Dear Friend,

This finishes up another week of legislative business in Washington, D.C. Below you will find some of the interesting things that happened this week. If you would like to see daily updates on my work in Washington D.C. and Oregon's Second District, please follow us on Facebook HERE!

Owyhee Canyonlands

Set forth below is the statement I delivered to the House Natural Resources Federal Lands Subcommittee hearing on November 19th regarding H.R. 10082, legislation I introduced to protect land and communities in Malheur County. This bill is based on the work and collaborative efforts of the Owyhee Basin Stewardship Coalition.

Last week, Governor Kotek decided to again lobby the President for a huge Malheur County Canyonlands monument designation, ignoring the opinion that we don’t want or need a designation, of the vast majority of Malheur County residents. Moreover, the Governor’s proposal undermines the extensive, collaborative efforts of multiple stakeholder groups working to develop a consensus-driven approach for protection of this land. Below, I have included Governor Kotek's letter, here. Followed by my response, here.

DOGE (“Department of Government Efficiency”) briefing with Musk and Ramaswamy

Last week, I attended a 45-minute meeting that Speaker Johnson arranged for Republican members to speak to and hear from Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. I found this meeting to be helpful in highlighting the need to make government more efficient (less expensive) but it failed to focus on just how we would actually do this.

If we are to reduce federal spending—and we must—our focus should first be on understanding the procedure that must be followed to do something in Congress. We are spending some 2 trillion more, each year, than we are bringing in. To reduce this huge amount of deficit spending, we must understand how to get the votes for reductions. Congress members know that many of their constituents have become extremely reliant on government spending. Telling people that they are going to have a accept less government money and government services is not the kind of message most people really something want to hear. But this is what we should be talking about, and we need time to explain and discuss this with our constituents before serious changes can be made. I’m not sure if Musk and Ramaswamy understand this. 

Government Funding

Congress has just 10 days until government funding is set to run out. Congress is currently operating under a continuing resolution (a “C.R.”) that expires December 20th, 2024. We are studying three options: complete the 12 government appropriations bills, or pass another continuing resolution, or watch the government grind to a halt.

It's a classic end-of-year fiscal policy gauntlet. A long list of expensive decisions— disaster relief, health care extensions, farm bill authorization, and the entire 2024-2025 Budget need to be made soon. Each of these issues involve substantial fiscal implications for the many people in this country.

The December 20th deadline isn't just a date— it's a deadline preceded by a pressure cooker of political negotiations. 

Stuck in their pressure cooker are leadership and the Appropriation Committee chairs engaged in hour after hour of intense discussions. As of today, rumor has it that there will be a C.R. extending the current budget into March, 2025, are that there should a short-term farm partial bill extension and a supplemental disaster relief bill for Florida and other southern states damaged by this year’s hurricanes. Few dispute the fact that the Federal government is the safety net for these large disasters. The issue how much money is in the actual bill for such relief. Stay tuned.

House Approves Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)

Today, the House passed this year’s version of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). This final bill reflects the result of months of reconciling the House and Senate-passed versions of this legislation. WRDA annually provides critical water resources infrastructure improvements to communities across the United States.

I was asked to submit, and I did submit, three programmatic requests regarding the Columbia River. The first was to extend the maintenance of dikes along the Lower Columbia River including those which have been disconnected from eroded shorelines. The second is a programmatic request to clarify the Port of Portland’s authority as the sole dredging operator of the navigation channel in the Columbia River. The third is clarification of the ownership of the Dredge Oregon, a dredging ship operated by the Port of Portland.  I was happy to see both proposals in this year’s WRDA legislation.

FY25 NDAA 

Last week, Congress passed the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 2670. This bill included a 14.5% pay raise for our junior service members, a raise in military pay that was truly needed and totally justified. 

The bill expanded US joint military exercises with Israel, and increased funding for US Defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific. The bill cut $31 billion in Pentagon bureaucracy, outdated weapons systems, and inefficient programs. 

This year’s NDAA, as noted earlier, ensures that our military has the resources and capabilities needed to remain the most powerful fighting force in the world. 

Votes and Legislation

S. Amdt. to H.R. 5009, the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025

This bill cost $841 billion. In comparison, China spent about $300 billion in 2023 on its military. I would point out that we don’t believe that this is all that China is spending on its military, but it’s the number we were provided. This annual bill, known as the NDAA, authorizes funding and policies for the Department of Defense in 2025 (DOD). 


S. 4199 – JUDGES Act of 2024
For the first time in decades, this bill would add 63 new Federal Judges in a neutral, nonpartisan manner help our judicial system address the backlog of cases. S.4199 would permanently authorize 63 new district court judgeships and authorize 3 judgeships for five-year appointments. This legislation spreads out the establishment of the new trial court judgeships over more than a decade to give three presidential administrations and six Congresses the chance to appoint the new judges. It was carefully designed so that lawmakers would not knowingly give an advantage to either political party when it comes to shaping the federal judiciary. Sadly, we hear rumors that the President may veto this bill— we hope he does not. 

I voted Yes with 236 Yes and 173 No

H.R. 7673 – Liberty in Laundry Act  
This bill would prevent the Secretary of Energy and the Department of Energy from implementing new or amended energy efficiency standards for washing machines. Specifically, the bill prohibits DOE from implementing new standards unless they are technologically feasible, not likely to result in additional costs to consumers, and result in significant conservation of energy. 

I voted Yes with 215 Yes and 200 No