Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez

Nap time.

If you’re not from a trades family or a mill community, it can be hard to understand how devastating this sort of industrial catastrophe is for a mill town like Longview.  It’s the lives, land and livelihoods of millworkers at risk here, and I’m here to make sure their voices are guiding the investigation into what needs to be done to rebuild safe and secure jobs, where workers come home to their families at the end of the day.

My gratitude goes to the Longview Fire Department and all the first responders who arrived at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company this morning to respond to the explosion. My heart go out to the families of those killed and injured by this terrible blast. These families will need our help and support in the months and years ahead. If you pray, now is a good time to send up some prayers for the millworkers in Longview and their families.

The community of Ryderwood loses power at least once a winter and it’s dangerous for members of this 55+ community to go without electricity for an extended period of time. I am excited that I was able to secure funding for Cowlitz PUD to underground power lines to improve reliability and save money for ratepayers. Thank you @SenatorCantwell for your help with this project.

It’s easy to forget painful things, to make them small or frivolous - but in choosing to come together and remember the sacrifice of fallen soldiers and their families we shore up what makes our country strong. Thanks to everyone who came out and most of all thanks to our fallen and their loved ones.

This year, 12 students from right here in Southwest Washington will be attending a military service academy this fall. It is a privilege to have nominated such strong candidates and it is a privilege to honor their accomplishments. It was a great time getting to meet some of them at the send-off dinner. Congratulations, I’m proud to see so many students ready to serve our country.

Congratulations to Eunice Sparks from La Center for winning 1st place in my 2026 Congressional Art Competition! I’m excited to share this reflection of our community in the tunnels of Congress and highlight one of Southwest Washington’s best & brightest.

Republicans pulled the war powers resolution today because they knew it would succeed. Pulling a vote against the war in Iran because you know your community opposes it? Pathetic

Make Cop Cars Cool Again

46 years ago today, Mount St. Helens erupted with devastating force, claiming 57 lives, including @USGS scientist David Johnston. The eruption remains the most destructive volcanic event in the recorded history of the lower 48 states.

Given that Red Delicious are the worst apples, have you ever wondered why they’re in every school cafeteria? It’s because there’s a list of "approved" apple varieties allowed in schools, and it hasn’t changed since Kmart sold firearms.

There's demand everywhere for quality water system workers. We need robust programs to get young people into the sector. Great careers for an essential utility!

Specialists will be on-site in Packwood, starting tomorrow May 14th, to help with FEMA applications and to address questions about federal and state assistance. FEMA can help pay for temporary housing, displacement, home repair costs, personal property loss and other disaster-caused expenses. For more information call fema at 800-621-3362 or visit disasterassistance.gov Or reach out to our office directly at 360-695-6292

Breaking News: Closing Wall Street loopholes reduces National Debt. The dude hanging sheetrock on a remodel shouldn’t have their income taxed higher than the private equity guy managing the money on the remodel. It’s why I introduced the Carried Interest Fairness Act last year to close this exact loophole.

It takes a lot of skill, intelligence, and grit to be a lineman. Thank you to the Northwest Line Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee for letting me hang out and see how you train the next generation of lineman.

Every community in America has a fire station or a fire truck. Firefighters are essential, but taxpayers are getting a bigger and bigger bill as the emergency response vehicle industry has consolidated around a few big players. The skyrocketing costs for communities, and 2 & 3 year delays to getting new equipment, are unacceptable. Thank you Chief Nohr and the team at @C_C_F_R for showing me around your station in Ridgefield and talking to me about this problem. Last year, I offered an amendment to investigate how the industry consolidation is driving up costs. My amendment was signed into law earlier this year.

My bill to legalize peeling bananas has passed the house! current law made it functionally impossible to peel a banana at many daycares but seamless to open a bag of chips-my bill creates a separate class for healthy low risk foods like peeled fruit and veggies and ensures day cares aren’t punished for serving them - when laws are centered on listening to people who are most impacted by them (kids, parents and daycare workers-rather than lawyers and big corporations) we get better policy!