HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2024-4674, by Representatives Jinkins, Alvarado,
Bateman, Berg, Bergquist, Berry, Bronoske, Callan, Chapman, Chopp, Cortes, Davis,
Doglio, Donaghy, Duerr, Entenman, Farivar, Fey, Fitzgibbon, Fosse, Goodman,
Gregerson, Hackney, Kloba, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Macri, Mena, Morgan, Nance, Ormsby,
Ortiz-Self, Orwall, Paul, Peterson, Pollet, Ramel, Ramos, Reed, Reeves, Riccelli,
Rule, Ryu, Santos, Senn, Shavers, Simmons, Slatter, Springer, Stearns, Stonier,
Street, Taylor, Thai, Tharinger, Timmons, Walen, and Wylie
1 WHEREAS, Congressman Derek Kilmer brought his dedication and an
2 unwavering sense of duty to the United States house of
3 representatives and the Washington state legislature; and
4 WHEREAS, Born and raised in Port Angeles to parents who were
5 educators, Kilmer saw families losing jobs during the timber crisis
6 and developed a lifelong interest in boosting rural economies; and
7 WHEREAS, After receiving his bachelor's degree from Princeton and
8 doctorate from Oxford, he put his education to work as a lawmaker,
9 focusing on building a better economy in timber and farm country,
10 improving education, and protecting the waterways in Washington; and
11 WHEREAS, Kilmer represented the 26th legislative district in the
12 Washington state house of representatives from 2005 until he joined
13 the Washington state senate in 2007; and
14 WHEREAS, Kilmer faithfully represented Washington in the United
15 States Congress, serving six terms in the United States house of
16 representatives as a member of appropriations, the interior and
17 environment subcommittee, defense subcommittee, and energy and water
18 development subcommittee; and
19 WHEREAS, During his time as a lawmaker, Kilmer founded the Puget
20 Sound recovery caucus, which brought more focus to restoring the
21 region's waters; and
22 WHEREAS, Kilmer's reputation of being a fair and committed
23 representative was well-known by the time he decided to run for
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 1 Congress, with The Seattle Times dubbing Kilmer as, "a problem-solver
2 who can be bi-partisan" and The News Tribune praising Kilmer for
3 having an impressive understanding of business, job growth, and
4 economic progress as a whole; and
5 WHEREAS, He chaired the select committee on the modernization of
6 Congress, which passed more than 200 bipartisan recommendations to
7 reform the budget process and improve staffing, civility, and
8 collaboration; and
9 WHEREAS, Kilmer also served as co-chair of the bipartisan working
10 group, a coalition of lawmakers from both parties working to reduce
11 partisanship and forge consensus on issues facing all our
12 communities; and
13 WHEREAS, He received the Teddy Roosevelt courage award for his
14 work on political reform and the bipartisan policy center's
15 legislative action award for his commitment to building relationships
16 and making Congress function for the people of the United States; and
17 WHEREAS, Kilmer created a new federal program, RECOMPETE, which
18 will send $1 billion to rural communities around the country,
19 including here in Washington, and the program saw the highest number
20 of applications of any economic development administration program in
21 national history;
22 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington state house
23 of representatives recognize and honor Derek Kilmer for his service
24 to our state and to our nation.
25
26 I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of
27 Resolution 4674 adopted by the House of Representatives
28 February 20, 2024
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33 __________________________
34 Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk
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