Congresswoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers spoke today to Deer Park’s Chamber of Commerce about the “genius of America”, and fielded questions dealing with dams, data privacy, and veterans’ healthcare.
Doug Knight, the Chamber’s President, began the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and a thank-you to the veterans in attendance. During McMorris-Rodger’s speech, she shared that her “goal is to make the Spokane VA a teaching hospital”, since research shows that doctors often stay long-term where they complete their initial residency training programs. Another new program is for a medical record that will follow each service member from their recruitment to their post-service life and interactions with Veterans Affairs. McMorris-Rodgers told the Chamber that “Fairchild Air Force Base and [the] Spokane VA are at the forefront” of this pilot project.
Dams and the contribution of hydro-power were celebrated by the congresswoman in her speech. She downplayed recent reports that dams contributed to the harm of orca whales by interfering with the salmon life-cycle, and said such reports were not “science-based”. She said that the salmon from the Snake River and Columbia River Basin only accounted for “two percent” of the orca’s salmon diet as they range from California to Canada.
The two principles McMorris-Rodgers shared as the basis for her decision-making about data privacy were to protect the consumer’s constitutional right to privacy, as well as ensuring small business and tech start-up’s ability to thrive. She recently joined the congressional committee on Energy and Commerce, and is on the Communications and Technology subcommittee that will investigate options for lawmakers on how to deal with consumer privacy and cyber security.
The “genius of America” mentioned by McMorris-Rodgers was the Founding Father’s intention for the people to be at the center of American decision-making. She referenced the physical layout of Washington DC’s government buildings, with the House of Representatives and the Senate representing the people by being at the high point, and center of the city. She referred to the White House as being on a side street, and stated that the Supreme Court was housed in the basement, and the Old Senate Chamber of the Capitol building until 1935.
Chamber Business
Tiffany Bogle, Deer Park High School’s marketing and business teacher, brought Shawn Lewis and Jared Scott, two DECA students, with her from the high school to present their Shark Tank style advertisement for Stag Prints. Scott demonstrated the difference between DECA’s fundraising efforts, which he said provided real value, and other clubs’ cookie dough sales by poking fun at how the cookie dough’s primary impact would be on the waistline of the customer. Instead, DECA aims to attract local businesses to purchase apparel from Stag Prints, and can place business logos on both concession stands and student club apparel.
The new Miss Deer Park, Abigail Waunch, and her two attendant princesses, Kristina Shupe and Brooke Begani, handled the raffles and prizes with poise. Deer Park Yoke’s provided the meal of meatloaf and potatoes, and the Chamber meeting closed with announcements from member businesses and housekeeping details. The meeting was held in the Community Center, which is open to the public for events. Information can be found at scfd4.org/community-center.html on their pricing and availability.
