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Leader in Congress on nuclear cleanup issues and works each year to see that work at the Hanford site is completed on time and on budget. Authored law creating Office of River Protection. Chairman of the bipartisan Nuclear Cleanup Caucus.
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Introduced legislation to ensure public access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain.
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Fighting to halt Administration efforts to shut Yucca Mountain, the repository for Hanford's spent nuclear fuel.
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On behalf of hundreds of PNNL jobs, intervened with top DOE officials and Congress to ensure new lab space for scientists working in old Hanford buildings slated for demolition.
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Supports the important research done at the Agricultural Research Service center in Prosser, which helps our growers remain competitive in the global marketplace.
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Continuing to support the completion of the Columbia Basin Project, which gives our farmers continued access to the water they need to continue to grow world-class products. (this needs to be reworded, but I would suggest something along these lines to show that Doc supports projects like Odessa, Potholes, etc. without talking about appropriations).
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Supporting efforts to increase TRICARE reimbursement rates for critical access hospitals like Lourdes.
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Supporting Impact Aid schools, including the Kennewick and Richland school districts, by offering amendments to federal education legislation to give preference to Impact Aid schools in any new federal school construction program and encouraging the Department of Education to provide timely payments to these school districts.
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Leading bipartisan efforts to fight cuts to the Market Access Program, which provides valuable marketing assistance to many Columbia Basin growers and processors.
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Led the fight against the Andean Trade Preferences Act, which gives Peruvian asparagus growers duty-free access to US markets. When these efforts failed, supported the creation of the Asparagus Market Loss program to help compensate growers for their losses and pressed the Administration to implement the program quickly. Also supporting research to develop a mechanized harvester for the asparagus industry to help them save on labor costs to become more competitive.
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Leading efforts to persuade the Administration to resolve the trade dispute that has caused Mexico to impose a 20 percent tariff on 90 U.S. products, including potatoes, pears and cherries in the Tri-Cities area.
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Leading efforts to support passage of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which would immediately eliminate tariffs on a number of Central Washington products, including apples, wheat, and beef. Also supporting action on the South Korea Free Trade Agreement and the Panama Free Trade Agreement.
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Supporting the Washington wine industry by opposing a proposal to increase the excise tax on wine by 300 percent, and encouraging the United States Trade Representative to support the sale of U.S. wines with “traditional” names in Europe.
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Supporting efforts to provide fresh potato access to Mexican markets and the continuation of potatoes in the WIC program.
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Fighting to ensure that EPA’s pesticide policies are based on sound science, ranging from pesticide drift to buffer zone restrictions.
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Secured funds for Prosser Agriculture Research Center for work important to local farmers, including research on clean plants for vineyards.
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Wrote a bill, passed by House of Representatives, creating a new opportunity to provide public access to Juniper Dunes recreation area.
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Worked with Medicare and Lourdes Hospital in Pasco to end federal effort to wrongly force return of over $2.2 million.
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Fully backed local effort to win new Areva uranium enrichment facility in the Tri-Cities.
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Making certain Hanford workers made ill from their work receive federal compensation that they’re due.
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Leading federal efforts to preserve Hanford’s historic B Reactor.
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Authored legislation to protect scientific study of ancient remains like Kennewick Man.
