In the News
Seven members of Congress from Washington state — all Democrats — have co-signed a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons regarding an ICE raid at Mount Baker Roofing on Wednesday in Bellingham.
Masked ICE agents detained 37 employees during the early-morning raid at the business and loaded them onto buses.
Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) reintroduced a bill Thursday seeking to reform prior authorization requirements in Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Part D prescription drug plans requiring only specialty board certified physicians to make important decisions about treatment.
The prior authorization measure is used by insurers to approve the cost of treatment plans, medication and or procedures before a prescription or operation can be obtained or performed.
The newly formed Democratic Congressional Doctors Caucus hopes to work with the longstanding GOP Doctors Caucus to tackle Medicare Advantage (MA) overpayments, seeing this as a bipartisan opportunity as the Democratic doctors simultaneously blast Republicans for targeting Medicaid in their quest for $880 billion in health care savings in a quickly evolving GOP reconciliation bill that could include physician payment relief.
WASHINGTON — In an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump touted his administration's swift actions to remake the federal government in his image, provoking cheers from his fellow Republicans and loud protests from Democrats.
WASHINGTON — Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) on Wednesday tore into Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for downplaying a child’s death in a measles outbreak in Texas, saying she blames Kennedy for the tragedy because of his long record of spreading disinformation about vaccines.
WASHINGTON — House members did a deep dive Wednesday into soaring prescription drug prices across the US and took turns slamming so-called “middlemen” for anti-competitive practices — despite raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash from them and other key industry players.
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.