Rep. Randall Reaches for Positive Messages at Farmer Meetup
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Rep. Emily Randall listening to farmers at Finnriver in Chimacum. Photo by Heather Johnson [/caption]
News by Scott France and Heather Johnson
Rep. Emily Randall held a listening session with local small farmers from Clallam and Jefferson counties at Finnriver Farm and Cidery on August 18 with a cheerful disposition and a generally glum report of the state of affairs in Washington, D.C.
Many of the questions related to concerns over lost funding and resources after the passing of H.R.1, “Big Beautiful Bill”.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Randall stated, reflecting on the breadth and depth of funding and staffing cuts from the Federal Government.
Randall expressed some hope to the audience of about 20 people who focus on local action and partnerships. “I think there’s space as a rural community to find bipartisan partnership. That’s something I’ve been working on a lot,” she said.
Attendees responded hopefully to the reassurance that bipartisan conversations are still possible, even if they only happen in the elevator. In the absence of Federal action or funding, Randall encouraged local governments and municipalities to lead in policymaking.
Randall also expressed her sense of deep disappointment and surprise at the many Republicans who reversed statements that they would protect funding for vital social safety net programs, only to reverse those positions and vote for the recent budget bill. “One of the more demoralizing experiences I’ve had in Congress was seeing colleagues who represent a disproportionate number of folks on food assistance and Medicaid disregard the impact of the budget bill.”
But she thinks that farming could be a potential area for bipartisan progress. In a nod to possible shifts in the execution of certain Trump administration actions, she said, ”We’ve been hearing a lot from big agriculture about some of the negative impacts of this administration‘s actions on funding decisions and immigration. Food is rotting in fields across the country.” Randall said that the Trump administration is most persuaded by messaging from big business.
Randall said that climate policy is an area in which local communities could exert a measure of climate action, if not policy progress, by investing in solar panels, heat pumps, and electric or hybrid buses.
Addressing a question about what we can do locally, Randall suggested reaching out to people you run into at work, at the store, at church or wherever you may strike up conversations and urge them to contact their representatives, especially if they are in Republican districts. She said that Republican lawmakers are receiving far fewer communications from their constituents than Democratic lawmakers are.
