House Democrats applaud news of Renton landing the 737 MAX, contract deal

No one knows airplanes better, and no region of the world builds them better, than Washington State. That’s the message House Democrats in Olympia conveyed as news broke of a tentative deal between Boeing and its machinists’ union, leading to the announcement that Renton will be the home of the new 737 MAX.

Democratic caucus leader on the Pegasus Project, Larry Springer points to the decade of work between the HDC and the aerospace community to land the 737 Dreamliner and the tanker as the reason why the MAX will be built here. “We’ve championed new investments, funding, and reforms in recent years, fostering growth and jobs in the industry.” They include:

• Workforce development scholarships and grants worth millions to train aerospace workers 
• New educational state facilities providing new resources to manufacturers and workers 
• Aerospace training programs through state community and technical colleges 
• Streamlined permitting processes for Boeing and its aerospace manufacturing partners 
• Reforms at L&I and ESD, which reduced premium rates for workers’ comp and unemployment insurance 

Co-leader on the Pegasus Project, Marcie Maxwell, recounted some personal memories. “I’ve watched the maiden voyage of every 737 for many years from my Renton home. Many of my neighbors are proud of their work designing and building generations of Boeing planes. This is great news for Boeing, for Renton, and for the hundreds of suppliers across 29 counties in our state.

“The bottom line is, we’re building more airplanes faster and better than ever before,” said House Democratic Caucus Chair Eric Pettigrew. “And winning the new 737 MAX in Renton is a sign that we’ll be doing so for a long, long time.”

Read the full press release here.


Check out this link highlighting some recent posts that contributed to today's good news.

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.

Take a moment today to thank first responders in your community

As you may have heard, today is “Thank First Responders Day” across Washington state. This observance began following the tragic loss of four police officers in Lakewood in 2009, and was officially established by a proclamation signed by Governor Gregoire on June 18, 2010.

According to the Thank First Responder website, “Unfortunately it seems that the community only recognizes the brave and generous acts of our first responders when tragedy occurs. We shouldn’t need something terrible to happen for us to realize how fortunate we are to have such well-trained men and women there for us every single moment of life”.

Here at the HDC, we couldn’t agree more. We’ll be taking time out from special session activity to thank our very own Reps. Kevin Van De Wege and Christopher Hurst, who also serve the people of Washington state as first responders.

Please join us in thanking police officers and fire fighters in your community for the sacrifices they make to keep us safe not only today, but throughout the year.

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.

Think you’ve got what it takes to balance the budget? Give it a try!

On Monday legislators officially convened to begin work on cutting an estimated $2 billion from our state’s Operating Budget.

If you were in their shoes, how would you go about balancing the budget? The League of Education Voters’ budget calculator lets you make those decisions for yourself.

Like lawmakers, you'll have to choose which programs to reduce funding for and which to eliminate entirely. You’ll also have the choice to raise revenue, keeping in mind that any revenue options are subject to a two-thirds majority vote of the legislature or a vote of the people.

Give it a try and be sure to let your legislators know what you would prioritize!

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.

What you can do to fight hunger

Nutrition is one of the basic necessities of life and yet one out of nine households in the United States struggles to put food on the table. Nearly one-fourth of those that go hungry in our country are children.

Not only do real families suffer due to lack of adequate nutrition, but the problem also has economic consequences. The Alliance to End Hunger reports that the U.S. spends more than $90 billion each year on direct and indirect costs associated with hunger. 

Food assistance programs like the Child & Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) are key to fighting the battle against hunger. Through a partnership with U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OPSI) can reimburse some costs associated with providing meals to eligible programs and organizations that serve children and adults.

In 2010, the OSPI helped provide over 3 million meals to low-income children and families through organizations participating in the CACFP.

If you operate a child or adult day care center, an at-risk afterschool program, ECEAP or Head Start, or emergency shelter and are interested in applying for the program, contact Adele Roberts, Child Nutrition Services, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, P.O. Box 47200, Olympia, Washington 98504-7200.

If you or someone you know is in need of nutrition assistance, contact the Washington Basic Food Program at 1-877-501-2233.

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.

Cuts are cuts

There’s a lot of chatter about whether the state has really cut $10.5 billion from the state budget or not.

A recent news story called some of the cuts made to the operating budget over the last three years “reductions in expected spending.”

Huh?

Here are some simple facts:

Our state’s population kept growing, despite the recession.
We have more kids in our public schools.
More seniors needing health care.
More inmates in our state prisons.

Inflation means costs go up every year, even if the population doesn’t. Combine population growth AND inflation and the budget has to grow simply to keep up.

So those cuts feel quite real to the teachers and corrections officers who lost their jobs.

Those cuts are real to the working poor who lost their health coverage.

They’re real to the college students struggling to pay higher tuition at our public colleges.

Saying these cuts aren’t real is like telling your bank you aren’t paying your mortgage next month – but it’s not a real cut, because the bank only expected you to pay.

When revenue dips while the population goes up, real people suffer. And now the temporary boost our state got from the federal stimulus is ending.

Our state budget is 90 percent public schools, universities, prisons and health care.

We can’t cut $2 billion without hurting our public schools, universities, public safety and health care.  There are no easy budget fixes.

Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar – and a cut is simply a cut.

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.

Mr. Smith goes to Olympia

So does Ms. Jones.

And Mr. Doe, Ms. Gonzales, and Mr. Cheung.....

Thousands of people converged on the Capital Campus today as legislators began a special session to address the current $2 billion budget hole. Among the demonstrators were teachers, school employees, parents of children with disabilities, and caregivers for the elderly -- all concerned about how the next round of budget cuts will affect them.

Below are a few glimpses of the crowd.

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.

Special Session begins at noon today

Legislators are back in Olympia today for the start of the special session, which officially begins at noon today.


This afternoon, the House Ways and Means committee will hold a public hearing on the House supplemental budget proposal, HB 2127.  The hearing begins at 1:30 p.m. in Senate Hearing Room 4 of the Cherberg Building.

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.