A voice for rural America

Throughout my time in Congress, I have been fortunate to be part of numerous committees and caucuses that allow me to directly impact the constituents of Central Washington. One of these caucuses, the Western Caucus, has allowed me to advocate for issues that all of rural America struggles with, and as Chairman, I have been able to ensure the priorities of Central Washington are not forgotten.

The Western Caucus is a bipartisan caucus with over a hundred members from across the United States, which advocates for rural policy issues throughout the West and beyond. Our main priorities are to encourage responsible resource development and energy independence, unlock our public lands and meet the multiple-use mandate, protect our communities from wildfires by advancing active management of our forests, support water infrastructure, and empower our nation’s agricultural industry to grow the food that feeds the nation and the world. Part of my role as Chairman is leading Member delegations across the country to conduct field tours and advocate for rural America’s priorities. Some recent visits include a policy forum in Boise to talk about the importance of the Farm Bill and challenges to American agriculture, a public lands field tour in Grand Teton National Park, a discussion surrounding the mitigation of wildfire risk and Endangered Species Act (ESA) challenges in Montana, and a tour of Arizona’s southern border with Customs and Border Protection, to name a few. These field tours give Members important context they can bring back to Washington, D.C. and help shape legislation that aligns with our rural values.

Just two weeks ago, I led a Western Caucus delegation through the 4th District here in Washington state. We visited with ranchers in Klickitat County, discussed Farm Bill priorities with local farmers, and saw the difference between publicly and privately managed land. These visits enable us to advocate for them when we go back to D.C. and work on these issues. We are proud to take firsthand, real world experiences and examples to the halls of Congress.

As Chairman, I have led numerous bills to fight for our Western priorities, which includes fighting to fix our forests. Just last month, I celebrated the House passage of legislation I introduced alongside House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (AR-04), the Fix Our Forests Act. This will restore forest health and resiliency by enabling proactive forest management through reducing senseless lawsuits, expediting permitting, and increasing the scale and pace of forest restoration projects. As wildfires continue to pummel our region, it is more important than ever to incentivize proper forest management.

Ensuring affordable energy for rural communities is another priority, which is why I introduced the Reducing Environmental Gamesmanship (REGS) Act alongside Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis from Wyoming. This bill prohibits federal agencies from implementing “environmental justice” standards unless directed by Congress and nullifies two past environmental justice executive orders. This ensures low income and rural communities do not bear the brunt of “clean energy at all costs” policies that we have seen over the last few years.

As Chairman of the Western Caucus, I am proud of all the progress we have made this year on the critical issues for rural America. The Western Caucus will continue to advocate for policies that promote the well-being and prosperity of our region, ensuring the West remains a vital and vibrant part of our nation’s future, and I look forward to continuing this important work.