The News Tribune, August 25th, Stacy Carkonen, Sumner –
Looking at the issues that really matter, the issues that transcend political party and ideology, Congressman Adam Smith stands squarely on the side of the people – no matter what party they vote for.
He has been a powerful voice for our service men and women in action and those returning home from duty with a myriad of health issues to deal with. He has stood with families hit hard by this recession who have needed the support of increased access to food security and unemployment benefits to get them through this devastating time when too many of us are losing our jobs.
In my dealings with Smith, I have found him to be an incredibly thoughtful, intelligent and passionate advocate for the people of the 9th District and beyond. I for one want to move forward with the clear vision of a proven leader.
August 6th – U.S. REP. Adam Smith, seeking his eight term from Washington’s 9th District, draws enough heat from the right and the left to suggest his label as a moderate Democrat is about right.
He is endorsed for re-election because he is well positioned in Congress to take a hard look at military spending and its unambiguous role in reducing budget deficits.
Smith, whose district includes Puyallup, Federal Way, parts of Tacoma, Lakewood and Steilacoom, built a congressional résumé with long service on the Armed Services Committee, including his current chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces, with a strong voice on major acquisitions.
Smith has worked on behalf of veterans, and the ties are real with Joint Base Lewis-McChord in his district. Looking out for the interests of the men and women in the military, and those who have served, does not preclude a tough, skeptical review of spending on everything from new jet fighters to outlays for tens of thousands of civilian contractors who help bloat Pentagon budgets.
Read more here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2012556557_edit08smith.html
Washington, Aug 19 –
Today, Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09) released the following statement in tribute to the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which was officially designated the last combat brigade to leave Iraq under Obama’s plan to end combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31.
“The troops stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord have born the brunt of the conflict in Iraq – they have been there since day one, and are now the last combat forces to leave. Many of them have lost their lives, and many more have been injured. These soldiers have sacrificed greatly, and I salute their service. They deserve our utmost respect and I will continue to work in Congress to ensure that the veterans of this conflict receive the benefits and support they deserve.
“While our role in Iraq is not yet finished, our combat operations are. Many of our nation’s finest men and women are no longer in harm’s way and they should be commended for a job well done. The Iraqi people face difficult times ahead, but they have the promise of a brighter future – a future void of tyranny. A brighter future for Iraqis also means greater security for America. The military personnel at Joint Base Lewis-McChord played a vital role in our efforts in Iraq and we can all be proud of their service.”
Washington, August 11 – A Pentagon spending bill working its way through the House includes nearly $85 million to build four new elementary schools at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, said Tuesday.
Five of the existing elementary schools on Lewis-McChord were among the 19 at Army installations across the nation that were rated in poor condition or substantially smaller than needed in a recent survey, Dicks said.
As chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, Dicks has set aside $250 million to repair and replace the schools in the worst condition, and the ones at Lewis-McChord happen to be among those that are in most urgent need of work.
The school repair funding is Dicks’ first major initiative since taking over the subcommittee chairmanship.
Though the subcommittee approved the defense spending measure for the coming fiscal year several weeks ago, it has mostly been kept under wraps until the full Appropriations Committee considers it after Congress’ August recess.
Dicks said the condition of the base schools was “totally unacceptable and deplorable. You can’t have troops deployed, back and forth to Iraq and Afghanistan, and have them worrying about conditions in the schools their kids are attending.”
There are six elementary schools on Lewis-McChord: Beachwood, Clarkmoor, Evergreen, Greenwood and Hillside on the old Fort Lewis, and Carter Lake on the former McChord Air Force Base. The school buildings are federally owned, but educational programs within them are run by the Clover Park School District.
With the exception of Evergreen – built in the 1990s – the schools were constructed in the 1950s and 1960s. Most are smaller schools that have not been remodeled or undergone major improvements since.
Clover Park officials have been working for more than five years on a plan for school improvements with Lewis-McChord officials, Dicks and Rep. Adam Smith, D-Tacoma., whose district includes the base.
Smith and Dicks, along with Under Secretary of the Army Joseph Westphal, visited Hillside last week to get a close look at school conditions.
“These schools are on the edge of being unsafe,” Smith said, adding that among other things they don’t meet current earthquake standards.
Ray Miller, Clover Park’s business services and capital projects administrator, said school district maintenance workers have done a “phenomenal job” keeping the schools up and running.
“But there’s only so much they can do,” he added.
The Army has been increasingly concerned about the school issue since Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Fort Riley, Kan., in May and viewed the problems firsthand.
Overall, there are 80 schools on military bases owned by the Department of Education and operated by a local school district.
Dicks said the Education Department does not have the money needed to repair or replace the existing schools.
The Pentagon came up with the priority list, and Dicks said the money for Lewis-McChord was not an earmark.
“This is a national program,” he said. “DOD is deciding how the money will be spent. They have the list, they evaluate it.”
As chairman of the subcommittee, Smith said it was Dicks’ responsibility to address the school issue.
“It is a military-wide need, it is not peculiar to JBLM,” Smith said.
A new Hillside would house about 650 students, and a new Beachwood between 800 and 900.
Clarkmoor and Greenwood elementary schools will be consolidated into one new school with a new building and the old schools torn down. The new school would serve an estimated 650 students.
In 2004, Heartwood Elementary School was closed and consolidated with Carter Lake. Under the new plan, Carter Lake and Heartwood would be torn down and a new school built, Dicks’ office said. The new school would serve about 650 students.
The Army eventually wants an additional $66 million to relocate Woodbrook Middle School – with a large population of military kids – from off-post to on-post at Lewis-McChord and to renovate Evergreen.
Other bases that will receive initial funding for work on schools include Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; Fort Polk, La.; Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Belvoir, Va.; and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Les Blumenthal: 202-383-0008 lblumenthal@mcclatchydc.com
Staff writer Debbie Cafazzo contributed to this story.
Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/08/11/1297068/4-base-schools-in-spending-bill.html#ixzz0wVwUpobQ
Washington, Jul 30 – “Today marks an important milestone in our efforts to protect the Green River Valley from flooding. This afternoon, the Army Corps of Engineers laid out the details for interim repairs that will strengthen the Howard Hanson Dam. Yesterday, the President signed into law the Fiscal Year 2010 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill, which provides the Army Corps of Engineers with $44 million to complete these interim measures. These two events are the culmination of many months of hard work by my office, as well as the entire local delegation and stakeholders from across the state, and will protect the Green River Valley from potentially very destructive floods.
“The interim measures will buy us vital time and protect the Green River Valley as we work to put in place a permanent, long-term solution. The livelihoods of tens of thousands of people are at risk if flooding was to occur and the interim measures announced today provide the residents of the Green River Valley the protection and assurance they deserve.
“I worked tirelessly with other members of the local delegation and stakeholders to secure this funding. I applaud everyone involved for their diligence and hard work and I look forward to working with them to ensure a long-term fix is achieved.”
Washington, Jul 29 – Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09) continued to build on his strong commitment to veterans, military personnel and their families by supporting the fiscal year 2011 Military Construction and Veterans Appropriations bill. The legislation invests in projects and programs of critical importance, including veteran’s benefits and healthcare, and military family housing, barracks and mission critical facilities.
“The men and women who have served in our armed forces, along with their families, have made tremendous sacrifices and they deserve our full commitment and support,” said Congressman Adam Smith. “The legislation passed by the House demonstrates our commitment by working to provide our veterans and their families with the benefits and support they deserve.”
Generally, the FY2011 Military Construct and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill provides $120.8 billion for veterans’ programs, a 10% increase over the previous year’s budget. These funds will help continue to strengthen health programs and improve benefits and compensation. As with the previous bill, this year’s bill provides advanced appropriations for medical services and facilities to ensure that the Veterans Health Administration receives reliable and timely funds to ensure care for veterans is not disrupted. The bill also provides important funding to help veterans suffering from conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), provide assistance to homeless veterans, and improve access to care to veterans living in rural areas.
The legislation also provides more than $200 million in funding for the construction and refurbishing of key military projects and facilities at Joint Base Lewis-McCord. This funding is essential to the continued modernization and expansion of the base.
In addition to supporting this important legislation, Smith recently introduced and the House passed a pair of bills that support Veterans and military families. These bills, coupled with today’s vote, demonstrate an unwavering commitment to our nation’s military, veterans and their families.
“Together, these bills will help address significant problems plaguing our military community – high unemployment in our veterans population and the strain placed on families when their loved ones are deployed,” said Smith.
Washington, Jul 27 – Today, Congress approved $44 million for interim measures to strengthen the Howard Hanson Dam and protect the Green River Valley. Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09), who has consistently been a leader in coordinating efforts to fix the dam, played a critical role in ensuring that the funding was included in the final version of the bill. The funding, included in the Fiscal Year 2010 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill, will allow the Army Corps of Engineers to complete a set of interim repairs to the dam. The bill will now be sent to the President to be signed into law.
“This money is critical to our efforts to prevent flooding in the Green River Valley. It will put in place interim measures to buy us time until a permanent, long-term solution is put in place,” said Congressman Adam Smith. “My priority is to achieve a permanent fix to the Howard Hanson Dam and restore long term flood protection, but until this can be achieved we must make every possible effort to protect the residents, homes, businesses, and the economy of the Green River Valley. This money is vital to that effort.”
Engineers from the Army Corps continue to closely monitor the dam and have identified interim repairs that will allow the dam to store higher levels of water and protect the Green River Valley during severe rain events. The Fiscal Year 2010 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill contains $44 million in emergency funding for these critical repairs to the Howard Hanson Dam. Smith worked diligently to ensure these resources were contained in the final version of the appropriations bill.
Tens of thousands of people are at risk if the Green River Valley were to flood. In addition to the threat to peoples’ lives, the Green River Valley would suffer enormous negative economic impacts as it is home to the second largest industrial park on the West Coast, and is the fifth largest in the nation. Over 95,000 jobs in the area make up approximately 8 percent of all jobs in King County. This represents $107 million per day in total economic output – 12 percent of Washington State’s gross state product.
Washington, Jun 24 – Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09) released the following statement in response to House passage of legislation designed to impose tough economic sanctions against Iran:
“Today, Congress provided President Obama with additional tools to pressure Iran to cease its efforts to build nuclear weapons. A nuclear armed Iran would destabilize the Middle East and pose a grave threat to the United States, our allies, and particularly Israel. This scenario is unacceptable.
“We cannot allow Iran to continue to act in a way that threatens the international community and its neighbors in the region. This legislation builds on the recent U.N. Security Council Resolution and will help forcefully pressure Iran to meet its international obligations.
“In concert with the international community, it is critical that the United States continues to pursue both diplomatic and economic avenues to hold Iran accountable. While there is more diplomatic work to be done, the bill passed by Congress today is another way to increase economic pressure on Iran to change its behavior.”
Washington, Jun 18 – This week, Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09) voted in support of important legislation designed to make it easier for small businesses to succeed and create jobs in our communities. Together, the Small Business Lending Fund Act and the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act, will address the lack of access to credit and remove some of the restrictive tax obstacles impeding small business growth.
“Small businesses are the foundation of our economy – generating approximately 65% of new jobs over the last 15 years and employing our families, neighbors, and friends,” said Congressman Adam Smith. “Our nation’s long term economic stability relies on small businesses and we must continue to enact legislation and remove government barriers to help them grow.”
The Small Business Lending Fund Act will create a $30 billion lending fund to help small businesses expand through investments in states and small banks that focus on lending to local small businesses. The bill will also help cultivate American innovation through a new public-private partnership designed to channel early stage investment capital to promising new start-ups.
To further ensure small businesses have every opportunity to succeed, the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act will help businesses expand and create new jobs through a 100% exclusion of small business capital gains; small business penalty relief; and increased deductions for start-up expenditures.
These two bills, which are fully paid for, will now move together as one for consideration by the U.S. Senate.
Washington, Apr 28 – On Tuesday, April 27 2010, Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09) received the Goodwill National Policymaker Award for 2010. Smith recently sponsored legislation (H.R. 4299) to help expand the workforce training capacity of organizations like Goodwill. He has continued to be a strong supporter of local Goodwill initiatives and projects such as the Milgard Work Opportunity Center, which recently opened in Tacoma, WA.
“For over 100 years, Goodwill has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to helping individuals in need develop the skills necessary to succeed,” said Congressman Adam Smith. “This work is not only inspiring, but it also builds strong communities and families. They deserve our continued praise and support.”
“Congressman Smith has consistently supported Goodwill’s positions on our key legislative priorities, both on a national and local level,” said Terry Hayes, CEO of the Tacoma Goodwill Industries, who nominated Congressman Smith for the award.
At a reception in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, April 27, Smith was recognized and thanked for his ongoing concern for issues relevant to Goodwill. The reception was part of Goodwill Industries International’s fourth Advocacy Day — “Invest in the American Worker.”
Goodwill Industries International is a network of 180 community-based, independent agencies in the United States, Canada, and 13 other countries. Goodwill agencies are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that fund job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 2,400 retail stores and online.