Weekly Columns and Op-Eds

Washingtonians have a monumental reason to celebrate an exciting new development for the Tri-Cities community, our state, and our nation: the opening of America’s newest national park. The anticipation has been building for years, and the Manhattan Project National Historic Park was officially dedicated with much-deserved fanfare last week. With the new park, the legacy of the people who spent their lives and labor at Hanford will be preserved for generations to come.

In a nation of lovers of freedom and liberty, one needs to look no further for examples of patriotism in action than to our veterans. Their service kept us safe and defended the freedoms we enjoy as citizens. As Americans, we do not take that service for granted. This Veteran’s Day, each one of us has the opportunity to express our gratitude for the sacrifices of the men and women who have served and continue to serve in the Armed Forces. They are our friends, neighbors, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters.

Our nation’s fourth president and the architect of our Constitution, James Madison, once made the striking statement that, “I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse, and in a Republican Government a greater than in any other.” The wisdom of this Founding Father’s words still rings true today, which is why last week, after careful consideration, I made the decision to vote in opposition to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” With those words, the preamble of our Constitution, the supreme law of the land, illustrates one of the preeminent responsibilities of the federal government: to secure our national defense. The federal government has a duty to support our men and women in uniform and their families at a time when many are risking their lives overseas to defend us here at home.

Hardly a day goes by without Americans seeing horrific news stories on the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. The unstable security situation due to terrorism and civil war has destabilized the region and created a tide of refugees sweeping from the Middle East and Africa into Europe. The U.S. should respond to the refugee crisis deliberately and with great caution, taking every safeguard measure and keeping the security of our homeland as our foremost priority.

In the latest in a string of attempts to impose bureaucratic federal control over Washington state waters, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is threatening to impose its own rules on the state. Despite the fact that the state’s proposal already meets required federal guidance, EPA has issued such as threat. EPA needs to take a step back and follow their own guidelines rather than interfering with states’ authority under the law.

While we have engaged in a national debate on the President’s controversial nuclear deal with Iran, seemingly forgotten has been Iran’s horrific attacks on our fellow citizens. No matter how much time may have passed, however, we must not forget that justice remains to be won on behalf of the hundreds of American victims of Iranian state-sponsored terrorism. Since the 1970s, Iran’s regime has actively provided support, including provision of weapons, training, and funds, for terrorist organizations.

Pope Francis’ address to Congress last week was one for the history books: he is the first pontiff ever to address a joint meeting of Congress. As many know, as an Argentinian, Pope Francis is also the first pope from the Americas. This visit was his first trip to the United States. Regardless of political affiliation or faith background, Americans gathered on the National Mall and around their televisions to hear from the Pope.