HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2024-4674

HR 4674

ByRepresentatives Jinkins, Alvarado, Bateman, Berg, Bergquist, Berry, Bronoske, Callan, Chapman, Chopp, Cortes, Davis, Doglio, Donaghy, Duerr, Entenman, Farivar, Fey, Fitzgibbon, Fosse, Goodman, Gregerson, Hackney, Kloba, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Macri, Mena, Morgan, Nance, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Orwall, Paul, Peterson, Pollet, Ramel, Ramos, Reed, Reeves, Riccelli, Rule, Ryu, Santos, Senn, Shavers, Simmons, Slatter, Springer, Stearns, Stonier, Street, Taylor, Thai, Tharinger, Timmons, Walen, and Wylie

WHEREAS, Congressman Derek Kilmer brought his dedication and an unwavering sense of duty to the United States house of representatives and the Washington state legislature; and

WHEREAS, Born and raised in Port Angeles to parents who were educators, Kilmer saw families losing jobs during the timber crisis and developed a lifelong interest in boosting rural economies; and

WHEREAS, After receiving his bachelor's degree from Princeton and doctorate from Oxford, he put his education to work as a lawmaker, focusing on building a better economy in timber and farm country, improving education, and protecting the waterways in Washington; and

WHEREAS, Kilmer represented the 26th legislative district in the Washington state house of representatives from 2005 until he joined the Washington state senate in 2007; and

WHEREAS, Kilmer faithfully represented Washington in the United States Congress, serving six terms in the United States house of representatives as a member of appropriations, the interior and environment subcommittee, defense subcommittee, and energy and water development subcommittee; and

WHEREAS, During his time as a lawmaker, Kilmer founded the Puget Sound recovery caucus, which brought more focus to restoring the region's waters; and

WHEREAS, Kilmer's reputation of being a fair and committed representative was well-known by the time he decided to run for Congress, with The Seattle Times dubbing Kilmer as, "a problem-solver who can be bi-partisan" and The News Tribune praising Kilmer for having an impressive understanding of business, job growth, and economic progress as a whole; and

WHEREAS, He chaired the select committee on the modernization of Congress, which passed more than 200 bipartisan recommendations to reform the budget process and improve staffing, civility, and collaboration; and

WHEREAS, Kilmer also served as co-chair of the bipartisan working group, a coalition of lawmakers from both parties working to reduce partisanship and forge consensus on issues facing all our communities; and

WHEREAS, He received the Teddy Roosevelt courage award for his work on political reform and the bipartisan policy center's legislative action award for his commitment to building relationships and making Congress function for the people of the United States; and

WHEREAS, Kilmer created a new federal program, RECOMPETE, which will send $1 billion to rural communities around the country, including here in Washington, and the program saw the highest number of applications of any economic development administration program in national history;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington state house of representatives recognize and honor Derek Kilmer for his service to our state and to our nation.