For me, the answer is simple:
It would be fair to wonder why someone would want to be in Congress. For me, it is simple: we have made great progress but there is still more work to be done for you.
Representing Washington's second district is one of the greatest privileges of my life. Together, we have made remarkable progress for our community — from 1 million Washingtonians being insured under the Affordable Care Act, to bringing millions of dollars to the state to rebuild and advance our infrastructure. Our work is paying off.
I filed to run for re-election this week because there is more we can accomplish for Northwest Washington. Some of my top priorities for next term include:
- Protecting reproductive freedom: abortion rights are under attack with attempts to ban medications, close clinics, and even criminalize patients who have sought care out of state.
- Lowering prescription drug prices and ensuring access to health care: I believe health care is a right and I support universal coverage, but even with good insurance the costs are high. For years drug companies have tried to block competitive pricing. We recently passed landmark legislation that allows Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, caps out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, and caps insulin copays at $35 per month, all while cutting the deficit by $300 billion.
- Supporting our veterans: I worked to pass a bipartisan extension of a transportation program helping veterans travel to see their doctors, improving access to care for those living in remote communities. I am going to continue pushing legislation that will provide veterans with job skills training, give business owners a tax credit to hire veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and help get more homeless veterans into permanent housing.
- Improving affordability: We must raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. This simple step would give 32 million workers a raise and lift over a million people out of poverty. We need reinvestments in career and technical education and training so that our students and workers are trained for good, family-supporting careers like ones in aviation, manufacturing, and engineering.
These issues along with many others like protecting our democracy, tackling the climate crisis, and getting fentanyl off our streets are issues that make a real, tangible difference for you and your families.
More soon,
Rick
