WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell’s (D-WA) popular INFRA freight grant program (formerly FASTLANE) continues to build momentum with the announcement that the Senate Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee included $900 million dollars for the program in its funding bill for the Department of Transportation (DOT). Additionally, the TIGER infrastructure program, which Cantwell has supported throughout the funding process, received $550 million dollars of funding in the bill.
With no substantive progress being made by President Trump on his infrastructure agenda, programs with demonstrated success like INFRA and TIGER have become increasingly important.
“In funding these programs, Congress is recognizing the value of freight and transportation infrastructure to states like Washington. I have been hard at work securing funding for infrastructure projects that will help our economy continue to grow. That is why I worked to create the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects program, which has already resulted in the single largest infrastructure grant ever received in Washington state. I have also worked to continue to fund the TIGER grant program, which the Administration sought to eliminate. TIGER has resulted in $239 million in funding for 16 projects in our state,” said Senator Cantwell.
The INFRA program, a product of Cantwell-authored legislation, provides funding for freight infrastructure projects of national or regional significance. These include railway, seaport, and highway projects that increase safety, move people and goods faster and more efficiently, and boost local and regional economies struggling with deteriorating infrastructure. In 2016 alone, Washington state received $50 million in INFRA funding, supporting fixes for the notorious Lander Street bottle neck in Seattle and the Strander Street bottleneck in Tukwila.
Since the TIGER program was created in 2009, it has awarded $5.1 billion to help facilitate 421 multimodal projects in every state in the nation. Washington state has received $239 million to support 16 projects, such as the Tacoma LINK Expansion, a new ferry terminal in Mukilteo, the North Spokane Corridor, the Mercer Corridor Redevelopment project in Seattle, the South Park Bridge Replacement in King County, the West Vancouver Freight Access project at the Port of Vancouver, improvements to I-5 to relieve congestion around Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and terminal modernization projects at the Ports of Seattle and Everett.
The subcommittee’s bill will be considered by the full committee this week before heading to the Senate floor for a vote before the full body.
For every billion dollars of freight investment, it is estimated that 20,000 jobs are created. The American Society of Civil Engineers has said that a failure to adequately invest in our infrastructure could cost the country more than 875,000 jobs.
Cantwell to Offer Measure to Protect Medicaid, Including Apple Health, from Devastating Cuts
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 7/ 26/ 17
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in the on-going debate on the floor of the U.S. Senate over the future of health care, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) will offer a measure that would protect Medicaid, including Apple Health and the Medicaid expansion nationwide. The Republican health care bills being debated would end Medicaid as we know it, undermining coverage for more than 1.6 million Washingtonians who get their health care through Medicaid, including families, seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans without access to VA health coverage.
The Cantwell measure – known in legislative parlance as a Motion to Commit – would send the current Republican health care bill back to the Senate Finance Committee to remove all provisions that would weaken Medicaid or shift costs to states to cover care. A Motion to Commit requires a simple majority vote for passage. The Cantwell measure is expected to be voted on around 3:30 ET/12:30 PT.
“More than 600,000 people in Washington state have gained coverage through the expansion of Medicaid coverage and Apple Health. For the families, persons with disabilities, seniors, and veterans who use Medicaid for health care, we cannot allow the war on Medicaid to continue,” said Senator Cantwell. “It’s time for my Republican colleagues to work with us to fix the individual market and improve the Affordable Care Act. Cutting people off of Medicaid to solve the individual market problem simply does not make sense.”
Cantwell has been a leading defender of Medicaid in the Senate, sounding the alarm over the effects that cutting and capping the program will have on patients and their families in Washington state. Over the past 6 months, Cantwell heard directly from concerned Medicaid patients, health care providers, and advocates across Washington state who would be negatively impacted from cuts to the Medicaid program. Cantwell has also heard directly from her constituents at multiple town halls in Washington.
Cantwell has also joined veterans to share how cuts to Medicaid would remove a lifeline for millions of veterans and their families who can’t access health care through the VA or can’t access VA health care facilities in their communities. Medicaid is a source of coverage for 56,000 veterans in Washington state.
To rally support, Cantwell has spoken repeatedly on the Senate floor and has urged her colleagues to focus on ways to save money in the delivery of Medicaid rather than cutting people off of their health insurance, such as helping the elderly stay in their homes to receive treatment instead of moving them to nursing homes.
At rally with Planned Parenthood, coalition partners, Sen. Murray says “I am going to keep up the fight on the Senate floor” until very end.
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 7/ 26/ 17
(Washington, D.C.) – Facing defeat after defeat on each of their plans to rip apart the health care system, today Senate Republican leaders seemed poised to try and pass any bill in order to go to conference with House Republicans, empowering extreme conservatives to join with President Trump and get Trumpcare signed into law. Tonight, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate health committee, joined with Planned Parenthood and women’s health advocates to encourage women and patients to do everything they can in the final hours of the debate to stop Trumpcare.
In her remarks, Sen. Murray underscored the urgency of the situation, saying “everything we’ve fought for over the last decade, to advance women’s health and rights is at stake in this Trumpcare fight.”
Key excerpts from Sen. Murray’s remarks:
“Planned Parenthood…I need you to join me and send a message—loud and clear—to President Trump, Mitch McConnell, every single Senate Republican playing politics with your health care, your rights, and your lives…Let’s not forget they never wanted to hear your voices, your concerns, or your priorities; all along, they’ve kept women out of the process; and right now, they’re using every trick in the book to try and confuse you and keep you in the dark about their plans. They didn’t want to hear from you—make sure they do now.”
“Planned Parenthood, this is it. All your calls, tweets, and advocacy comes down to these next few hours. In fact, everything we’ve fought for over the last decade, to advance women’s health and rights is at stake in this Trumpcare fight. And we can’t go backward. We can’t go back to the days when women could be denied care due to so-called pre-existing conditions, like pregnancy or being a victim of domestic violence; when women could be legally discriminated against and charged more for their care; when the insurance companies had all the leverage—and too often, it was women who paid the price.”
“We cannot let that happen. So, in these next few hours, I am going to keep up the fight on the Senate floor. And I need all of you to keep up the fight outside. Together, we need to keep standing up and speaking out for those who can’t…Let’s keep fighting. Let’s keep showing up. Let’s kill this bill. And together, let’s end Trumpcare once and for all.”
From Congressman Kilmer's webpage
Trump’s ban on transgender troops is infuriating both Democrats and Republicans
POSTED 7/ 27/ 17
In a Wednesday morning tweet thread, President Donald Trump announced his plan to bar transgender people from serving in the US military. His declaration was met with confusion and dismay as it came on the heels of an Obama-era policy that was supposed to begin allowing transgender soldiers to openly serve in the armed forces July 1, but was stalled for six months. Log Cabin Republicans President Gregory T. Angelo said Wednesday that “the president’s statement this morning does a disservice to transgender military personnel,” while many federal lawmakers — especially those serving in the congressional LGBTQ caucus — expressed their concern for Trump’s tweets… Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) tweeted directly at the president, saying, “attacks on #transgender troops are wrong.”
