U.S. Rep Marie Gluesenkamp Perez wants to make it clear she’s not trying to be a Washington, D.C., insider.
Among the “ground rules” given by emcee and Battle Ground City Councilor Adrian Cortes during a July 6 town hall at Battle Ground High School was no vulgar language, which the congresswoman felt might be a rule directed at herself.
“I come out of an auto repair shop, so it’s a little more colorful than what you might hear on Sunday morning,” Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania County, said.
The event was the fifth town hall she has taken part in since being sworn into office this year. She mentioned she was at the Tunnel Five Fire in the eastern portion of the Third Congressional District the day before.
There she saw firefighters working the line, and remarked on the sweat and effort given by those trying to keep the fire at bay.
“It makes me so proud to come from a culture of people that believe in hard work, and I can’t tell you what a relief it is to get out of D.C. and come and talk with all of you,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She said she plans on hosting town halls once a month across the Third Congressional District, which covers all or part of seven counties in Southwest Washington.
“It’s really important, I think, to be present and available and accountable,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
Being able to hear directly from her constituents was important to the congresswoman. In her time attending committee hearings in D.C., Gluesenkamp Perez has picked up on the same talking points being used again and again, contributing to a sort of “groupthink” manifesting in the process, she said.
“If you have been working in politics since you were 15, your experience is really limited,” she said.
Committees and business ownership
Gluesenkamp Perez serves on the House Agriculture Committee, specifically on its forestry subcommittee.
“A lot of timber comes out of Southwest Washington, or it used to,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She noted this year Congress will consider the five-year Farm Bill. Through her time on the committee, she learned 40% of fresh fruits and vegetables in the country are imported.
“That’s a real national security concern to my way of thinking,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She also said that of every dollar spent on food by a consumer, only 11 cents go back to the farmer, she said.
“That is the lowest it’s ever been since we started tracking that number,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “The squeeze is on agriculture like never before.”
She also sits on the House Small Business Committee, something she sought out given her past experience with the Small Business Administration (SBA). She and her husband, Dean, were able to buy the building for their auto shop with a loan from the SBA.
“Anybody who works in the trades and is a small business owner will tell you that navigating the SBA loan program is a nightmare and a half,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She said small businesses having the opportunity to own the buildings they operate in was a way for the businesses to get a leg up toward success.
Gluesenkamp Perez was asked about her divestment from a corporation she co-owned with her husband. Prior to being elected, the couple owned two corporations — one that owns the business itself and one that owns the building.
“I am really invested in operating without a conflict of interest in Congress,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She said owning the corporation owning the building could make for a conflict as it was through a Small Business Administration loan that the couple was able to buy that building. She has since had her name removed from ownership of that corporation, though she remains a co-owner of the business itself.
“The terms were never going to change, but it’s really important to me to be above board on everything,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She dispelled any thought she would be moving to the nation’s capital.
“My husband would rather die than move to Washington D.C.,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She said the question spoke to concerns over how Congress operates, highlighting the need for reforms. She specifically mentioned barring members of Congress from trading stocks.
“I cannot believe that we’re still having this conversation, that it’s at all controversial,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “You should not be trading stocks if you’re a member of Congress.”
She felt the current rules were written for career Wall Street traders and not people who fix cars for a living.
Outside of policy, Gluesenkamp Perez noted her office has recovered about $390,000 from the federal government through constituent casework so far. That work deals with anything involving the federal government, from medical records to filing complaints with the Federal Communications Commission on “junk charges” on bills.
“Congress works on geologic time. It is slow. But what we can do is work on your individual cases and get resolution there,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
Student loan vote
The town hall covered topics ranging from dwindling rural pharmacies to her opinions on cryptocurrencies. Throughout her responses, Gluesenkamp Perez noted she wasn’t sticking to party lines when considering issues in front of her.
A main example of bucking the party trend was in her vote against President Joe Biden’s student loan debt relief program. Gluesenkamp Perez was one of only two House Democrats to vote for the resolution bringing the executive action under Congressional review.
She noted a lot of friends and family of hers were struggling with the burden of student loan repayment.
“I get how this can really feel crippling,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She took issue with the amount of funding going into “academic” higher education. Since 1988, she said the cost of college tuition has increased by 481%, she said. Only a third of those employed in higher education are actual educators, she added.
Academic education spending by the federal government is eight times what it is for career and technical education. She added K-12 teachers she knows aren’t able to afford owning their own homes.
“When I think about where we’re going to spend limited federal resources, I think we’ve got to start with the basics,” Gluesenkamp said. “We’ve got to ensure our public, K-12 (education) is adequately funded, and that we’re supporting not just academic education, but career and technical education, the kinds of trades programs that can lead to thriving small businesses and that validate all the kinds of intelligence that a child can be born with.”
Gluesenkamp Perez was well aware her vote was unpopular for many.
“I disappointed and angered a lot of people with that vote,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She said her vote followed her drive to listen to her constituents.
“I also am doing my level best to represent the values of Southwest Washington, and I’m going to do that regardless of what my party thinks that I need to be doing,” Gluesenkamp said.
