Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and Other Key Staff Appointments

WASHINGTON D.C.–The USDA released the names of individuals who will hold senior positions in Washington, D.C. Sandra Eskin was named Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety; Eyang Garrison was named Chief of Staff in the Office of the Deputy Secretary; Jeremy Adamson was named Policy Advisor for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs in the Foreign Agricultural Service. Edyael Casaperalta was named Senior Policy Advisor for the Rural Utilities Services agency.

McMorris Rodgers invites Energy Secretary to discuss clean energy solutions

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) invites U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm to Eastern Washington to discuss policies that advance American energy security, innovation, and global leadership as well as receive a firsthand update on DOE’s work at the Hanford site.

Investments will Benefit 460,000 Rural Residents and Businesses

WASHINGTON D.C.–The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) invests $598 Million to improve and modernize rural electric infrastructure after severe weather and age test the grid. This funding will benefit 460,000 rural residents and businesses in Arizona, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia.

USDA Activities to contain the COVID-19 pandemic

WASHINGTON D.C.– President Biden released the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness in January 2021. The plan is driven by science, data, and public health to improve the effectiveness of our nation’s fight against COVID-19 and to restore trust, accountability and a sense of common purpose in our response to the pandemic.

Unemployment claims decreased during mid-March

OLYMPI–there were 11,699 initial regular unemployment claims (down 0.5 percent from the prior week) and 449,838 total claims for all unemployment benefit categories (down 0.8 percent from the prior week) filed by Washingtonians, according to the Employment Security Department (ESD) during the week of March 7–13.

Sno-Park fees to increase fall 2021-22

OLYMPIA–The Washington State Parks Winter Recreation Program stated the price of Sno-Park permits will increase when they go on sale again Nov. 1. Seasonal permit: $50; Annual snowmobile permit: $50; Special Groomed Trail Sticker: $70; Daily Sno Park permit: $25.

USDA invests $218 Million for Land and Water Conservation

WASHINGTON D.C.–Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated the USDA Forest Service will invest more than $218 million to fund Great American Outdoors Act projects to conserve critical forest and wetland habitat, support rural economic recovery, and increase public access to national forests and grasslands.

McMorris Rodgers introduces Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act to end “Zombie” programs

Washington, D.C.–Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) re-introduced her Unauthorized Spending Accountability (USA) Act. The USA Act aims to restore the American people’s “power of the purse” by eliminating unauthorized spending or “Zombie” programs–spending on government programs that haven’t been authorized by the people’s representatives in Congress.

Latest carbon-tax proposal being considered

Sen. Mark Schoesler

OLYMPIA–Senate Bill 5126, which means the state would set statewide emissions limits, received a hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The allowable emissions would decline each year. Companies would get a “permit to emit” that they would purchase at an auction run by the Department of Ecology. It’s estimated that $500 million in “revenue” would be raised by taxing people just for this permit to emit.

9th District counties’ unemployment numbers need to improve

Sen. Mark Schoesler

OLYMPIA–the state Employment Security Department released January’s county unemployment rates. For the six counties that are either entirely or partially within the 9th District, the latest unemployment numbers are a mixed bag compared to February 2020, which was the month before COVID-19 started hurting the economy: Adams, 6.9% in January 2021, versus 7.3% in February 2020; Asotin, 4.0% in January 2021, 4.2% in February 2020; Franklin, 7.9% in January 2021, 7.3% in February 2020; Garfield, 6.9% in January 2021, 7.0% in February 2020; Spokane, 6.7% in January 2021, 5.6% in February 2020; and Whitman, 4.5% in January 2021, 3.9% in February 2020.

SNAP benefits increase to $100 Per Household with Funding from American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON D.C.–The USDA indicated a fifteen percent increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through September 2021, providing an estimated $3.5 billion to households experiencing food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is made possible by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which invests federal resources to reduce hunger across the country, strengthen the food supply chain, invest in rural America, and provide long awaited support to underserved, socially disadvantaged communities.