Demand Answers
Comments are great, but make your representatives explain themselves.
Hey Friends,
Here you’ll find a letter I wrote to our recently re-elected senator, Maria Cantwell. I can honestly say I’ve never had a good experience communicating with her or her staff, which stands in sharp contrast to the positive experiences I’ve had with other government officials, including Representative Dan Newhouse, whose letter I shared last time:
I’m sharing these letters so you can have a starting point for your own. Ask your representatives questions. Make them explain themselves to you. Advocacy is one thing, but they need to know that we are watching with interest.
Sean
Dear Senator Cantwell,
I have a few questions I would like a direct response to, as well as by some items I’d like to advocate for. I realize that responding to every constituent in the state is challenging, so I’ll persist in calling until I can manage to get a staffer on the phone. I’d really appreciate a response. Thank you!
Why did you vote for Doug Burgum to lead the Department of the Interior?
Why did you vote for Scott Bessent to lead Treasury?
The energy dominance strategy that focuses on extraction at the cost of public access to and protection of our public lands is ridiculous. The United States already leads the world in the production of Natural Gas.
Also. Any attempt to sell USFS, BLM or Wish and Wildlife land is an absolute nonstarter. Please, you must do all you can to prevent the sale of our public land. Access to open spaces is always at risk, and trading access and ownership of that land for tax breaks is short sighted and morally bankrupt.
Why, precisely, are you against the Simpson Plan for removing the four lower snake river damns? 1
The Simpson Plan is precisely what we need to protect our fish for not only future generations of anglers, but also the literal downstream effects of a functional ecosystem. We need better leadership on precisely this issue. Frankly, I’ve been disappointed in your stance and lack of concreteness on this issue.
Will you oppose a budget deal that enshrines these so-called DOGE cuts, even if it means the Republicans cannot pass legislation on their own? What are your requirements if you would support a bipartisan budget?
What I would like to see at a minimum is a restoration of funding to the USFS and the NIH. Do not touch medicare, the VA or Social Security. No tax cuts for corporations or billionaires. Period.
The recklessness of the Trump Administration is damaging to our economy - local and national - as well as our National Security. The feckless response of our congressional elected leadership has been, frankly, unacceptable. Please do better.
No doubt you’re aware, but the Trump Administration’s extra legal cuts to the USFS will have a devastating impact on our local economy. The budget deal cuts that took place prior to Trumps inauguration completely eliminated the seasonal workers at the USFS.
Combined, this means that our regional trail manger has no staff to maintain the trails in the Methow Valley Ranger district. These trails are used by anglers, hunters, trail runners, backpackers and backcountry horsemen.
Recreation brings hundreds of millions of dollars to our local economy. On top of that, all employees of the USFS have dual roles during fire season. We have essentially lost some of our most effect fire prevention and fire suppression staff. If there’s one area of the government that I’ve had direct experience with that is extremely competent - it’s the fire crews. In 2021 we had two major fires going on in our community and miraculously, not a single home was lost.
Please. We are counting on you and your staff.
Thank you.
Sean
The Snake River branches from the Columbia in Washington’s TriCities area. It’s a relic of post WWII development and direct proof that big government can be a big problem. For a compelling account of the Bureau of Reclamation’s overreach, please see the movie DamNation. You can watch it for free on Patagonia’s YouTube Channel.
Good letter, Sean.