Rep. Schrier addresses shutdown, other national issues in Wenatchee town hall

WENATCHEE — U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) met with constituents at Wenatchee Valley College on Oct. 28 to answer questions about the government shutdown, immigration, public lands, healthcare and more.

Rep. Schrier opened the meeting by addressing the government shutdown, which has been ongoing since Oct. 1 due to congressional failure to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year. Rep. Schrier called the shutdown frustrating and unnecessary, adding that she was deferring her pay until the government reopened.

“My Republican colleagues and President Trump decided to just go it alone and not include us, and then expected our votes. That's just not how things work. In our country, we negotiate. You sent me there to stand up for you and not just to sign off on somebody else's plan,” said Rep. Schrier.

Rep. Schrier called the need for healthcare protections urgent, with open enrollment starting Nov. 1, and tax credits set to expire. She expressed concern for the “slashing” of funding for Medicaid, Planned Parenthood, SNAP benefits.

“We want to do something to help health care, and one of those things is help people afford to be covered, so we don't end up with a whole bunch of people who don't have health insurance. All we want is a seat at the table,” she said.

Questions from the audience expressed fears about immigration, women’s rights, agricultural economic pressures, democracy, and public lands. Rep. Schrier empathized, adding that she would continue to advocate. One question asked how Rep. Schrier could justify the U.S. providing military aid to Israel, “in good conscience, as a physician…given how it’s been used.”

“I don't ever want to forget that it was started by Hamas on October 7 of 2023 and that this was a defensive war, that it's really ugly and awful…I have been calling for the release of the hostages forever…And I have, in fact, also been calling for the kids who are in Gaza who have been injured to be able to come to the United States for their families and get medical care. I hope that what we have now, which is at least a pause, can last,” she responded.

Rep. Schrier also expressed frustration over the Department of Energy’s cancellation of $1 billion in funding for the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub, which aimed to increase domestic energy production across Washington, Oregon and Montana. She alleged the termination was in retaliation for being a blue state.

“That $1 billion of federal investment brought billions of dollars of private investment, and it has just undercut everything,” said Rep. Schrier. “I'm furious, and I will tell you that people in both parties are fighting the administration on this.”

The town hall closed with the question, “Where do we go from here?”

“We keep our community connections. We don't go bury ourselves in our social media and only hear people who think like us and talk like us. We try to bridge our divisions. I mean, really united we stand, divided we fall,” said Rep. Schrier.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media