Dear neighbors,
Thank you to everyone who’s emailed, called, or participated in the 49th District Virtual Town Hall!
This e-newsletter is about breaking news on education issues and COVID relief.
I hope you find it informative. Please feel free to contact my office with any questions, comments, or ideas.
Better health for students in our public schools
In the last e-newsletter, I told you about my legislation to promote more School-Based Health Centers (House Bill 1225).
This is an idea that’s been used in different corners of Washington state for more than 30 years.
Sick students can’t learn. That’s why I wrote this legislation, so make sure the one million students in our public schools have access to better health care.
I’m happy to report that the bill passed the Health Care & Wellness Committee.
It will now be considered by the Appropriations Committee.
Real help for real people
On Monday night, I voted for a $2.2 billion package of COVID relief to speed help to families, schools, and small businesses.
The legislation (House Bills 1367 and 1368) uses federal funds to quickly send aid, including:
- $618 million for vaccine administration, contact tracing, and testing, with an emphasis on helping school districts reopen safely
- $668 million for schools as they resume in-person learning, along with dedicated funding to help students catch up from learning loss during the pandemic
- $365 million for rental assistance to help tenants and landlords
- $240 million for more than 12,000 small business assistance grants
- $50 million in grants to help childcare businesses stay open and expand capacity.
Both bills now move on to the Senate, where I believe they will have strong bipartisan support. We need measures like this that put people first and give communities the help they need. It’s part of our state’s long frontier history of neighbors helping neighbors.
Tax cuts for businesses and extra help for laid-off workers
This pandemic has been extremely tough on small businesses and working families.
I voted in favor of legislation (Senate Bill 5061) to reduce the Unemployment Insurance burden on businesses while boosting the benefits of low-wage workers.
Tax relief–This bill means a significant tax cut for businesses, who will pay $920 million less in 2021 and $2.6 billion less through 2025.
Help for workers–Those earning $21,000 to $27,800 per year will receive a larger share of their weekly wages in benefits. No one’s benefits will go down.
Our historic airport
Vancouver Airport is of oldest in the United States–it’s a treasure of history.
House Bill 1030 deals with grants to small and regional airports like this one.
Another measure, (House Bill?), would help move Washington state to the forefront when it comes to electric aircraft.
Our state is home to an entire ecosystem of aerospace firms. Some of the most exciting research and development is in the field of electric aircraft.
Such planes would be rechargeable and pollution-free.
The first wave of electric aircraft wouldn’t operate at major airports like Portland or SeaTac and fly across the country–or across oceans. They would fly from local and regional airports, like ours, for shorter flights.
That means our historic airport could soon be reborn as a landing strip for the future.
Keep in touch
It’s an honor to serve as your representative.
Please feel free to get in touch with my office to share your story, your opinion, or your ideas for legislation.
I hope to hear from you soon!
