Farewell

As I complete my final weeks in Congress, it is only natural to reflect on the past 20 years. It has truly been my honor and privilege to serve you and represent those who call Central Washington home in Congress.

Whether it’s helping seniors with their Social Security benefits, ensuring that veterans are awarded the medals they earned but never received, or cutting through bureaucratic red tape to support local families and small businesses – the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives is something that I will always be grateful for. And, it’s one of the things I will miss most about this job.

Throughout the years, I’ve appreciated your support and your input on ways to strengthen Central Washington and our nation. I have had the opportunity to tour local businesses, family farms and hospitals, talk with students in their classrooms, visit dams, take tours of Hanford, irrigation projects, national forests and PNNL, and host countless town hall meetings in communities throughout our region.

I’ve received over 800,000 letters, emails and phone calls from Central Washington residents during my time in Congress on a wide variety of issues – gasoline prices, homeland security, taxes, immigration, the national debt, the Second Amendment, Social Security, health care and more.

Regardless of whether there was agreement on the individual issue at hand, I’ve always benefited from these communications. The House of Representatives is colloquially known as “The People’s House.” In our form of democracy it’s imperative that Members of Congress hear from those they were elected to represent. Our American system of government, as established by the Constitution, still works over 200 years later. This achievement is largely due to the participation of the American people in their government.

Together, we have been able to achieve some real successes for our communities. We have opened up new markets for our agriculture economy and lowered taxes for families and small businesses. We have sought and made real progress on cleanup at Hanford and water solutions for the Yakima and Columbia River Basins. We have advanced much-needed reform of the Endangered Species Act, protected our dams from threats posed by extreme environmentalists, and held federal land and water management agencies accountable for working with their Central Washington neighbors and partners, allowing public access, and actually taking care of the land and waters they have been tasked to steward.

When I retire at the end of the year, I will no longer be your voice in Congress, but Central Washington is still my home. I look forward to spending less time on airplanes traveling back and forth to Washington, D.C., and more time here at home in the real Washington with my family and friends.

This is my final weekly message to you as your Congressman, and in closing I would like to simply say thank you and wish you health and happiness.