National Security

DelBenes Fix for Survivors of Child Abuse Clears Committee, Heads to Floor

| Posted in Press Releases

The House Armed Services Committee today added Congresswoman Suzan DelBene’s (WA-01) bipartisan bill to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), closing a legal loophole that denies justice for some survivors of child abuse. “Anyone who falls victim to physical, sexual or emotional violence — particularly children — deserves the opportunity…

DelBene to Trump: America Deserves an Independent Investigation

| Posted in Press Releases

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today issued the following statement after President Trump fired the Director of the FBI, who was actively investigating the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia: “The American people deserve to know the full extent of Russia’s grip on the Trump administration,” DelBene said. “Firing the head of the department…

DelBene Introduces Bill Calling for Joint Commission on North Korea

| Posted in Press Releases

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today introduced H.R. 2231, which establishes a Joint Commission on North Korea, and would include government officials from the United States, Japan and South Korea, among others in the Indo-Asia Pacific Region, as a diplomatic effort to stop North Korea’s hostile actions. “Preventing a nuclear-armed North Korea must be a top priority for…

WA Members Call for Information from DOJ and FBI on Disturbing Threats Targeting Jewish Community Centers

| Posted in Press Releases

Today, Rep. Adam Smith (WA-09), joined by Reps. Rick Larsen (WA-02), Dave Reichert (WA-08), Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), Denny Heck (WA-10), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), released the following statement in response to Monday evening’s bomb threat that lead to the evacuation of the…

DelBene Helps Introduce Bill to Require President to Disclose Foreign Assets

| Posted in Press Releases

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today helped introduce the Presidential Trade Transparency Act to require the President to disclose foreign income, assets and liabilities when initiating trade or investment negotiations with a foreign country. “With the lack of financial transparency from this President, Congress must exercise its oversight responsibilities to ensure there…

Northern Border Caucus Express Concern Over Proposed Biometric Screening Requirements

| Posted in Press Releases

As the critical relationship between the United States and Canada is in the spotlight after Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau’s visit to Washington, D.C., several members of the House of Representatives Northern Border Caucus are sending a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly cautioning against the existing proposal requiring implementation of…

Democratic Reps. condemn immigration order, demand briefing

| Posted in In the News

SEATTLE - Seattle Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, D-07, and other Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee are asking for an emergency briefing before all House members, on the extreme vetting executive order and its chaotic rollout over the weekend. A letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly cites “urgency, widespread confusion and dangerous impact…

How Your Elected Officials, and Some Really Smart Lawyers, Are Fighting Trump

| Posted in In the News

At 4:42 p.m. EST last Friday, when President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order banning refugees and specific travelers from entering the U.S., it launched a nationwide explosion of resistance, from the airports to the streets to the courts. In Seattle, that resistance was just as swift from elected officials and attorneys as from local residents. By early Saturday afternoon,…

Stop that plane: The frantic race to halt a deportation

| Posted in In the News

When Courtney Gregoire read about the chaos unfolding in New York’s John F. Kennedy airport Saturday morning, she began to wonder how President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries would play out in Seattle. Gregoire, an attorney and the daughter of former Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, is a commissioner of the Port of…

I actually wept: Lawyers frantic efforts stop a plane, allow 2 men to enter U.S. at Sea-Tac

| Posted in In the News

They were running for the gate, the two attorneys, one specializing in immigration law, the other a Port of Seattle commissioner. They knew they might not make it in time. An Emirates airplane was about to leave for Dubai at just after 5 p.m. Saturday, and on it were two men who had landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. They had been told they could not stay because of an order…