Weekly Columns and Op-Eds

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 0.3 percent in 2017. In 2016, there was no increase at all.

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.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools." Today in our nation, the notion of civility seems to have taken a back seat.

It has been more than a year since the shooting of Congressman Steve Scalise and Republican colleagues at their baseball practice, and more than a year since the murder of a counter-protester at the Charlottesville white supremacist rally. In light of such destructive political violence, as citizens, we must come together and commit to civil discourse.

One of the biggest challenges facing healthcare consumers today is the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs. President Trump acknowledged the problem in his Inauguration address, saying, "One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs." Bringing down the price of prescription drugs will help reduce medical costs for families, and Congress is working with President Trump's administration to make progress and increase access to affordable healthcare.

Two of the most important trading relationships in terms of purchasing U.S. manufacturing and agriculture exports are Canada and Mexico. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect in 1994 to reduce trade barriers between our three countries. While NAFTA needed to be modernized, the agreement has been critical for our farmers and ranchers: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, since 1994, Canada and Mexico's purchases of American agriculture goods has quadrupled to $39 billion.

Last week, President Trump signed appropriations legislation approved by Congress, H.R. 5895, the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, to fund some of the highest priorities of the federal government, including health care for our veterans. In addition, the legislation provides resources for Hanford cleanup and research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Once hunted to near-extinction in the lower 48 U.S. states and listed by the federal government as an endangered species in 1974, gray wolves (Canis lupus) are thriving in the U.S. and in Washington state, with more than 5,000 wolves now living in the contiguous U.S.

According to Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, the state's wolf population has grown over the past nine straight years to 22 packs that contain at least 120 individuals.

As the nation's students head back to classes after the summer break, choosing whether and where to attend college is a major focus for many high schoolers. In 2017, 44 million Americans had student loan debt, and with rising tuition costs, it is more important than ever to empower families with the facts so that financial literacy keeps them from pitfalls of a cycle of education-related debt.