Weekly Columns and Op-Eds

As we head into autumn, many Central Washington families, students, and businesses look forward to celebrating the fruits of our agricultural region at state and county fairs. For many, showcasing animals, livestock, and locally-grown food is a point of pride and the pinnacle of a year's hard work. Not only do fairs give us an opportunity to come together and better understand where our food comes from, but they also serve as an economic opportunity for many of our rural communities.

Hunters, fishers, and farmers are the original conservationists. Growing up in Central Washington, I have been surrounded by agriculture my whole life. As our farmers and ranchers work to feed the world, we also recognize the importance of conserving our precious natural resources and native species. The same goes for sportsmen, many of whom hunt or fish in order to honor generational traditions or provide for their families. Without responsible land use, resource development, and local conservation efforts, hunting, farming, and fishing as we know it would cease to exist.

When rural communities call, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) answers. Our postal service employees provide critical services to the communities of Central Washington and are often the only delivery service that will go the "final mile" to ensure that important mail – including prescriptions, bills, and checks – can be safely delivered to every house in America. In Washington state, we also rely on the USPS to securely deliver our ballots as recently as earlier this month during our state's primary election.

I recently conducted a survey of constituents in Central Washington, asking a question that is on the minds of parents across our district and the entire country: "Do you support doing everything we can to safely reopen schools for in-person instruction in the fall?"

The overwhelming response was "yes."

It's no secret: Rural communities face many unique challenges, and the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the gap. In Central Washington, we are proud of our way-of-life and the systems we have built, but there are key investments we must make to ensure our citizens are not disadvantaged. Since being elected to Congress, it has been my priority to increase access to affordable healthcare for our rural communities, as limited numbers of healthcare providers and facilities have restricted our ability to provide immediate, emergency, and even preventative care.

You owe the government $204,000. That may seem like an exaggeration, but that is the share of the national debt shouldered by each household in the country. The total national debt of the United States just surpassed $26 Trillion – its highest number in history. It has quintupled in just the past twenty years, and it grows with every passing second.

If you have ever visited Washington, D.C., or even looked into planning a trip to the nation's capital, you know there are quite a few sights to see. Washington, D.C. is a hub for both American history and cultural exploration, from the U.S. Capitol building and the Library of Congress, the world's largest library, to memorials to great presidents and soldiers who fought in past wars.

Originally published in the Capital Press on July 27, 2020.

Those of us who live in the West have become all-too-familiar with catastrophic wildfires. Each summer, too many of our communities are susceptible to the devastating impacts of these threats. We've also normalized the stifling smoke and haze that frequently blankets our region while the land around us burns.