Hello –

I know many of you are looking ahead to May – spring blooms, warm weather – I am as well. But first I want to take a quick look back at April and some exceptional moments this month.

On April 7, in a historic vote, the Senate confirmed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States, where she is now the first Black woman to serve on our highest court. Her unquestionable credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law is what makes her a stellar choice for our Court.

Our campaign also received a broad coalition of endorsements this month – from labor to civic advocacy to Democratic groups across the 1st Congressional district. I know this coming midterm election is going to be critical, and in order to ensure Democrats can continue to pass transformational legislation that folks around the country need – we need to keep and expand our House majority and this broad coalition helps make that happen.

I am proud of what we have accomplished so far, and I know we have much more to do. Here are a few updates on work we have been doing this month.

A few weeks ago, I, along with my House colleagues, introduced legislation to expand tele-health benefits for workers.
We received support this month from a coalition of 46 mental health advocacy organizations who have endorsed our proposed bipartisan reforms to modernize and streamline the prior authorization process. This process, part of Medicare Advantage, has resulted in delays and denials of care with serious and devastating effects on patients in need of mental health care and the time to act is now to ensure senior patients seeking services are able to get them in a timely manner.
I was recently named to the Conference Committee for the America COMPETES Act to help the House and Senate come to agreement on an innovation and competition bill that will strengthen supply chains, domestic manufacturing and our investments in scientific research.

And lastly, we have some wins right here at home too.

We are seeing the positive impact of the historic infrastructure bill across our communities. Just over a week ago, I joined the leaders of Snohomish County to announce a $22.1 million grant – one of the largest grant awards in the country – to construct a new Granite Falls bridge. This will be an essential part of the roadways that serve the communities in the area, strengthening vital industry routes as well as better connecting the public to recreation and tourism. I know our infrastructure has been neglected and underfunded, and I look forward to seeing the broad impact of the funding that is coming for our road, rail, transit, and port projects across the state.

Thank you for supporting me through this work.

– Suzan DelBene