Dear Friend, On June 1, three of the most controversial provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act will expire. As we now know, the government has been interpreting Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act to enact far-reaching and invasive government surveillance programs that secretly obtain personal data from U.S. citizens, whether or not they are suspected of any illegal activity. Just last week, I wrote an op-ed that was published in The Hill, outlining standards I believe must be reached for any surveil...
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Dear Friend, Congress needs to do more to support middle-class and lower-income earners. By expanding the middle class, we can jump-start job creation and economic growth. One way Congress can accomplish this is by passing comprehensive tax reform. Comprehensive tax reform is about fairness for all Americans, both in Washington’s First District and across the nation. What we need is a bipartisan solution that simplifies our tax code by helping millions of hardworking individuals and families an...
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Dear Friend, To get our economy back on track and help Washington’s families and businesses, we need to find responsible, bipartisan solutions to our nation’s fiscal issues. Unfortunately, the Republican budget passed by the House of Representatives last week was neither responsible nor bipartisan. Yesterday, I spoke at an event with Senator Patty Murray about what a responsible, pragmatic budget should look like. I believe we must make smart investments in education, research, clean energy and...
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Dear Friend, I’m committed to supporting our small businesses and local economies, and I will continue to work on policies that will help spur economic growth. Here’s a quick update on what I’ve done recently while in the district. Last week, I had the opportunity to tour a number of our small and local businesses. Small and local businesses are the foundation for long-term economic growth and are the driving force behind our economy. One business, Kenmore Air, carries more than 100,000 passeng...
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Dear Friend, I am pleased to have taken significant steps throughout the past few weeks to help address the privacy concerns of businesses and consumers. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, ensuring our nation’s laws keep pace with innovation is a task that I take very seriously and view as crucial to protecting individual privacy as technology becomes an ever-increasing part of our daily lives. That is why I recently launched the bipartisan Congressional Internet of Things (IoT) Caucus to ...
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Dear Friend, It’s hard to believe that we’re already into the second month of the 114th Congress. Encouraging economic recovery and job creation are top priorities for me, which is why I’ve introduced two commonsense bills – the Manufacturing Jobs for Veterans Act (H.R. 344) and the Small Business Tax Credit Accessibility Act (H.R. 762). Supporting Education and Job-Training for Veterans In January, I was pleased to introduce the Manufacturing Jobs for Veterans Act. One of my top priorities in ...
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Dear Friend, As we start the 114th Congress, I’m eager to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass smart, bipartisan policy that will help grow our economy and support good-paying jobs. While there has been some economic relief, there is still much more work Congress should do to ensure that a strong, growing middle-class can thrive. I am committed to protecting working families and fighting to expand opportunities for everyone. Congress needs to start working on legislation to h...
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