Yesterday, I joined my colleagues from the Washington State Congressional Delegation in sending a letter to President Donald Trump urging approval of the State of Washington's request for an expedited Emergency Declaration amid dangerous storms and flooding across the state. 

I am glad to see that as of this afternoon, President Trump has signed our request, and federal assistance is on its way to Washington state.

The latest flood hazard outlook from the National Weather Service forecasts "catastrophic" river flooding in parts of Northwest Washington, "considerable flooding" in a wide stretch of land from Bellingham to south of Olympia, and "moderate" flooding along the Yakima River in Yakima and Benton Counties. 

Click here to read the letter.

On Monday, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $12 billion will be made available for one time bridge payments to American farmers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs impacting farmers. 

Farmers across the country, including in Central Washington, are reaching a breaking point because of supply chain issues, high input costs, and uncertainty around foreign market access.

While this announcement primarily benefits row crop producers, other specialty crop growers will need additional assistance as they struggle to make ends meet due to continued high labor costs.

I appreciate President Trump and Secretary Rollins for rolling out a bridge to get farmers and ranchers through lean times. I know they understand, as I do, that producers would prefer market certainty over direct payments from the federal government.

I look forward to continuing working with this Administration to lower labor costs, reduce regulatory burdens, implement the agriculture provisions of the Working Families Tax Cut, and ensure American farmers and ranchers have the tools they need to make it to the next growing season.

On Tuesday, I introduced the Parity for Nuclear Energy Investment Act to expand tax incentives for investments in U.S. nuclear energy development.  

After protecting tax credits for nuclear energy in the Working Families Tax Cuts, it is time to expand investment opportunities for new projects in places like the Tri-Cities.

The Trump Administration is expediting efforts to produce more American nuclear energy, and Richland will be home to some of the first small modular reactors which will help achieve that goal.

These projects will create new high-quality jobs, increase economic development, and make Central Washington a leader in the future of U.S. nuclear energy production.

YES: S. 356 - Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act (Sen. Crapo, R-ID). This bill would retroactively authorize and fund the Secure Rural Schools Program, which provides funding to state and local governments with large tracts of federal land, for FY 2024 and FY 2025. The bill would also extend authorization and funding for this program through FY 2026.

YES: H.R. 1676 - Make SWAPs Efficient Act (Rep. Donalds, R-FL). This bill would generally require the Interior Secretary to approve or deny State wildlife conservation and restoration plans within 180 days of a state’s submission of a plan to the Secretary. The bill would also require the Secretary to report to Congress on any failures to issue timely approval of a plan.

YES: Passage of House Amendment to S. 1071 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Rep. Rogers, R-AL). The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, would authorize $900.6 billion in funding, of which, $866 billion would be for the Department of Defense discretionary base, $34 billion in Department of Energy discretionary base, and $500 million in Defense-related activities. Overall, it would provide for an increase in authorization of $14 billion or 1.6 percent over FY 2025 enacted levels; this is $8 billion more than the House-passed NDAA and President Trump’s budget request and roughly $24 billion below the Senate-passed NDAA. The bill would also support an increase in military basic pay of 3.8 percent for service members. 

YES: Republican Motion to Table H. Res. 939 - Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States for high crimes and misdemeanors (Rep. Greene, D-TX) 

YES: Passage of H.R. 3628 - State Planning for Reliability and Affordability Act (Rep. Evans, R-CO). This legislation would require State Public Utility Commissions to consider requirements for regulated electric utilities to establish, as part of their integrated resource planning, sufficient measures to ensure the reliable availability of electric energy over a 10- year period to maintain the operation of reliable generation facilities or the procurement of electric energy from reliable generation facilities. 

YES: Passage of H.R. 3638 - Electric Supply Chain Act (Rep. Latta, R-OH). This legislation would require the Department of Energy to carry out periodic assessments of trends, risks, and vulnerabilities in the supply chain for the generation and transmission of electricity and report to Congress on the assessments and its recommendations to address emerging issues and secure and expand the supply chain.

YES: Passage of H.R. 3383 - INVEST Act (Rep. Wagner, R-MO). This legislation is a comprehensive capital-formation package designed to modernize U.S. securities laws with the goal of facilitating capital raising, investment opportunities, and public-market participation. The bill targets regulatory reforms across multiple areas to make it easier for small and mid-sized businesses and startups to access funding, for a broader range of investors to participate in private and public markets, and to streamline compliance for companies going or remaining public. 

YES: Passage of H.R. 3898 - PERMIT Act (Rep. Collins, R-GA). This legislation would make several reforms to the Clean Water Act, including: (1) streamlining permitting procedures and eliminating duplicative regulatory processes; (2) ensuring greater transparency and accountability in water quality criteria development and certifications; (3) clarifying the definition of “navigable waters” subject to CWA regulation; and (4) addressing the permitting backlog within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

YES: Passage of H.R. 3668 - Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act (Rep. Hudson, R-NC). This Bill would strengthen the role of FERC as the lead federal agency for complying with NEPA for an authorization under sections 3 or 7 of the Natural Gas Act.  It would also streamline the process for participating federal and state agencies to coordinate with FERC to complete environmental reviews.  

Energy Secretary sees ‘scientific marvel’ of Hanford nuclear site for 1st time

By Annette Cary

Energy Secretary Chris Wright saw the Hanford vitrification plant in action in his first visit to the nuclear cleanup site in Eastern Washington on Friday... read more.

Rep. Dan Newhouse | 460 Cannon House Office Bldg. | Washington, DC 20515 US

*By participating in a survey you are agreeing to get future communications from Congressman Newhouse