Honoring Our Gold Star Families

I introduced the Gold Star Families Remembrance Week Resolution, designating September 22 - 28 as Gold Star Families Remembrance Week.

Our service members and their families have made great sacrifices in service to their country, and it is important that they are not forgotten.

By designating this week as Gold Star Families Remembrance Week, we recognize the extraordinary courage and resilience of our Gold Star Families and reflect on those we have lost.

These families bear an unimaginable burden—enduring the loss of their loved ones who gave their lives in the name of freedom—and we have a responsibility to ensure their memory is preserved.

Fighting for Forest Restoration

This week, the House of Representatives passed the Fix Our Forests Act.

As Chairman of the Western Caucus and a lifelong Central Washingtonian, I understand better than most in Congress how families are affected by wildfires.

In Washington state alone, wildfires have destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres in recent years, and there is no sign of it slowing down. We need proactive forest management now, and the Fix Our Forest Act will help us achieve this goal.

This bipartisan legislation will restore forest health, increase resiliency to catastrophic wildfires, and protects communities by expediting environmental analyses, reduces frivolous lawsuits, and increases the pace and scale of forest restoration projects.

Celebrating Hydropower this Clean Energy Week

This week, I celebrated Clean Energy Week and reflected on the abundant clean energy resources in Central Washington.

With the rising demand for new forms of energy, it is more important than ever that we explore clean energy resources. A key part of this approach is hydropower, and in Central Washington, we are fortunate to have the Lower Snake River Dams powering our region.

We know the dams provide many benefits, including flood control, navigation, and irrigation, but they also produce energy that is clean, safe, and affordable.

Studies have shown us that if a CO2-free replacement to the dams was attempted, it would cost billions of dollars and result in rate increases that would fall to home and small business owners that rely on community-owned utilities. The reality we face is that, as energy demands continue to increase, we simply cannot afford to kill our most reliable form of energy.

It is incumbent upon us in local, state, and federal governments to employ common-sense policies that work for consumers, producers, and our environment so that we may continue to benefit from and innovate new forms of clean, affordable, and reliable energy.

Securing Our Critical Mineral Supply Chain

Today, I introduced the Securing America's Midstream Critical Materials Processing Act to establish a National Roadmap to provide a pathway to reshore domestic critical material processing facilities away from foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and reduce unworkable permitting barriers to help secure our supply chains.

It is no secret the United States is in a dangerous position with our reliance on adversaries like the CCP for the critical minerals we use in everything from our energy sector to our defense industrial base.

This bill is a big step towards bringing critical mineral processing back to our shores and keeping bad actors out of our supply chains.

As a member of the House Select Committee on the CCP, I know we as lawmakers need to be doing all we can to prioritize national security before it is too late.

Advocating for a Productive Agricultural Future

Discussing Grid Reliability with Northwest RiverPartners

Meeting with the Washington Council on International Trade

Discussing Semiconductor Manufacturing with the Costa Rica Ambassador

Mobile Office Hours

Western Caucus Corner

Last week, as Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, I spoke with Rep. Mark Alford (R-TX) and the President of the National Pork Producers Council, Lori Stevermer, for the podcast, A Voice for Rural America.

We discussed California's Prop 12 and its negative impact for producers and consumers across the United States. Consumer choice is an important freedom in the United States, and our pork producers should be able to sell their products freely throughout the country without having to abide by California's consistent regulatory red tape which only hurts consumers and producers alike.