350 Wenatchee Climate Conversations NCW

Click here to watch the Western Caucus Press Conference.

I gathered with my colleagues of the Western Caucus to urge support for legislation that would improve and modernize the Endangered Species Act. As a farmer and life-long resident of Central Washington, I consider myself a conservationist and steward of our rich natural heritage – and that includes our incredible wildlife. So when we discuss the eminent law that governs recovery of our wildlife species – the Endangered Species Act (ESA) – and its dismal 3% recovery rate over the 45 years it’s been law, we should all be very concerned.

We must act to update the ESA and bring the failing, outdated law into the 21st Century to ensure local entities can provide input on matters with potential significant impacts on their communities. I have been working on two pieces of legislation that would make simple, targeted reforms. H.R. 1273, the 21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act, would require data collected and utilized by federal agencies for ESA listings to be made publicly available on the Internet. H.R. 1274, the State, Tribal, and Local Species Transparency and Recovery Act, would require federal agencies to disclose data used to make listing determinations to states and tribes affected by federal regulatory actions.

These ideas are anything but radical, and we should be enhancing the ESA to improve our ability to save species – not keeping it as the same old crusty relic, ineffectively addressing threatened and endangered species efforts.

The President’s Pardon

Click here to watch the story from KIMA.

I applaud President Trump for pardoning Dwight and Steven Hammond. There are few incidences that occur in our nation that better depict just how out of touch and unresponsive our federal government is to our citizens than the sentencing of Dwight and Steve Hammond from Eastern Oregon. After the Hammond’s started a backfire to protect their cattle grazing land and assist the greater wildfire control effort, they were prosecuted by the Department of Justice for arson under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. After a federal judge only sentenced the Hammond’s to three months, stating anything longer would be a “shock to the conscience,” aloof federal prosecutors appealed and succeeded in attaining a five year prison sentence.

The Hammond’s story highlights the need to not only improve relations with bureaucratic federal agencies, but the critical necessity to reform our wildfire and forest management practices. I support President Trump’s decision to pardon the Hammond’s, whose struggles represent many rural communities’ valid frustrations with the federal government’s unresponsiveness, callousness, and poor land management tendencies.

Access to Housing

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 included an amendment I introduced that would making farm labor housing available to agricultural guest workers that are legally authorized to work in the United States. As many of us in Central Washington know, labor scarcity is a growing problem and improving access to legal guest workers is a top priority. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released guidance on changes to be made to implement my amendment, allowing housing to be used by both domestic and legally-admitted temporary workers.

Historic Discoveries at LIGO

Click here to watch my remarks.

I spoke on the House floor to recognize the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, also known as LIGO, for its achievements in the field of gravitational discovery. LIGO, located in Richland, was recently named a Historic Site by the American Physical Society for its groundbreaking detection of the gravitational waves that passed through the Earth in 2015 – nearly 100 years after Albert Einstein predicted their existence. Three LIGO scientists, Rainier Weiss, Barry Barish, and Kip Thorne also received the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics. Thank you to the American Physical Society and the Nobel Committee for recognizing the hard work and dedication of these men and women.

Congratulations, Karen!

Karen Billingsley of Ephrata was the first-place winner of the 4th Congressional District’s 2018 Art Competition. Karen visited D.C. to see her painting, “1965,” hanging in the U.S. Capitol. After graduation, she plans to attend Washington State University. The talent of young people in Central Washington never ceases to amaze me, and I wish her the best of luck in the future.

Find out more about the Congressional Art Competition.

Constituents in D.C.

Daisy, Nora, and Elena from Quincy High School visited Washington D.C. as part of the 4-H Tech program to discuss technology in rural areas.

Sara Peterson and I discussed the importance of a highly-trained special education workforce. She is a teacher at WSU Tri-Cities, training the next generation of special education teachers.

I met with Washington State Hospital Association representatives about the importance of the 340B drug pricing program for communities in Central Washington.

Jamie Eddy of Moses Lake and I discussed his history with the timber industry and the policies of the U.S. Forest Service. This was Jamie’s first trip to our nation’s capital.

Thank you for reading this e-news update.

Sincerely,

Dan Newhouse
Member of Congress

Wednesday, July 19: East Wenatchee
1:30 PM – 3:30 PM
East Wenatchee Library
271 9th Street Northeast

Friday, July 20: Othello
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Othello City Hall
500 East Main Street

Constituents are always welcome to visit my permanent offices in Yakima or the Tri-Cities. Mobile Office Hours are listed on my website for the month ahead.

Experiencing IRS fraud? 

There have been an increased number of scammers calling taxpayers claiming to be the IRS. They threaten jail time and demand payment.

Keep in mind, the IRS does not ask for payments over-the-phone.  

The IRS is working to shut down these fraudulent callers, but if you experience a phone call or are a victim of an IRS impersonation scam, gather as much information and report it here.

WEBSITE REDESIGN

I recently redesigned my website to ensure a user-friendly experience for constituents to contact me and stay informed. Check it out at here.