Supporting Washington businesses and families

Like you, I’m concerned about the rising cost of food, consumer goods and household essentials. While the economy as a whole has improved and unemployment is low, many local families are still struggling to pay the bills. While some of the price hikes have been caused by supply chain bottlenecks, this issue also highlights an affordability crisis.

Here are some of the steps I’ve taken this legislative session to help families and businesses in both the short term and for years to come.

First, I’ve proposed House Bill 2018 to grant a holiday from sales tax on Labor Day Weekend. We know that September is an especially difficult month for working families because of back-to-school costs. Under this legislation, there will be no sales tax this year Sept. 3-5 for certain items priced $1,000 or less, including clothing, school supplies, computers and energy efficient appliances.

This bill will help families, especially those who’ve been most impacted by rising expenses. The weekend exemption from sales tax will also support local businesses in our community.

Much of the increased burden placed on individuals and families is due to corporate greed. A recent article on businessinsider.com stated “America’s biggest companies can’t stop bragging to investors about how they are charging you more.” It is disappointing that corporations are very happy to grow their profits on the backs of working Americans.

Instead of rewarding this bad behavior, shop at your local Main Street – and support your local retailers.

Rising tuition is also a major concern for students and their parents and we can do more to make college more affordable.

That’s why I introduced House Bill 1760, which will expand the popular Running Start program to the summer months. This is landmark legislation that will provide high school juniors and seniors tuition-free classes throughout our state for the first time ever. I’m pleased to report that House Bill 1760 passed in the House unanimously and is now in the Senate.

Our state must do more to lower the costs of healthcare. I’m especially proud of our work to rein in the costs of prescription drugs like insulin. This session, I co-sponsored House Bill 1671 to help reduce the prices of prescription drugs that corporations keep artificially inflating to boost profits because most patients don’t have any other choice.

In the House, we’ve passed legislation to protect consumers from surprise billings after an emergency room visit (House Bill 1688) and expand access to free and reduced cost healthcare for 2.2 million Washingtonians (House Bill 1616).

Finally, the House proposed a transportation budget focusing on maintaining and preserving our state’s roads, bridges and ferries – without raising the gas tax. That helps strengthen our economic well-being, because we can’t move people and goods efficiently if our infrastructure is not well-maintained.

We’re two-thirds of the way through this legislative session and working hard to help individuals, families and small businesses in our community. As always, it is an honor to serve as your representative.