House Speaker: Democrats Deliver

OLYMPIA – After 105 days on the job, the 2007 Legislative Session ended with House Democrats making good on promises to improve education, ensure that more citizens have health care, and bolster the state’s economy.

“I’m very proud of each and every member of the House Democratic Caucus,” said Speaker Frank Chopp. “We worked together on the issues Washington families care most about, like increased funding for schools, health care for children, and investments in good-paying jobs.

“Our progress ensures Washington remains a national leader when it comes to those kitchen table issues. This is clearly a great session for One Washington!”

“This has been a phenomenal session for education,” said Rep. Lynn Kessler, Majority Leader in the House. “We started the session saying it was going to be about education, education, education. But we achieved great success in other areas, too, especially in children’s health.”

Chopp agreed. “We are now leading the nation in making sure our children have health coverage. A child must be healthy to be ready to learn.”

Guided by the Five-Point Plan developed by House Democrats to strengthen education standards, the Legislature delivered bills to the Governor that will:

• Improve access to quality early learning
   
• Fund basic education, including special education and full-day kindergarten
   
• Fully fund I-732 to lower class size, and I-728 to raise teacher salaries
   
• Help students succeed and graduate on time
   
• Expand the Opportunity Grants program and increase financial aid for higher education

Improving access to health care remained a high priority for House Democrats, and we delivered with three major victories that:

• Make sure that all children have health care, including coverage for 100,000 more kids with the Children’s Health Plan in the previous and current biennium
   
• Connect businesses, workers and the state to provide affordable and portable health insurance with the Health Insurance Partnership
   
• Implement recommendations made by the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care aimed at cutting red tape and making systemic improvements

Democrats lead on a comprehensive package of legislation to spur economic growth and create jobs that will:

• Open 9700 new higher education enrollments to help provide skilled workers for Washington employers
   
• Expand worker retraining opportunities
   
• Reduce unemployment insurance rates for start-up businesses
   
• Provide a rural county B&O tax credit for creating jobs
   
• Make historic investments in transportation projects around the state
   
• Invest in a record increase for school construction funding

“We have doubled the state’s investment in school construction over the last four years,” said Chopp. “This creates jobs in our local communities and at the same time addressed our need for safe, modern classrooms.”

House Democrats were also successful at implementing nation-leading environmental standards, including measures to strengthen state clean air standards, double the state’s investment in Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, eliminate toxic chemicals known as PBDEs, and create the new Puget Sound Partnership to clean up Puget Sound by 2020.

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Contact: Speaker Frank Chopp 360-786-7920

Representative Lynn Kessler 360-786-7904

Staff contact: Melinda McCrady 360-786-7385