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Rep. Smith Supports Legislation to Avert Cuts to Medicare and Vital Programs

March 19, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Adam Smith (D-Wash) released the following statement after House passage of H.R. 1868, Medicare PAYGO Waiver, which would exempt the American Rescue Plan Act COVID-19 relief package from statutory PAYGO scorecards.

“We should not have to choose between protecting Medicare and providing relief during the public health and economic crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Medicare PAYGO Waiver exempts the American Rescue Plan from statutory budget rules and defers sequestration dates to after the pandemic, preventing cuts in Medicare and other mandatory spending programs. This is consistent with exemptions Congress provided under the three previous COVID-19 relief packages passed in 2020.   

“Today’s passage of H.R.1868 will also support health care providers by suspending across-the-board payment cuts. Many hospitals and other health care providers are already under significant financial pressure from the pandemic. Delaying these cuts is a commonsense step to help ensure health care providers are able to continue providing care at a time when individuals and families need it most.”

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Rep. Smith Votes to Pass Farm Workforce Modernization Act, Protection for Immigrant Workers

March 18, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Adam Smith (D-Wash) released the following statement after House passage of H.R. 1603, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would reform stabilize the agricultural sector and provide a path to citizenship to the workers who feed America.

“The pandemic and economic crisis have inflicted a devastating toll on immigrant communities, including farmworkers, who face instability and uncertainty due to our broken immigration system. The existing agricultural worker system fails to adequately support immigrant agriculture workers and strains our nation’s farmers and the food supply chain. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act finally reforms this broken system that has failed the undocumented and documented workers supporting our food supply chain for decades.

“The Farm Workforce Modernization Act creates a path to legal status for undocumented farmworkers who have spent years in these jobs and makes enormously important reforms to the existing H-2A agriculture visa program. The new system would give farmers more flexibility, establish desperately needed labor protections, and provide stability for workers and their families to live in the United States.

“This common-sense bipartisan bill, which has broad support from labor, immigration advocates, and agriculture employers, is a great step toward meaningful immigration reform. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues and the Biden-Harris Administration to build on this momentum to make our immigration system fairer and more humane to the benefit of our nation.” 

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Rep. Smith Applauds Passage of American Dream and Promise Act

March 18, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Adam Smith (D-Wash) released the following statement after House passage of H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021, which would provide vital protections for millions of immigrant youth, Dreamers, and TPS and DED holders.

“Immigrants make our country stronger, contributing to our economy, culture, and communities in countless ways. Nowhere is the importance of immigrants to the fabric of our communities more clearly demonstrated than in Washington’s 9th District. Unfortunately, inaction by Congress has resulted in many immigrants continuing to live in fear of being uprooted and denied basic services and protections in the United States. This is unacceptable.

“The American Dream and Promise Act would finally provide a pathway to citizenship for eligible Dreamers and immigrant youth, many of whom only know the United States as their home. The bill also creates a pathway to citizenship for eligible immigrants with TPS or DED status. Many TPS and DED holders have been in the United States for decades, raising families and building their lives here. Following four years of attacks on protections for immigrants and the erosion of our immigration system, this bill would provide long-overdue certainty to these immigrants.

“As we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to remember that immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, have been frontline workers ensuring essential services like health care, food, and transportation remain possible. H.R. 6 finally recognizes the contributions of immigrants who have built lives and raised their families in this country and gives them the stability they deserve.”

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Rep. Smith Votes to Reauthorize Bipartisan Violence Against Women Act

March 17, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) voted to pass H.R. 1620, the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization which would authorize funding for critical grant programs that support victim services for those who experience gender-based violence. It is a vital source of funding for violence prevention and education programs and is critical to helping survivors get access to justice and gain economic independence.

“The Violence Against Women Act has been instrumental in support of women and all survivors who have been subjected to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a sharp increase in domestic violence and other crimes making it even more urgent to pass this bill to ensure that every survivor and victim has the resources they need to lead lives free from violence and fear.

“VAWA reauthorization would increase funding for victims’ services, expand training and education for providers, and strengthen and improve programs to respond to this crisis. In addition to reinstating critical funding that expired in 2018, it will also address challenges identified by survivors and by domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, and other organizations that serve survivors. With this vote, we also close the ‘boyfriend loophole’ that currently allows abusive former partners and stalkers with previous convictions to obtain guns. Today, I proudly voted for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act to strengthen and support lifesaving protections for women and to respond to our country’s crisis of domestic violence with action.”

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Rep. Smith Applauds Passage of Equal Rights Amendment Resolution

March 17, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Adam Smith (D-Wash) released the following statement after House passage of H.J.Res.17, removing the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

“Despite historic gains in women’s rights since the ERA was first introduced in Congress in 1923, the United States has yet to eliminate the scourge of gender-based discrimination and misogyny. Women continue to face discrimination in nearly every facet of society from staggering disparities in pay and economic opportunity, to widespread and deadly sexual and domestic violence, to inadequate access and resources in healthcare. This is especially true for Black and brown women, trans women, and others in marginalized communities.

“The patchwork of laws protecting women’s rights is riddled with loopholes and can easily be—and in the past has successfully been—undermined and scaled back. We must guarantee women the basic and fundamental rights to equal treatment and access to resources. The ERA would enshrine equality regardless of gender under the eyes of the law, creating additional avenues of legal recourse for people who face discrimination under the law on the basis of sex.

“The passage of this resolution marks a pivotal point in our history by clearing up legal ambiguity and honoring the people’s support for women’s equality. This resolution would remove the arbitrary time limit for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and affirms that there can be no expiration date on equality. Today, we take another step toward achieving equality for all.”

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