Weekly Columns and Op-Eds

Last week, President Trump used his legal authority to withdraw the U.S. from President Obama's flawed 2015 deal with Iran, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA). I opposed Obama's Iran deal in 2015 because it did not do enough to keep Iran from a path to developing a nuclear weapon. One of my main concerns was that in exchange for economic sanctions relief for Iran, the JCPA failed to require that nation to dismantle its nuclear infrastructure, leaving it a dangerous state on the threshold of acquiring nuclear weapons.

"My brother is an addict. I am raising his daughter." That is one of the many responses I received when I asked constituents of the 4th Congressional District how opioids and heroin abuse have affected people in our community. The responses are eye-opening to the heartbreaking cost of the opioid crisis in Central Washington: "The opioid crisis is destroying my family's life," and "my adult child has battled addiction for 20 years after taking post-surgery opioids at 18" are two more responses that are truly a call to action.

For months, my Pacific Northwest congressional colleagues and I have been raising our voices and working on legislation to prevent increasing forced spill at the lower Snake and Columbia River dams from raising electricity rates in our region by $40 million. That forced spill order, the result of a ruling of a single federal judge in Portland, took effect at the beginning of April.

Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate, the late Elie Wiesel, once said of that horrific state-sponsored genocide that, "to forget the victims means to kill them a second time. So I couldn't prevent the first death. I surely must be capable of saving them from a second death." The world-renowned author sought to prevent victims from being forgotten through writing many books on the persecution through his experience and by helping establish the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

‘And don't let the door hit you on your way out,' one might say to the old tax code that allocated more of American families' earnings to the federal government. Tuesday, April 17 is the final filing day under the outdated federal tax system, thanks to successful tax reform efforts that have been signed into law.

I recently traveled across Washington's Fourth Congressional District to speak with farmers from each county to hear their concerns about an upcoming Farm Bill. One of the largest concerns expressed by farmers had little to do with congressional action, however: Central Washington farmers expressed their anxiety about the impact of a potentially-escalating trade war with global trading partners.

One of the most urgent issues we face right now in Central Washington is the ongoing threat to dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Just this week, a 9th Circuit Court panel rejected arguments for an injunction to pause a forced spill order by an Oregon federal judge. The Oregon judge's order requires an increase in spill for the eight lower Columbia and Snake River dams and now goes into effect as of April 3rd. Increasing spill comes with a $40 million price tag for ratepayers this year alone.

Joining together to combat the crisis of drug and opioid abuse that is harming our communities is a major issue that should unite Americans in common cause. The impact of drug addiction and overdoses has touched too many lives in our country and in our state.