WA labor officials begin totaling effects of NIOSH cuts in the state
Eastern Washington Congressman Michael Baumgartner (R-WA05) is warning against the Trump administration’s plan to shutter a workplace safety lab in Spokane, and he’s not the only one.
The Washington state Workers Compensation Advisory Board Tuesday talked through the effects of funding and staffing cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which runs that lab.
Dave Bonauto, a research director for the Washington Department of Labor and Industries, said during the meeting that NIOSH has a big footprint in Washington state, from the mining safety work in Spokane to an agriculture safety research center to a state program that tracks occupational respiratory diseases.
"I think we lose a lot," Bonauto said. "There's some uncertainty about some of the funding, but at this point, it doesn't look like many of our programs will come back."
He said the federal government’s cost-cutting efforts have already resulted in most of the programs losing money or going under entirely.
"They are world leaders in some of these areas, and so a lot of that will be lost," he told the Workers Compensation Advisory Committee.
NIOSH was the agency providing funding for much of the research on worker and community health, especially through the University of Washington, according to Bonauto.
He said the staffing and funding cuts proposed by Kennedy won’t just affect research — the pipeline of people doing that research is also at risk.
"This is a big impact on the industrial hygiene community, you know, the nursing community and other occupational safety and health professions," Bonauto said to the committee. "There's a lot of educators that come out of the UW that sort of have learned, you know, appropriate ways to sort of impact working communities.
"I think we're losing a lot in terms of workforce."
Baumgartner and central Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA04) previously wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., urging him to reconsider closing the Spokane lab.
New revenue forecast has WA bringing in hundreds of millions fewer dollars
Washington state is facing hundreds of millions of dollars less in revenue than lawmakers had assumed while writing the recently passed budget.
That’s according to the latest report from the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, out Tuesday.
"This forecast almost had the majority Democrats’ new budget falling out of balance before it took effect," state Sen. Chris Gildon (R-Puyallup), who sits on the Council, said in a statement. "That would have been an embarrassing first in our state, and there could still be big trouble ahead."
"While this revenue forecast is disappointing, it is not surprising," Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement Tuesday. "We knew that things were unlikely to improve in the near term, especially in light of continued chaos from the Trump Administration — including tariffs, which have an outsized negative impact on a trade-dependent state like Washington."
He called the forecast “particularly discouraging” in light of the Trump administration’s push to cut spending on things like Medicaid and food benefits — spending that Ferguson says Washington state can’t afford to replace.
State Republicans say the blame lays at the feet of Democrats.
"While the governor tries to shift blame to the federal government, this simply highlights a combination of ineptitude, government greed and catering to special interests by his own state party," Gildon's statement reads in part. "Our state didn’t quite hit the financial iceberg today, but it certainly lies dead ahead."
While the projected collections fall short of the revenue legislators had used to write Washington’s next budget, Ferguson said he doesn’t think he’ll call a special session and bring lawmakers back to Olympia.
"This will not be easy. We already made many difficult decisions last session in order to bridge our $16 billion shortfall," the governor said. "Washingtonians expect us as leaders to make the tough decisions to live within our means and still deliver core services.”
Cantwell, outdoor advocates warn against sale of public lands
Despite a decision by the Senate parliamentarian, some Republicans are still trying to find a way to include some sales into Trump’s “mega-bill” which could go to a vote later this week.
The parliamentarian Tuesday struck down the proposed sale of public lands in 11 western states to help fix national budget issues.
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) gathered outdoor advocates on a call with reporters Tuesday to say why they think public lands shouldn’t ever be up for sale.
"We need to be clear that these public lands are not a spare part of our economy," said Graham Zimmerman, a professional rock climber from Bend, Ore. "They are the backbone of a $1.2 trillion outdoor recreation sector, and it's a massive contributor to our economy. It's bigger than Big Pharma; it's larger than oil and gas."
Lauren McLean, the mayor of Boise, was also on the call Tuesday.
"I'm looking out of my office right now at two distinct areas that are put at risk with this proposal to sell off public lands," she said. "Just yesterday, a resident said, ‘Well, how can they sell them off? They're public. They belong to us.’ That is the question we should all be asking, and that we've got to fight for."
Idaho’s two Republican senators, Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, currently oppose the idea as well.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who originally created the plan, posted on social media that he would change it.
He said his new proposal will exclude all land owned by the Forest Service and that only land within 5 miles of a population center could be sold.
Housing project gets underway in Spokane Valley
It’s taken three years, but Spokane Housing Authority finally closed on Orchard Vista on June 18th.
The new development has already gotten underway just off Appleway Boulevard, south of WinCo Foods.
The Housing Authority is planning 240 affordable units in 4-story walk-up apartment buildings, most of which will have two bedrooms.
John Chatburn with Spokane Housing Authority said that usually works best for families. Most affordable housing requires two people per bedroom, and the majority of families are families of four.
In addition to apartments, planners are working towards putting a childcare facility in the new development. The Housing Authority said the first apartments should be ready for occupancy by July next year.
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Reporting by Owen Henderson and Eliza Billingham