Gluesenkamp Perez Tours Evergreen CTE, Holds PUD Roundtable and Town Hall in Clark County

Last week, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03) toured the Evergreen Public Schools Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, held a roundtable with Public Utility Districts (PUDs) from across Southwest Washington, and held a town hall in Clark County.

During her visit to the Evergreen Public Schools CTE program, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez spoke with educators and middle and high school students about their work and how she can continue to best support local trades programs in Congress.

She held a roundtable with high school students in the program’s Skilled Trades Center to hear about what inspired them to pursue the trades, their aspirations, and challenges they’ve experienced as they look to enter the workforce.

“Hearing from talented students at Cascade Middle and Evergreen High Schools, it’s clear that our young people want more career and technical education opportunities and find these courses incredibly fulfilling. We need to continue to invest in these pathways so students can start building skills sooner and find good family-wage jobs out of high school or trade school,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “I appreciate all the students who showed me their projects with pride, and we’re lucky to have such dedicated educators who are equipping our young people with skills they’ll carry for life.”

The Congresswoman strongly supports making career and technical education courses more widely available to 6th graders statewide. In November, she wrote to the Washington state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to extend the use of federal Perkins funding for CTE courses beginning in 6th grade, rather than 7th grade.

The OSPI responded that this was a legislative priority for the state and helped ensure a bipartisan bill was introduced in the state legislature. Last week, the legislation received a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education.

Earlier last week, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez met with student leaders from across Clark County. She also introduced bipartisan legislation to expand the eligible uses of 529 education savings plans to include the tools necessary for technical careers.

Afterward, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez held a public power roundtable with PUDs from across Southwest Washington – including Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania, and Wahkiakum PUDs, as well as other stakeholders. The group discussed how the Congresswoman can best support a reliable, durable, and affordable public power system.

“As a small business owner, I know how investing in high-quality work pays off over time. But as I go out and speak with skilled workers and linemen in our communities, I see a lot of gray hair,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “To ensure our PUDs can keep our homes heated and water clean, we need to bring up the next generation of tradespeople to help us do this work. It’s how we can keep addressing much-needed projects that keep rates down for Southwest Washington families. I’m grateful to our local PUDs for their hard work and vision, and I’ll continue to elevate their efforts so they have the resources they need.”

Last month, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez introduced bipartisan legislation to support Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) recruitment, retention, and resiliency to reduce costs for ratepayers. Last week, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez met with Wahkiakum PUD and visited the site of the Puget Island Alternate Water System Project, which she secured federal funding for in March.

The Congresswoman has helped bring home more than $32.6 million for PUDs to invest in rural broadband and clean water and wastewater infrastructure across Southwest Washington. An interactive map of community investments she has supported can be found at gluesenkampperez.house.gov/invest.

Lastly, the Congresswoman held a town hall at the Three Creeks Community Library to hear and take questions from constituents, as a part of her commitment to remain accessible to Southwest Washington. It was her twelfth town hall and first of the 119th Congress. 

Among the topics discussed were Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez’s electoral reform proposals, immigration and border security, the need to build a supply of affordable and durable housing, and the balance of power in the federal government.

“One of my favorite parts of my job is hearing how I can best represent you and our communities. Your priorities inform my work in Congress, and town halls are part of my commitment to remain as present and accountable as possible,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “I’m so grateful to all of you who took the time to engage – and I look forward to holding more town halls in the future so I can hear from more of you about the issues that are top of mind for your family. Engaging with each other is a crucial part of patriotism and making democracy work for our community.”

Constituents looking to receive updates about future town halls and events in their communities can follow Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez on Facebook, X, Instagram, or Threads or subscribe to her newsletter.