In the News
SEATTLE (AP) — The termination letters that ended the careers of thousands of U.S. Forest Service employees mean fewer people and less resources will be available to help prevent and fight wildfires, raising the specter of even more destructive blazes across the American West, fired workers and officials said.
The Forest Service firings — on the heels of deadly blazes that ripped through Los Angeles last month — are part of a wave of federal worker layoffs, as President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting measures reverberate nationwide.
WASHINGTON STATE – Recent federal layoffs initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency have sparked concern among state officials, particularly in Washington.
According to the Associated Press, some 1000 National Park Service workers have been laid off since the beginning of the federal layoffs.
Layoffs rippling through the federal government are affecting national parks and forests in Washington state, including at Mount Rainier National Park and popular trails east of Seattle.
FRANKLIN FALLS — The sign says "Franklin Falls Sno-Park Temporarily Closed - Due to Unsafe Conditions." Found in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the message is mounted at the road that leads to the trailheads for Franklin Falls and Denny Creek.
A physician by trade, Schrier hopes to bolster diagnostic innovation and development during public health emergencies. She says this can be achieved through public-private collaboration.
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation on Thursday aimed at strengthening the nation's diagnostic testing capabilities during public health emergencies, drawing on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Diagnostics Testing Preparedness Plan Act, spearheaded by Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., would require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and maintain a strategic plan for rapid deployment of diagnostic tests during health crises.
Protection of access to care for Medicare beneficiaries, particularly in rural and underserved areas, has drawn a proposal from a North Carolina congressman in part combatting a 2024 rule finalization from the Biden administration.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in November finalized the rule implemented Jan. 1, cutting Medicare reimbursement to physicians by 2.83%. The agency projected a 3.6% increase in practice cost expenses in 2025, meaning a 6.43% cut for physicians.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump's order freezing federal grants and loans while they're reviewed for ideological consistency sowed confusion in Congress, one central Washington Democratic legislator said.
Kim Schrier, D-WA, introduced legislation to improve the quality and nutrition of school lunches by allowing public schools to serve reduced fat and whole milk.
Bipartisan members from both chambers of Congress have introduced the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which would allow for unflavored and flavored whole and reduced fat (2 percent) milk to be offered in school cafeterias.