine Mitchell from Snoqualmie, WA with the Congressional Silver Medal. Blaine earned this award because of his commitment to volunteering, personal development, physical fitness, & exploration. Earning this special award is a great honor as it is the only Congressional honor set aside specifically for the youth in our communities. It was inspiring to hear Blaine share his experience working towards this prestigious award. Congratulations, Blaine!
Another Success Story
Congrats to Peter Nguva Kingesi & his family from East Wenatchee on his naturalization ceremony this week. My team & I had the privilege of helping Peter get his visa approved after his engagement to Amber. Congrats Peter on becoming an American citizen!
Looking for Your Opinion
The Snoqualmie Ranger District in Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest is planning to repair several roads that were damaged during the heavy rains Washington experienced in 2016 and they want your opinion on these projects.
Thanks for joining me for a quick recap about the work going on in Washington’s Eighth District and Washington, D.C. I hope you will join me again next week. Have a safe and wonderful weekend!
