Peninsula’s congressman will chair new House committee

Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress is tasked with finding out what works, and perhaps more importantly what doesn’t work, in Congress.

By Michael Lang Grays Harbor News Group • January 4, 2019 1:30 am
Rep. Derek Kilmer attends a ceremony to honor Vietnam vets Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, in Elma. Photo by Michael Lang, The Vidette
Rep. Derek Kilmer attends a ceremony to honor Vietnam vets Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, in Elma. Photo by Michael Lang, The Vidette

Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor) has been appointed to lead the new select committee for the modernization of Congress.

“I think Congress is most assuredly a fixer-upper,” Kilmer said during a phone interview from the U.S. House. “This committee has been tasked with reforms and modernizations in Congress to have it function better.”

Few details on the new committee had been announced as of Friday morning, the second day of the new Congress. But Kilmer is looking forward to his new task.

“I think any sort of functional organization has to, every so often, say, ‘What’s working? What’s not working? How do we make this function better?’ ”

Kilmer says the goals of the committee align with work he’s done in Congress.

“I’ve worked a lot on campaign finance reform issues,” he said. “The first bill that this Congress is going to pass (House Resolution 1) is a bill that’s focused on campaign finance reforms and some other democracy reforms. A number of bills that I’ve introduced as stand-alone bills have been incorporated into H.R. 1.”