WASHINGTON, D.C. — Only two years removed from veteran Rep. Norm Dicks, who was the second-in-command on the House Appropriations Committee before his House retirement in 2012, his successor, Rep. Derek Kilmer, is now on that powerful committee.
Dicks spent 36 years on Appropriations and had a reputation of bringing federal appropriations to his 6th Congressional District that covers not only the Peninsula with Olympic National Park and several Native American reservations but the Navy-laden Kitsap Peninsula and part of Tacoma.
Now Kilmer is seated on the committee, which considers how to spend about 30 percent, or $1.1 trillion, of the federal budget that is not earmarked for Medicare, Social Security, food stamps and other mandatory programs before the spending plans go before the entire House.
Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi said: “On the Appropriations Committee, we know Congressman Kilmer will be a strong voice for bigger wages, better infrastructure and greater opportunities for every American.”
Kilmer, who lives in Gig Harbor, grew up in Port Angeles.
The vote by the 188-member House Democratic caucus followed a recommendation by 51 members of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which consists of a mix of the chamber’s elected leaders, key lawmakers and regionally representative members.
Before his election to Congress and, before that, the state Legislature, Kilmer worked for the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. as well as for the Economic Development Board of Tacoma-Pierce County. The Port Angeles High School graduate holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Princeton University and a doctorate in comparative social policy from the University of Oxford, in England.
Kilmer, in a statement, said the Appropriations appointment “will enable me to have more impact for our region — whether making investments that enable communities in our region to compete economically, to protect our natural resources like Puget Sound, or to support those who currently serve or previously served our nation in a military uniform.”
