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The leaders of the New Democrat Coalition expressed their frustration today with the inactivity in the House of Representatives on critical legislation. Since Congress' return to session, the Republican leadership has failed to schedule a vote on legislation that enjoys broad bipartisan support and that they themselves have declared to be high priorities - Bankruptcy Reform and the Export Administration Act. Meanwhile, with the fiscal year on the verge of expiring, the leadership has allowed intra-party politics to bring the appropriations process to a grinding halt.
Today Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), joined by fellow Washington state Reps. Norm Dicks, Rick Larsen and George Nethercutt, sent a letter to all members of the House of Representatives urging support of military transformation currently exhibited at Ft. Lewis, WA with the Stryker and the Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCTs).
The following is a statement from Congressman Adam Smith (D-Wash.):
"I am pleased that the President is addressing the United Nations this morning to make the Administration's case for regime change in Iraq. Ousting Saddam Hussein may be necessary; however, the President has not yet articulated a compelling justification for military action to either the American people or the international community.
Congressman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) today sent a bipartisan letter to Speaker Hastert and Minority Leader Gephardt endorsing the suggestion that September 11, 2002 should be the target date for enacting legislation to establish a cabinet level homeland security department.
Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Cal Dooley (D-Calif.), and Jim Davis (D-Fla.) today strongly urged the Republican leadership to bring important bankruptcy reform legislation to the floor this week. The Republican leadership has failed to make a firm commitment to schedule a vote this week on the conference report, which enjoys strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate.
Today they issued the following statement:
Today Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), co-chair of the New Democrat Coalition, and 30 additional Members of the New Democrat Coalition, wrote to Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) "to reiterate [their] support for bankruptcy reform legislation" and urging that the bankruptcy reform bill conference report to accompany H.R. 333 to the floor quickly be brought immediately to the floor of the House.
On Tuesday, August 27, Congressman Adam Smith (D-09) will be in Rainier to meet with the some of the City's elected and community leaders.
The lunchtime conversation will concentrate primarily on events and concerns in Rainier, but Congressman Smith will also speak briefly about the current state of affairs in Congress, including new developments in legislation on health care, transportation, veterans affairs, homeland security and the war on terrorism.
On Wednesday August 28, Congressman Adam Smith (D-Tacoma) will talk with seniors and health care professionals about problems with our health care system and describe some of his proposals to begin to address them.
Congressman Adam Smith believes that we need a long-term solution to our health care problems. Currently, there is a decline in access to doctors, hospitals, nurses and home health care for seniors on Medicare in Washington state and prescription drug costs are rising dramatically, while generics are not getting into the marketplace quickly.
Congressman Adam Smith (D-Tacoma) announced today that the City of Federal Way was awarded a grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and United States Fire Administration (USFA) to purchase new lifesaving equipment and provide more firefighter training.
On Tuesday, August 27, Congressman Adam Smith (D-09) will be in Yelm to meet with the Yelm Chamber of Commerce and then for a roundtable meeting with Yelm's elected and community leaders.
The Yelm Chamber of Commerce has invited Congressman Smith to talk about the current state of affairs in Congress and to update them on issues of concern to the Yelm area including health care, transportation, veterans affairs, homeland security and the war on terrorism.