Recognizing Sheriff Derek Sanders
Floor Speech
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Ms. PEREZ. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month, Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders was injured in a car accident while driving his patrol car. Since the accident, I have been in touch with Sheriff Sanders. He has incredible strength and resilience. Amazingly, just 2 weeks after being airlifted to Harborview Medical Center for his injuries he has been cleared to return to work.
Mr. Speaker, as I stand here in Washington, I will continue to send my thoughts and prayers to him and his family back home. I hope he has a speedy recovery. I am so grateful to Sheriff Sanders and officers like him who accept the risks of their job to keep our public safe. Veteran Wait Times
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Ms. PEREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the long wait time veterans endure when trying to get through to the VA.
As the granddaughter of a veteran, I have deep respect for the sacrifice that comes from serving our Nation in uniform. We make a sacred promise to veterans: If they step up to serve, the Nation will be there for them when they take off the uniform.
Yet, the wait times for primary care appointments at the Vancouver VA hospital in my district are 3 weeks; physical therapy, 4 weeks; and mental health, 8 weeks.
To make matters worse, those times are absolutely an underestimate. The Veterans Health Administration reports average wait times on its website using the time at which an appointment is scheduled by staff rather than when the appointment is requested. This does not take into account the time veterans are forced to wait on hold just to get an appointment.
Last April, the Office of the Inspector General called this out in its report, but it still has not been remedied.
A lot of time is spent in this Chamber talking about our national debt, and rightly so, but we already have a kind of debt that we are failing to serve.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in keeping our end of the bargain and making healthcare more accessible for our veterans. Postal Service Delays
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Ms. PEREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the unacceptable state of the Postal Service in my community and across rural America. Those of you who live in urban communities might have experienced the mail just comes on time. I have constituents whose bills are delivered weeks or days after they are due, making it impossible to pay them on time and ruining their credit.
This summer, a mail carrier in my community got sick and there was no one to deliver the mail for months. In another instance, a postal master key was lost in Clark County, which has led to incredible, rampant mail theft in the area. In all of these cases the Postal Service seems unwilling or unable to fulfill their mandated duties.
Mr. Speaker, this isn't just about southwest Washington, it is all across rural America. This state of affairs is unacceptable. The United States Postal Service is a lifeline to our communities and a critical piece of infrastructure for connecting our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand up and find a bipartisan solution with me to fix these issues, reform the Postal Service, and improve service for Washingtonians. Consolidation
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Ms. PEREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak out of deep concern for growing consolidation of agricultural farms throughout the food supply chain.
These mergers put small farmers, small businesses, and workers at a huge disadvantage. There are fewer options for processing plants, cold storage, distribution, and retail.
I have heard concerns about consolidation at farm bill listening sessions I have hosted in Centralia and Battle Ground. We are seeing consolidation everywhere, including meat processing plants, fruit processors, and beverages distributors.
In my community, Corwin, a local beverage distributor was just bought out by a huge conglomerate, and now their beer and wine division is closed. The potential merger between Kroger and Albertsons would only add to this pressure. It is hurting our small producers.
The cost to transport and distribute goods is no longer sustainable and is forcing small businesses to close. This drives up the cost at the checkout stand, and it makes it more challenging to rely on American-grown goods. This is a national security threat.
Mr. Speaker, I am here to serve the people of southwest Washington, not big businesses. Every merger that cuts costs and skirts accountability is a blow to working people; to farmers, to processing plants, grocery cashiers, and families at the checkout stand.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand with me to find a solution to these critical issues. Celebrate Loggers
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Ms. PEREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate generations of loggers in Washington State, including my grandfather, Dale Gilmore. If you visit my office in Longworth, you will see a chainsaw that is almost 9 feet long. It is a McCulloch Model 99. It is the same model of chainsaw that my grandpa ran in the woods up and down the peninsula.
It was shipped here in a crate built by the Stevenson High School shop class under the leadership of Scott Midland. I brought it here to remind this Washington, D.C., what real work looks like.
The lifespan of men who ran these chainsaws could be pretty short, but they chose to sacrifice to provide for their families. The power that comes from mastering a skill should invoke humility and respect for all of the people who choose to work with their hands in the woods.
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