News

Press Releases

Rep. Smith Secures Funding for World Relief Seattle’s Teaching & Commercial Kitchen

June 25, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) secured $673,000 in the 2022 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill for World Relief Seattle’s Entrepreneurship Incubation Hub: Teaching & Commercial Kitchen located in Kent, Washington.

“World Relief Seattle has been welcoming our newest neighbors from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, for the past 40 years,” said Chitra Hanstad, World Relief Seattle Executive Director. “We have long wondered how we can support our communities beyond the first few months of the resettlement period. In conversations with our community and the help of Adam Smith's office, we hope to open a commercial/teaching kitchen. We will pair this with an Immigrant Entrepreneurship Academy which will give our community economic freedom and bolster the State's economy with new jobs!"

This funding will help World Relief Seattle develop a teaching and commercial kitchen that will be a 1,215 sq. ft. multi-impact community space serving Washington’s King County refugee and immigrant community. This space will be used as an entrepreneurship and small business incubation hub to launch and promote local businesses, particularly food-based businesses, and train refugee and immigrant entrepreneurs through an Entrepreneurship Academy hosted in the space.

The project will promote entrepreneurship and successful small business ownership within historically underserved communities; advance community based economic empowerment through promoting food related businesses and income-generating initiatives; and simultaneously increase food security and sovereignty for refugee and immigrant communities.

In April, Congressman Smith submitted World Relief Seattle’s project as one of his ten Community Project Funding requests to the House Appropriations Committee. The rest of the Community Project Funding requests will be announced in July.

Click here for more information about this project and here for information about other Community Project Funding requests submitted by Congressman Smith.

###

Rep. Smith on Sexual Assault in the Military: Serious Action is Overdue, Time to Act is Now

June 23, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, today issued the following statement after Representatives Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio) introduced the Vanessa Guillén Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act. 

“After trying, and failing, to address sexual assault in the military for years, the time has come to take the prosecution of sexual assault crimes out of the chain of command. There is broad support for this idea in Congress, the Department of Defense, and the Biden-Harris administration, and momentum continues to build. This bipartisan and bicameral consensus means the question before us is not whether to update the UCMJ, but how to update the UCMJ.

“Two solutions have been proposed: removing all felony-like crimes from the chain of command, or removing all crimes relating to sexual assault from the chain of command. There will be much debate about this differentiation, and I welcome that debate so that we can identify the best possible policy solution for our service members, but the bottom line remains the same: Significant action is required and the time to act is now.

“As Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, I intend to give this issue the attention it deserves – that means marking up pertinent legislation like the Vanessa Guillén Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act. This issue is far too important to risk failure, which is why I will aggressively pursue every legislative option available.”

###

Rep. Smith Visits Northwest African American Museum’s Juneteenth Celebration

June 19, 2021

SEATTLE, WA – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) released the following statement in honor of Juneteenth after speaking at the Northwest African American Museum’s (NAAM) Juneteenth Jamboree.

“On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger led Union soldiers led into Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and that the people held in slavery there were free – but it was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation legally abolishing slavery in the United States.

“156 years later, Congress has recognized the long-standing tradition among Black Americans to memorialize the end of slavery by establishing Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday. This day marks one of the most important moments in our country's history. It was the starting point on a path to equal justice under the law and equitable opportunity for all in America, that continues even today.

“This Juneteenth arrives at a time when the national conversation on police brutality, criminal justice, health care and social services access, infrastructure investment, and good governance acknowledges the reality of systemic racism, which disproportionately places the heaviest burdens and the harshest penalties on Black people. Change is long overdue. Commemoration alone is not enough to rid the country of the existing legacies of slavery especially in light of unprecedented attacks on the right to vote and recognition of our country’s history of slavery in state legislatures across the country.

“I am proud and grateful to join in celebrating Juneteenth with my friend LaNesha DeBardelaben, the Northwest African American Museum, Rec'N The Streets, and many others on a day that symbolizes the beginning of freedom for so many Black Americans. I recommit to the work still ahead of us – I remain committed to doing everything in my power to fight hate and racism and I will not stop until every American has equal opportunities to succeed."

###

Rep. Smith Statement on Bipartisan Vote to Repeal the 2002 AUMF

June 17, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, today issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 256, to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.

“Today the House confirmed, in a bipartisan way, that the repeal of an authorization for use of military force that is no longer applicable does not impede our national security. Circumstances on the ground in Iraq have changed dramatically since passage of the 2002 AUMF. Significantly, we now count the democratic Iraqi government our partner in our counterterrorism mission – as such, it is time to repeal this authority.

“While today’s vote moves us one step closer to a full repeal of this outdated AUMF, there is more work to be done. I have said before that repeal of the 2002 AUMF is not enough. I continue to be encouraged by the Biden-Harris Administration’s willingness to address outdated authorities. I look forward to working with the Administration and with my colleagues in Congress in reviewing existing authorities.”

###

Rep. Smith Votes to Pass Bill Improving Corporate Transparency and Investor Protections

June 16, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) today issued the following statement after the House passed H.R. 1187, the Corporate Governance Improvement and Investor Protection Act.

“As we continue to work to create a more equitable and sustainable economic future that works for all Americans, we must address growing income inequality and the existential threat of climate change. By requiring corporations to disclose environmental, social, and good governance metrics, this legislation will help empower and inform shareholders, workers, and consumers in their investment and savings decisions.

“For too long, decisions by many corporations have been driven by short-term profit, often at the expense of its workers and long-term sustainability. The disclosure of information required under this bill such as climate risk, worker wages, and CEO compensation, and offshore profits and taxes not only promotes transparency and accountability, but reflects the reality that the long-term financial sustainability of corporations and our economy must account for the wellbeing of workers and the risk posed by climate change.  

“I strongly support the efforts to account for climate risk in financial services, help shift economic power towards workers, and promote a more sustainable economic future that benefits all Americans.”

You can read the H.R. 1187 Fact Sheet here.

###

« First < Prev Next > Last »