In the News
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.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, which would allow schools to serve whole and reduced-fat milk through the National School Lunch Program.
Led by U.S. Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Peter Welch (D-VT), and Representatives G.T. Thompson (R-PA) and Kim Schrier (D-WA), the bill seeks to improve children’s nutrition by addressing the nearly 90% of Americans who fail to meet daily dairy intake recommendations.
Nearly two months after a bomb cyclone weather event swept across the Pacific Northwest, killing four people (two in Washington) and knocking out power for nearly one million customers in Oregon, Washington and parts of Canada, Washington representatives are asking for financial assistance from the federal government.
U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) sent a letter to President Biden asking for the federal government to declare the event as a major disaster, echoing former Governor Jay Inslee’s request.