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My fellow Washingtonian:
My thoughts go out to those of you who have experienced power
outages, property damage and flooding due to the recent snow and ice
storms.
Our website includes a resource page with links to local
emergency management contacts, the latest weather information, and tips to
protect yourself, your family and your property. Learn more here. If you are having trouble getting your questions answered,
please contact one of our regional offices where staff will be able to assist you.
An OPEN Internet:
Thank you to the thousands of Washingtonians who raised your
voices last week to support an open and free Internet. Thanks for your
phone calls and emails to our office regarding the PROTECT IP Act.
Like you, I believe that America’s economy thrives on innovation
and freedom of speech. The Internet allows
entrepreneurs in Washington state and around the world to create
ground-breaking companies and fuel economic growth. We cannot afford to
rush an Internet policy that could trample on our innovation economy.
That’s why I opposed the PROTECT IP Act in the Senate from the
beginning, and have offered an alternative – the OPEN Act. We need to protect creative content on the Internet from piracy
by rogue foreign websites, but we must do so in a way that also protects
freedom of speech, innovation and security on the Internet. Read more about
the OPEN Act here, or read the full bill text here.
Stronger Ports, More Jobs:
Earlier this month, I traveled across the state visiting three
ports – the Port of Pasco, the Port of
Vancouver and the Port of
Seattle – to highlight the importance of investing in our freight
infrastructure to keep our ports competitive and support job growth.
Click here to watch a video from our Washington Port Jobs tour.
Senator Cantwell with
workers at Lampson International at the Port of Pasco’s Big Pasco
Industrial Center
More than one million jobs in Washington state are in
freight-dependent industries. When we ship wheat, apples or wind turbines,
we support good jobs for Washington families and see our freight network in
action.
In 2010, more than $533 million tons of freight moved in
Washington. By 2040, that number is expected to grow by up to 86
percent. That’s an incredible opportunity to create jobs, but only if
we seize the opportunity and make the right investments today.
Click on a link below to read news coverage from our
Washington Port Jobs tour earlier this month:
 At
each port, I highlighted the potential impact of freight legislation I
introduced with Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
that is now before the Senate. These freight measures could pave the way
for investment in job-creating projects statewide.
I also called on Senate leaders to take up key provisions of our
legislation, called the FREIGHT Act, and pass them before the end of March
when the current surface transportation reauthorization expires.
If enacted by Congress, these freight provisions would do three
things:
1. We would establish the nation’s first strategic plan
for freight that would identify cargo bottlenecks and reduce delays and
increase our multimodal system’s reliability.
2. We would give freight the prominence it deserves at the
U.S. Department of Transportation by better coordinating and planning our
freight network of highways, rail and other forms of transportation.
Senator Cantwell with Larry Paulson,
Executive Director of the Port of Vancouver
3. We would create a new freight infrastructure program to invest in key
job-creating freight mobility projects, like the ones I toured earlier this
month.
With so many jobs and businesses
at stake, we can’t wait to act. Freight bottlenecks and other forms of
congestion cost the U.S. economy about $200 billion each year. More than
27,000 jobs and $3.3 billion in economic output could be lost in Washington
state if congestion increases by only 20 percent, according to a new study
commissioned by WSDOT and conducted by WSU.
Other nations are investing in their infrastructure. Canada, for example,
has invested $1 billion in its rail, road and port infrastructure. As
Seattle Port Commission President Gael Tarleton so effectively put it to
the Seattle P-I:
“Cargo is like water: It will take the path of least
resistance.” Washington state, and America, must maintain its edge in a
global economy. This requires a 21st century system
for transporting and shipping to and from our great state.
With so many opportunities on the horizon, Washington’s workers
and businesses simply can’t afford to not have a strategy in
place to plan, prepare and invest in the rail  lines, ports and highways
that connect our businesses to the world.
Freight means jobs to Washington businesses. Let me give you
three examples from my recent tour:
- PASCO
– I heard from Bill Lampson of Lampson International, who employs 85
people at a crane manufacturing company. Bill’s business depends on
efficient freight transportation infrastructure, which is why it is so
important that the Rail Hub Development at the Big Pasco Industrial
Center is completed.
- VANCOUVER
– Tony Flagg of United Grain Corporation, which directly employs 55 workers and supports another
25-45 longshoremen jobs, told me that the West Vancouver
Freight Access Project and the Columbia River Channel Deepening are
enabling his company to expand and take on more business to meet the
growing demand in Asia.
- SEATTLE
– Steve Stivala of MacMillan-Piper (pictured [right] with
Senator Cantwell at the Port of Seattle) said his company is
looking at an expansion that would help increase its business by 20
percent – but that growth depends on efficient freight infrastructure.
It’s freight mobility projects like these that are so
important to economic growth. My freight provisions would support these
projects across the state and the nation.
With the right investments, Washington state can stay ahead of
the competition and seize this opportunity to grow our robust trade economy
and create tens of thousands more family-wage jobs for the future.
As always, feel free to contact
me with any questions or concerns or for help I can provide. You can
also consult my website for more information.
Warm regards,
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