Washblog

Again, we did not have appointments, except for WA-1, so we appreciate that every office offered as much time as they could spare on short notice.....

WA-1 - Jay Inslee  
I met Rep. Inslee in person at Darcy Burner's rally the weekend before the election and he asked me to personally contact his LD Nicholas Shipley, who knew we were coming.  Nick met with us for over an hour in a private conference room.  We spoke of many issues and everyone in WA-1 should be THRILLED that Nick is incredibly informed on the range of veterans' issues.  We also spent some time talking about military families' issues, in particular, how to support the spouses of the severely injured. (We also spoke briefly with Rep. Inslee as he passed through the lobby, prior to our meeting with Nick)

WA-2 Rick Larsen
VMFP officers met with LD Michael Dabbs and Sr. Legislative Asst. Louis Lauter in September 2006 and had a productive and informative first visit.   As our objectives this trip were introductory in nature, that having already been accomplished, we did not stop by.

WA-3 Brian Baird
We are looking forward to meeting with Rep Baird and/or staff when we return to DC in January 2007.  I personally look forward to this visit as Rep. Baird was the 2005 winner of "The Funniest Celebrity in Washington (DC) Contest".  I admire hard-working, effective legislators who have a sense of humor (see karaoke report above).

WA-4 Doc Hastings
As we ran out of time, we also have Rep. Hasting on the list for our next trip.

WA-5 Cathy McMorris
LA Jaime Herrera spent time with us reviewing the VA hospital situation in their CD, the most pressing veterans' issue in the WA-5.  With funding being cut, and at risk of being closed, she informed us that for the time being their VA hospitals were off the chopping block, but would have to suffer reduced hours, etc.  This may be something any of you in WA-5 can tell me more about.  I am currently informing myself on the status of these VA hospitals and will report to you in future posts.

WA-6  Norm Dicks
LA Jami Burgess met with me during our September 2006 visit, but had not met VMFP President Matt Cary, so we stopped by for a quick hello.  A short but quick visit and upon our request for a couple of pocket-sized copies of the Constitution (a service of the Joint Committee on Printing) Rep. Dick's staff provided us with a couple dozen, enough to pass out to everyone at our next VMFP-WA meeting.  Special thanks!

WA-7 Jim McDermott (my representative)
VMFP officers had met with Sr. Health LA Jesse Kerns in May of 2006 for an introductory visit and again in September of 2006 to thank Rep. McDermott and team for getting the Depleted Uranium Munitions Study Act attached to the National Defense Appropriations that had just been passed.  This is a hard working office, and they always have time for us, but we didn't stop by as our connections were already made.

WA-8 Dave Reichert
As we were waiting for LA Assistant Mark Forstrom, Rep. Reichert returned to the office and stopped in the reception area, staying to talk with us for quite some time.  In addition to introducing VMFP, we spoke of the recent election and several veterans issues.  Most notable was his concern and focus on veterans' health care.  Although we endorsed his opponent in the election (not sure if he was aware of that), in the spirit of non-partisanship, we look forward to partnering with him and his office on legislative matters of concern to our membership.  He was very gracious and responsive to our visit.  

We then spent considerable time in the relaxing House café with his LA Mark Forstrom, who will be leaving this position soon.  Mark spent time taking notes about our conversation, presumably to be passed on to Rep. Reichert.  We wish Mark success as he leaves to work on the issue of human trafficking, and look forward to meeting his replacement during our next visit to DC.

During this November 2006 trip I also met with many members of Congress and/or staff from other states in my role as National Secretary of VMFP.  

As a note, VMFP officers met with staff in the DC offices of Sen. Cantwell and Sen. Murray in September 2006 for introductory visits and were well received.  I personally met with both Sen. Patty Murray and Sen. Maria Cantwell at various press conferences in Washington State during the 2006 campaign season.... We are so fortunate to have these Senators serving WA state veterans and military families.

by JulieTackett on Sat Nov 18, 2006 at 05:06:37 PM PST

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Her LA danced around that, and both her and Riechert used the terms "very concerned about veterans' health care"  Our longer conversation with (I believe) Inslee's LD said that the Republicans are more interested in privatizing veterans' health care.  In our more rambling "what ifs" it was discussed that perhaps by choking off funding for the VA, they can then point the the "failed" VA and system and try to fix it with privatization.

I plan to follow up with McMorris and Riechert, heck all of them, with SPECIFIC questions about their support for Mandatory Funding for the VA.  I'll give them a chance to answer that directly before I say more.

Have you heard anything specific about this or the current position on VA spending from our WA elected officials?  We should probably use the VMFP candidate endorsement issues questionnaire (seven questions on the basics) to survey the positions of these folks.

by JulieTackett on Sat Nov 18, 2006 at 09:23:12 PM PST

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Thank you so much for this report, Julie.

I was wondering if you'd heard anything about HR 5385, the appropriations act for veterans affairs and military construction. It recently passed the Senate and should be going to Conference Committee. Did the representatives you met with have anything to say about the bill?

I'm particularly interested in the veterans health issues you touched on in your report.

by DWE on Sun Nov 19, 2006 at 08:37:26 AM PST

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