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A while back, a daycare worker in Southwest Washington asked me a question I couldn't answer.
"Hey Congresslady, why can I legally open a bag of chips for these toddlers, but I can't peel a banana?"
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She wasn't kidding.
I spent weeks chasing it down. What I heard back, over and over, was that she must be confused. Or exaggerating. Or that her boss was lying to her. Nobody extended her the basic credit of assuming she understood her own job.
And she was right.
Peeling a banana counts as food preparation. These providers get regulated as though they're making sushi, when all they're doing is opening a piece of fruit. And it isn't just Washington — it's everywhere rules got written without anyone asking the people actually caring for children what those rules would mean.
That's the real problem here. Not bananas. A lack of regard for the people doing the work.
I worked with Republicans and Democrats to pass what people have started calling the "banana bill." It directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create a low-risk classification for fresh fruits, vegetables, and other foods we eat raw.
And just a few weeks ago, it passed!
When our policies make a Cheeto easier to hand a toddler than an apple slice, something has gone wrong.
I'll keep chasing down the small fixes, because that's how trust in government gets rebuilt — one at a time, by paying attention to the things that make people's lives harder than they need to be.
Those little things matter, and I'll keep fighting to fix them.
If you'd like to help me keep bringing a little more common sense to Congress, I'd be grateful for any amount you can chip in to my re-election campaign. [[link removed]?]
DONATE NOW [[link removed]?]
Thank you for standing with me.
—Marie
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
Marie for Congress
PO Box 1164
Washougal, WA 98671
United States
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