BySenators Hunt, Zeiger, O'Ban, Conway, Sheldon, Van De Wege, Wilson, C., Darneille, Becker, Takko, Cleveland, Billig, Liias, McCoy, Rivers, Wilson, L., and Kuderer

WHEREAS, Dennis "Denny" Lynn Heck was born in Vancouver, Washington, on July 29, 1952; and

WHEREAS, Denny grew up in Clark County, Washington, and graduated from Columbia River High School in Vancouver; and

WHEREAS, Denny attended The Evergreen State College the first year it opened and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973; and

WHEREAS, While at Evergreen, Denny began his career in government as an intern in the Washington State Legislature, and learned much about state government from his friend and mentor, former Senator Al Bauer; and

WHEREAS, Denny met Paula Fruci, a dedicated educator, and they married in 1976; and

WHEREAS, At the age of twenty-four, Denny was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1976, representing the 17th Legislative District, which included Clark, Skamania, and Klickitat Counties, and was called a wonderkind; and

WHEREAS, Denny served five terms in the Washington House where his peers elected him Majority Leader; and

WHEREAS, Denny, an ardent supporter of education, fought for the improvement of Washington's public schools as a prime author of Washington's Basic Education Act of 1977; and

WHEREAS, Denny was elected Chief Clerk of the Washington State House of Representatives in 1985; and

WHEREAS, Denny served as Governor Booth Gardner's Chief of Staff from 1990 to 1993; and

WHEREAS, Denny, being an extraordinary champion of open government, cofounded TVW: Washington's Public Affairs Network, which has provided Washingtonians with "gavel-to-gavel" coverage of the Legislature since 1993; and

WHEREAS, Denny has dedicated his life to creating educational and historical content about Washington, such as TVW's "Inside Olympia;" his one-man play "Our Times", which contemplated transformative events in Washington history; and the Emmy award-winning documentary about the Washington State Supreme Court titled Supreme Justice; and

WHEREAS, Denny and Paula provided initial funding that established the Principals' Emergency Checkbook Fund within the Olympia Schools Foundation to assist low-income students; and

WHEREAS, Being an alumnus and a great advocate of The Evergreen State College, he was appointed by Governor Christine Gregoire in 2009 to Evergreen's Board of Trustees where he served for two years and championed the establishment of Evergreen's Tacoma Program; and

WHEREAS, On November 6, 2012, Denny was elected to the United States House of Representatives as the first member of the newly created 10th Congressional District; and

WHEREAS, One of his first acts as a Member of Congress was spearheading the State Route 167 Completion Coalition with leaders in Pierce County; and

WHEREAS, In these times of sharp partisan differences in Congress, Denny has built a reputation as someone who seeks bipartisan solutions and works across the aisle on issues; and

WHEREAS, Denny and fellow Congressman Derek Kilmer share a residence in Washington, D.C., and are known as "The Odd Couple;" and

WHEREAS, Denny serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, overseeing elements of the United States Government's Intelligence Community and the Military Intelligence Program; and

WHEREAS, Denny became known for his insightful questioning and comments, especially during recent House Intelligence Committee hearings; and

WHEREAS, Denny has been a vocal advocate for military families and veterans, including helping a soldier receive a Purple Heart after authorities overlooked his injuries; and

WHEREAS, In order to create solutions to housing issues that face Washington State and the nation, Denny formed and cochaired the New Democrat Coalition Housing Task Force, helped pass the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2013, and introduced the Build More Housing Near Transit Act and the Fulfilling the Promise of the Housing Trust Fund Act; and

WHEREAS, Denny has fought to restore and preserve Washington's beautiful Puget Sound, cofounding the Puget Sound Recovery Caucus, introducing the Promoting United Government Efforts to Save Our Sound Act, and introducing the Green Stormwater Infrastructure Financing Investment; and

WHEREAS, Denny honored Billy Frank Jr. through the sponsorship of the Billy Frank Jr. Tell Your Story Act, which renamed the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge after the late Native American environmental and civil rights activist; and

WHEREAS, Denny fought for the financial interests of his constituents as the only member from the Pacific Northwest on the Committee on Financial Services and led the reauthorization of the job-creating Export-Import Bank; and

WHEREAS, During his time in the United States House of Representatives, he has prioritized building the economy and fighting for the middle class; and

WHEREAS, Denny is a member of the New Democratic Coalition, a caucus of House Democrats favoring economic growth and innovation; and

WHEREAS, After forty-five years of service to the people of Washington State, Denny announced that he will not seek reelection in 2020; and

WHEREAS, Denny plans to spend more time at his longtime home in Olympia with his beloved wife of nearly forty-four years, Paula; his sons, Bob and Trey; his grandchild, Maleah; and his family and friends; and

WHEREAS, Denny will now have more time to engage in some favorite, but neglected, activities like watching all the movies he wants, writing, and sharpening his pinochle skills (which need some work); and

WHEREAS, Denny and Paula should have enough frequent flyer miles from all those weekly transcontinental flights to travel where and when they want;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate honor the outstanding career of Denny Heck and express admiration for his work and dedication to the citizens of the State of Washington; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to Congressman Denny Heck and members of his family.