Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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This past week, we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy, otherwise known as D-Day. Many of us know D-Day as an event that eventually resulted in victory for the Allied forces in World War II. Thousands of brave American soldiers sacrificed their lives for the greater good and helped to secure the freedom we enjoy today. While it can be easy to think of the battle in terms of numbers – the date (June 6, 1944), the length of the shoreline (50 miles), the number of casualties (more than 10,000) – it is imp...
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) motto is, “Caring for the land and serving people.” That is exactly what the students of USFS Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers do. With 25 locations across the country, these Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs) provide skills and job training to “at-risk” young people who need a hand up to find gainful employment or receive their high school GED. Students are taught real skills they use to serve and bring economic prosperity to their local communities and our national forests. Central...
On Memorial Day, we honor our nation’s servicemembers who have given the ultimate sacrifice. We surround their families and loved ones with prayers and support. We lay flowers on memorials, make visits to monuments, and we pay tribute to their service by lowering our flags to half-mast. While it may be easy to associate Memorial Day weekend with barbeques, a day off from work or school, and the start of summer, we cannot forget that there is a reason we observe this day – and each of them have a story. Our military mem...
“Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy.” A lot of people don’t realize exactly how many small businesses are all around us. Whether it be a storefront on Main Street in downtown Ritzville, the local fruit stand off the highway in Selah, or an online boutique operating out of Winthrop, it is very likely that someone you know can call themselves a “small business owner.” Last year, I had the honor of meeting Mike Mauk, who owns Mauk Fishing Stuff. Mike has always loved fishing, but he was tired of his fishi...
Last week, the House voted on legislation that would force the President to participate in the Paris Climate Agreement to reduce carbon emissions in the United States and the world. On the surface, this bill paints a pretty picture: reducing our carbon footprint. However, this federally-mandated top-down approach will not help advance that goal. I celebrate the fact that the United States is leading the global community in reducing carbon emissions, but President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement because other...
Easter Sunday is the holiest day for observant Christians worldwide. It is the day followers of Jesus Christ celebrate his resurrection, and many believers choose to be baptized or receive their first communion on the special day. It is the day on which Christians celebrate the central tenets of our faith, which is why the coordinated suicide bombings on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka that targeted minority Christians at four churches as well as foreigners at four hotels shocked that island nation and the world. The terrorists ta...
Tax Day is a day that has been historically regarded as stressful, complicated, and unworthy of any significant praise. It is a day that is typically dreaded by American taxpayers and business owners. However, on Monday, April 15th, we observed the first Tax Day under the new Republican tax code that was signed into law in December 2017. This is a huge milestone, and for the first time in decades, there is reason to celebrate. I voted to support the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act because our tax code was outdated, convoluted, and...
On April 9th, we said goodbye to a hero of the Greatest Generation. Retired Lt. Col. Richard “Dick” Cole, the last surviving member of the Doolittle Raiders, passed away at the age of 103. In the aftermath of the devastating sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the purpose of the Doolittle Raid four months later was to show that American air power could reach across the Pacific to threaten the home islands of Japan. The daring target of mainland Japan was symbolic because the Japanese military leaders had ass...
The old saying, “the customer is always right” may hold true as a best practice for business, but it just rarely seems to apply to services provided by the government. In my many conversations with farmers in Central Washington, it is clear that one of the biggest challenges they face remains the availability of labor. If the current federal H-2A legal agriculture labor program were compared to a restaurant, then farmers would be frustrated customers demanding to speak with the management, not because they are finnicky eat...
According to the Yakima Herald Republic’s special series, “The Vanished:” “A report from the National Institute of Justice found that more than four out of five Native American women have experienced violence in their lives. In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control reported that homicide is the third leading cause of death among Native American women between the ages of 10 and 24. The Department of Justice has reported Native American women are 10 times more likely to be murdered than other Americans.” The murder and abduc...
This week, the Tri-Cities community will come together in honor of U.S. Marine Sergeant Dietrich Schmieman of Richland. In a formal ceremony, community members, family, friends, Marine Corps brothers-in-arms, and local leaders will designate the U.S. Postal Service facility at 4801 West Van Giesen Street in West Richland as the “Sergeant Dietrich Schmieman Post Office Building.” Sgt. Schmieman was serving in the 2nd Raider Battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina when he tragically lost his life in a cargo plane crash in Mis...
A member of Congress makes a hateful remark, and House congressional leaders of the same political party respond by swiftly condemning and then strip that representative of all committee assignments—a severe punishment. If you think I’m referring to House Democrats’ response to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) widely-covered statement last week referring to American Jews who support Israel as harboring dual loyalties (“I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country i...
‘Gridlock’ might seem to be the best word to describe divided government in Washington D.C. these days. However, last week, despite the partisan differences in the nation’s capital, bipartisanship and pragmatism won in what can only be described as a major legislative win for Central Washington. The House and Senate approved of a package of natural resource bills that includes Central Washington priorities. I have worked for almost thirty years with many other advocates on the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resou...
Last week, Congress came together to pass, and President signed into law, bipartisan legislation that prioritizes securing our border and keeps the federal government open. The legislation may not have provided as much as I would have liked for President Trump’s request, but in the end the legislation represented significant progress by providing tools our Border Patrol agents need to do their job. I have no doubt that there is a humanitarian and security crisis at the southern border. I have visited the border to hear f...
The issue of abortion is likely one of the biggest fault lines that divide Americans, but there is one aspect of this ongoing debate that is not controversial: According to a 2018 Gallup poll, only 28 percent of Americans believe that abortion should generally be legal in the second trimester. The poll found that only 13 percent of Americans believe that should be the case in the third trimester. Sadly, despite overwhelming national opposition, lawmakers’ late-term abortion extremism is on the rise. On January 22, the g...
Last week, Congress voted 369-47 to pass the 2018 Farm Bill, sending this critical legislation to President Trump for his signature into law. The agreement sets us on a better path for our country’s farmers and ranchers, for our rural communities, for small businesses, and for consumers across the country at the grocery store and at kitchen tables. In March, I traveled across Central Washington to speak with farmers from every county in the Fourth Congressional District about their goals for the Farm Bill. With passage of t...
As 2018 comes to a close, so does the 115th Congress. It is an honor to represent the diverse interests of the Fourth Congressional District, and I am especially proud of the accomplishments we achieved that will improve the quality of life in Central Washington. One year after Congress passed historic tax relief for American taxpayers, we are seeing results in the form of higher paychecks, improved employee benefits, and growing small businesses. We are making it easier for Americans to save for their futures and...
Last Thursday, I took an oath of office to uphold the U.S. Constitution as the representative of the people of the Fourth Congressional District in the 116th Congress. It is an honor to be entrusted with this office to represent the people of Central Washington, our values, and our liberties. In this period of divided government with a Republican president, Republican Senate majority, and Democratic House majority, it is our responsibility to find common ground as representatives of the people. I am proud that my first votes...
As of this writing, today is the 24th day of the partial federal government shutdown – the longest in our history. The funding of certain portions of the federal government and border security have unfortunately become highly partisan, with congressional Democrats refusing to negotiate with President Trump to fund his border security request even when they supported similar policies in the past. The Department of Homeland Security’s request to secure the border goes beyond a physical barrier to include resources to inc...
“There is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer,” World War Two hero Jimmy Doolittle once said. Last week, I had the privilege to announce my nomination of 11 volunteers across Central Washington for consideration to attend U.S. military academies including West Point, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy. Each year, I have the honor of providing nominations for prospective students at U.S. service academies. Students must complete applications for nominations, which includes an interview process with my mil...
The recovery of the gray wolf is a success story for the Endangered Species Act, and the best available science should determine whether species remain listed. I am proud that the House voted last week to approve of legislation I co-introduced with Rep. Sean Duffy: H.R. 6784, the Manage Our Wolves Act, which will return management of the gray wolf species to the states. The states are best-equipped to provide more effective and accountable management that responds to the needs of the ecosystem, other species, and local...
November 11th of this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I. Over the course of that conflict, 116,516 American military personnel lost their lives. The deadliest battle in U.S. history was at Argonne Forest, from September 26, 1918 lasting more than a month, until the Armistice. The battle involved more than one million American soldiers and resulted in more than 26,000 American military deaths. The toll was unimaginable, but the U.S. contribution and heavy sacrifice on behalf of the Allied...
Last week, I met a couple angels in the Tri-Cities. No, really: I had the opportunity to sit down with James and Angie Sessions of Pasco. A few years ago, James and Angie were inspired to become foster parents after learning about the foster care system while at a local church’s camp for children in state custody. The Sessions fostered two separate sets of siblings who ended up being reunited with family members – an experience that came with the very real emotional toll that can come with providing a temporary home. Even kno...
Every calendar year, Social Security Administration (SSA) automatically calculates the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for beneficiaries based on the consumer-price index, which measures changes in the price level of a defined set of consumer goods and services purchased by households. Earlier this month, SSA announced that it would raise the COLA by 2.8 percent in 2019, the largest COLA increase in seven years. That increase may not sound like a large amount, but it is more than the COLA increase of 2 percent in 2018 and...
Americans across the country and of all faith backgrounds can celebrate the return of our fellow citizens held unjustly overseas –some for practicing their faith. Many prayers have been answered. In October 2016, on the night of his eldest son’s birthday, American pastor and evangelist, Andrew Brunson, was arrested by the Turkish government on charges of espionage and terrorism. Pastor Brunson, a North Carolinian, had worked in Turkey as a missionary for more than two decades, and he denied being involved in any pol...