Federal Way News

While the chefs fired up the barbeque outside, US Representative Adam Smith turned up the heat indoors as he fielded a series of direct questions from Federal Way residents about homeland security, transportation, health care and economic development in Washington.

The Federal Way Chamber of Commerce invited Smith (D-Tacoma) to address more than 100 of the city's movers and shakers at its membership barbeque, held at the Twin Lakes Golf and Country Club last Wednesday.

The congressman said Federal Way residents will receive traffic congestion relief from new federal funds intended to tackle troublesome interchanges in southern King County.

"I think the Transportation Bill is going to be a major boost for our economy, and particularly for Federal Way," Smith said in the opening segment of his 40-minute presentation.

"We received a little over $5 million for the Triangle Project, which we believe will have a very positive impact in our region."

The Triangle Project includes more than $5.6 million in federal funds to improve the interchange between I-5 and State Routes 18 and 161. This area, the Washington State Department of Transportation claims, ranks among the five busiest interchanges in the state and has earned the undesirable label of "High Accident Location."

Smith also took the opportunity to thank a few of the area's elected officials in attendance who worked to improve the highways in western Washington.

The congressman told the audience that his office affectionately refers to the Triangle Project as the Pete von Reichbauer Highway, due to the King County Councilman's work in improving the interchange.

The friendly jab elicited a hearty laugh from the audience, including von Reichbauer.

"I think it's pretty solid," Smith said of the transportation bill, "there are, undoubtedly, things in there that shouldn't be."

"But by and large," he continued, "I think there are a lot of really good projects in there that will be critical to the transportation infrastructure of this state."

Smith said that Washington state legislators must now agree to its own version of the federal transportation bill to boost the resources needed to conquer the state's growing congestion problem.

The Representative then offered his dissenting opinion of CAFTA, citing the bill's lack of protection for workers' rights as one of the principal shortcomings of the legislation.

"We're talking about a group of countries that have economies smaller than that of Kansas," Smith said.

The congressman told guests that the free trade bill would have little impact on area businesses, although he admits that it does open up Washington businesses to additional foreign trade opportunities.

But the congressman told the audience that yoking an outrageous deficit remains the most daunting task facing the federal government.

"The biggest challenge we have is getting us back on fiscally-responsible footing," Smith said. "We're still way crazy in debt, and still looking at a $400 billion deficit."

The congressman said he thought the problem would not improve anytime soon, particularly because Republicans and Democrats continue to argue about small programs-like the Veterans Administration funds, community block grants and Perkins funds-that comprise a small percentage of the overall budget.

"We fight this battle every year," Smith said, "over a million dollars here and a million dollars there."

"But we're staring at a $400 billion debt," he said.

Smith suggested that congress focus its efforts on tax reform, social security, health care reform and curbing military spending.

The audience applauded when Smith said, "As we look out decades ahead, we've got to get to a point where the United States is not responsible for world security almost exclusively."

"Everyone agrees with that, more or less," Smith said, "but we continue to advance policies that put us in a position where we are, in fact, responsible."

But after a few shots at the Republican-controlled congress, Smith turned to the topic of economic growth in Washington, specifically in the fields of technology.

He said that his office has worked with businesses to advertise the South Sound as a prime location to develop a molecular energy lab.

"If we could get something like that lab," he said, "that would get the ball rolling."

"We could then have the world see this region as a center for this type of technology," said Smith.