This Week in Washington

Relaunching the Congressional Primary Care Caucus

I was proud to stand alongside Congressman David Rouzer (R-NC), Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (R-VA), and Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT) to re-launch the bipartisan Congressional Primary Care Caucus this week. Comprehensive, continuous, and equitable primary care is an essential part of our health system, and this caucus will help us continue the work to increase access to primary care, improve primary care services, and support our primary care providers. I know that communities across our state rely on our federally qualified health centers for primary care services, so I am proud to be a champion for these critically important health care providers.

Advocating for the Delaware River Watershed

The Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed had its annual Hill Day event on Wednesday. The Delaware River Watershed generates $25 billion in annual economic activity and contributes $21 billion worth of ecosystem goods and services each year and the Delaware River provides drinking water for more than 13 million people in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Investing in conservation and restoration efforts in the Delaware River Watershed is essential to keeping our environment healthy and our economy competitive. As a co-chair of the bipartisan Delaware River Watershed Caucus in Congress, I was proud to support their efforts to conserve and restore the Watershed so that it can better serve us today and generations to come.

Connecting with the Delaware League of Local Governments

I always look forward to the Delaware League of Local Governments' Annual Hill Day in Washington. It’s an opportunity for me to connect with representatives of local governments across Delaware and share how our work has benefitted our towns and cities. We’ve made real progress, from upgrades to transportation and broadband infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to getting our bipartisan SHORRE Act into law, legislation I worked on with Senator Carper that is helping make our coastal communities more resilient, resourceful, and ready to tackle the impacts of climate change and expanding the Army Corps of Engineers' ability to take on new projects to protect our shorelines. I also thanked them for everything they do to help our communities thrive.

This Week in Delaware

Answering Questions About 2023 Taxes

My office hosted a tax filing information session for Delawareans with special guests from the IRS, Delaware Taxpayer Advocate, and the Delaware Department of Revenue. You can check out the full recording of the webinar by clicking below:

Making our Supply Chains More Resilient

On Thursday, I was proud to host the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis, Grant T. Harris, and key leaders in Delaware’s life science and business sectors for a roundtable on making our supply chains more resilient. During this discussion, we solicited feedback from key Delaware industry stakeholders, highlighted bipartisan work in this area, and underscored the important work of the Department of Commerce’s first-of-its-kind Supply Chain Center.

I’ve had the opportunity to visit businesses up and down the First State to hear about the supply chain issues they face – many of which were either exacerbated or brought on by the pandemic. So, I went back to Washington to find bipartisan solutions. To that end, our bipartisan Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act, which creates a whole-of-government approach to mapping, monitoring, and proactively strengthening our supply chains, would help us identify shocks in our supply chains before they become issues and lower costs for consumers. That bill passed unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee last December, and I am working to get it to President Biden’s desk. You can read more about the roundtable in Delaware Public Media.

This week, I also visited Wilmington Fibre, a family-owned, union manufacturing business that has operated in New Castle for nearly 120 years and is a member of the Delaware Manufacturing Extension Partnership (DEMEP). DEMEP was recently awarded just under $400,000 in federal funding from the CHIPS and Science Act, legislation I was proud to champion in Congress. We talked about CONNEX Delaware, a website that connects small manufacturers and suppliers, and how that is helping small manufacturing companies like Wilmington Fibre make a difference in addressing our supply chain needs.

Service Academy Information Night

On Friday evening in Dover, I was proud to co-host the annual Service Academy Information Night with Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons. Members of Congress can nominate candidates for appointment to the following U.S. service academies: U.S. Military Academy (USMA), West Point, NY; the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), Annapolis, MD; the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), Colorado Springs, CO; and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), Kings Point, NY. My office will begin accepting applications on Monday, April 15, 2024. Complete applications are due by Friday, September 13, 2024, by COB. Nominating Delaware students to our nation’s prestigious service academies is something that we are proud to do each year. I am grateful to all the students and families who came out, and I look forward to doing my part to help our young people answer the call to serve our state and nation! If you’d like more information, please contact my Wilmington office.

LAST CALL: Internship Applications Due March 18!

Having started my career in public service as an intern for then-Congressman Tom Carper, I’ve seen first-hand just how valuable an experience internships are. That’s why I wanted to let you know that my office is now accepting internship applications for my Washington, DC and Delaware offices for the summer of 2024.

Complete applications are due by Monday, March 18, 2024, by COB. This is an excellent opportunity for young people to learn about public service and gain experience working in a congressional office. For more information on how to apply, please visit my website here.

Below are some helpful resources for you:

Lower Energy Costs: Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act that I helped pass last Congress, there are more opportunities than ever before to lower your energy costs through tax credits and rebates. Check out energy.gov/save to learn more.
Look Before You Book: Are you thinking about booking a trip? Before you do, you should ensure that your passport is up-to-date! You can go to travel.state.gov to check your passport expiration date, apply for a new passport, and more.
Need a Passport Appointment?: The Department of State is encouraging travelers to go to passportappointment.travel.state.gov to schedule passport appointments within 14 days of their date of travel. You can utilize this resource until September!
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call 988, the 24/7, free and confidential support Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.
Delaware 211: Delawareans in need of emergency housing, utility assistance, food assistance, and more, call 211, Delaware’s free, confidential resource hotline.

My constituent corner this week is Rai Kahlon from Hockessin who is a Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) Finalist! Regeneron STS is a science and math competition for high school seniors across the country. Rai visited me in my Washington office and shared with me the focus of his project – innovative assistive walking technology and machine learning. Congratulations on this incredible honor, Rai! I know that our future is bright thanks to young and innovative leaders like yourself.

Yours in service,

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester

Member of Congress