Baumgartner pushes 'Big, Beautiful Bill' as deadline nears
Republican members of Washington state's congressional delegation say they're hoping the U.S. Senate mostly signs off on the budget bill version that was already approved by House Republicans.
Republican Congressman Michael Baumgartner represents the fifth district in Eastern Washington, which includes the Spokane area.
He said the House bill that requires Medicaid and food stamp recipients to work is a good national reform.
"If you're capable of working, you ought to be in the labor force," he told KUOW's "Soundside" program. "You know, if you're capable of working, you should get off the couch, stop eating Cheetos, go to work, get your healthcare."
He argues that the bill strengthens Medicaid because it limits who is eligible for the program.
"I mean, if you think of young ladies with cancer who are trying to get back on their feet and or single moms that are have lost their jobs, in any Medicaid, there's less Medicaid available for them in the system because of illegal immigrants being on Medicaid and able bodied adults being on Medicaid," he said. "So these are needed reforms that benefit the truly most needy, and it'll be good to support."
Critics of the bill have countered that the change would lead to reduced funding for Medicaid-funded services and would especially hurt rural areas.
Baumgartner said he hopes the Republican controlled Senate will send a version of the bill back to the House soon, so Congress can pass a final version before July Fourth.
Imagination Library gets an extra year of funds — from OSPI
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library may be sticking around in Washington for a little longer.
The program’s funding was cut entirely from the state budget signed last month by Gov. Bob Ferguson.
Typically, each state pays about half of the cost of its local program.
Now, State Superintendent Chris Reykdal says his office will fund the library for one more year.
"Washington’s youngest children cannot afford to have their opportunities for early learning cut to this extent," Reykdal said in a statement. “While I plan to advocate for renewed funding in the supplemental session next year, the Imagination Library of Washington risks losing their effective, statewide infrastructure if funding generated from the statewide match is halted for even one year.
"Through limited discretionary funds, my agency will keep this program funded for one more year with the goal being to obtain permanent funding from the Legislature next session."
The Imagination Library sends free, age-appropriate books to kids up to age 5 around the country, regardless of family income.
The Superintendent’s office says the library currently serves about 120,000 children in Washington.
Free soccer, mental health coaching for kids to come to Spokane in tandem with World Cup
The FIFA World Cup is coming to North America in 2026, and that could mean free soccer for kids in Spokane.
Hope Soccer 2026 is a free, grassroots soccer organization founded by local minister Gabriel Mwamba.
As excitement about soccer builds around the World Cup, the group repairs unused city sport courts and builds mini soccer pitches.
Then, it uses those mini pitches to offer free soccer programs that focus on mental health and life coaching for local kids.
"Hope Soccer uses a soccer ball just as an attraction to the kid," Mwamba said. "So we give them an enabling environment for us to reach out to them."
Mwamba has experience building these kinds of programs across Africa, plus in previous World Cup hosts Germany and Brazil. Now, he lives in Spokane.
"We are so excited for Spokane, seeing how soccer is growing," he told SPR News. "We have so many leagues, Stadium One has brought a lot of excitement."
In return for using a public facility for its programs, Hope Soccer repairs broken sports courts at no cost to the city.
They can also stripe the courts for other sports, too, like basketball or pickleball.
The Spokane Parks Board is currently deciding whether to place the first mini pitch in Friendship Park in north Spokane or Grant Park on the South Hill.
If the program is successful, it’s possible that Hope Soccer will build more mini pitches across the city.
USDA Roadless Rule rollback will not affect Idaho
Despite public land making up about 63% of Idaho, it will not be affected by the latest Trump administration attempt to rollback regulations related to roads and logging on forest service acreage.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Monday that her agency will rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. That’s a Clinton-era regulation that blocks road construction, logging and fire prevention activities, like prescribed burns, on nearly 59 million acres of public land.
“It is abundantly clear that properly managing our forests preserves them from devastating fires and allows future generations of Americans to enjoy and reap the benefits of this great land,” Rollins said in a press release.
During the Roadless Rule’s public comment period in 2000, former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne submitted a lengthy letter saying the proposal “...will have a potentially devastating impact on public schools and the children, as well as local economies.”
Kempthorne said the Idaho Department of Lands estimated a loss of $163 million for education over a 30-year period if the proposal closed access to state endowment lands earmarked for public schools.
Both Idaho and Colorado eventually negotiated their own regulations of these lands with the federal government after the 2001 rule was put into place.
In 2008, then-Gov. Jim Risch led local governments, tribes and companies to a compromise, allowing these activities on 5.7 million acres of national forest land.
That deal left 3.7 million acres protected.
“As governor, I saw the need for the different Idaho groups to sit down and come up with our own plan,” now U.S. Senator Risch said in a press release in 2012.
“The federally-mandated one size fits all approach did not work, and we had an opportunity to craft a plan with people who truly knew the state,” he said.
John Robison, Public Lands and Wildlife Director for the Idaho Conservation League, said the deal is an example of states partnering with the federal government to better manage these public lands.
“They are some of the most important sources of clean water for our communities, they’re intact forest, they provide core habitat for fish and wildlife and really provide the best hunting and fishing opportunities in the state,” Robison said.
The rollback of the Roadless Rule for other states will have to go through the federal rulemaking process.
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Reporting by KUOW public radio, Owen Henderson, Eliza Billingham and James Dawson.