Dear friends and neighbors,
Since the start of the pandemic, the legislature has worked tirelessly to ensure Washington’s families and small businesses had the support they needed to weather this crisis. I remain committed to keeping up our robust response to COVID and its impact on our economy by supporting working families, helping small businesses stay on their feet, and providing world-class healthcare to all Washingtonians.
Supporting WA Working Families
As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, my focus is on making sure that we are bringing all of Washington’s working families along in our state’s recovery. We invested nearly $3.5 billion this biennium, including over $125 million to provide food assistance if you’re hungry, over $550 million in rental & utility assistance to keep you in your home, access to affordable higher education to pursue your career, and expanded Working Families Tax Credits to help you and your loved ones thrive. As the challenges we face grow, so will the support we offer families in need.
Strengthening Small Businesses
Small businesses drive our economy and tie our communities together. This session, we took significant steps to help our state’s small businesses bounce back from the pandemic by expanding business & occupation tax credits, cutting liquor license fees, and providing relief from unemployment insurance, family leave and medical leave premiums. I also helped secure $50 million to support our struggling arts, heritage, and cultural organizations.
Expanding Access to Affordable Healthcare
If there’s nothing else we learned from the COVID, it’s the importance of ensuring all of us have access to quality, affordable, life-saving healthcare — permanently. This session we capped the cost of insulin at $35/month; expanded opportunities for charity care; and increased wages for senior, long-term, and developmental disability care providers. We also invested over $2.4 billion to lower out-of-pocket costs; support, train & retain nurses; and increase hospital staffing.
We also took critical steps to preserve abortion care for all Washingtonians. With the crushing news from the U.S. Supreme Court, it is clear that we must do everything we can to protect this fundamental right. Washington is — and must always be — a place where anyone can receive safe, secure abortion access.
State & Local Resources
Need help accessing state or local resources but don’t know where to start? Check out the Resources page on my website! You’ll find information on some of the best available programs and services to support Washington small businesses, non-profits, and cultural organizations. Click here to see more!
Election Year Communication Restrictions
Each election year, there are certain restrictions on legislator communications to prevent the use of state resources for election purposes. These restrictions include a freeze on my legislative Facebook account and my legislative webpage, meaning these pages can not be updated beginning May 16, 2022, until after the general election in November.
But I’m still here to help! Please continue to reach out to me or my office directly at Liz.Berry@leg.wa.gov or (206) 709-5260 if there’s anything I can do to assist you or your family. You’ll also be able to find loads of information and access to state & local resources on my website → housedemocrats.wa.gov/berry
Best wishes,
