Derek Kilmer

I will be personally involved in how we can get some more directed resources to build that important leverage and collaborative capacity.

I am very grateful for the partnership we found in the regional forester, Glenn Casamassa and our new forest supervisor, Kelly Lawrence.

I honestly can't remember the last time that the Olympic National Forest met its annual harvest target, and we have got to do better.

I know that resource limitations have impacted operations service wide, and that is something our committee has been working to address.

I want to start out by just renewing the invite I extended to you last year to come visit my neck of the woods.

We have another interesting product, composites, recycled composites, that are being used in coordination with cross-laminated timber to build tiny homes for homeless veterans in our area.

We need to do better than that.

We have had 4 years of a President who has alienated our allies and our business partners, trading partners, and then totally botched the COVID recovery.

International travel is down 93 percent from January of 2020. And I don't have to tell you how devastating that is to the economy.

I think it is absolutely essential. Those are two good programs that you mentioned. They are critical.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in my district is undeniably vulnerable to climate change and represents a single point of failure for carrier maintenance in the Pacific.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thanks for holding this hearing today.

I have been hearing concerns from folks in my district that DOD health facilities in our neck of the woods won't have the capacity to treat retirees.

The longer you delay the critical maintenance that is needed in a lot of these facilities, the more it will end up costing.

Personally, I think it is really important for Congress and the DOD to work together to keep SIOP on track.

Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later.

It would provide priority for funding through this historic National Apprenticeship Act of 2020. Growing the number of computer science programs for students in high school and beyond will provide more 21st century job opportunities for…

The Select Committee's guiding principle is to make Congress work better for the American people.

Ensuring that the House is equipped to uphold its Article I responsibilities is important and challenging.

We are proving that it is possible for Members from both sides of the aisle to sit down together and engage in tough conversations.

I strongly urge you to include new funding and authorities that will allow the Army Corps to assist communities.

These communities need technical assistance and resources to adapt to the changing climate.

In my neck of the woods, climate change is no longer a threat, it is a reality.

We must take preventative measures, and strong investments through the WRDA reauthorization are a great place to start.

I also want to thank you for making coastal and climate resilience one of your key infrastructure priorities.