SEATTLE — Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is preparing to begin her second term in the House.
The Democrat won reelection against Republican Joe Kent in November for Washington’s third district, which covers southwest Washington. She’s headed back to Washington, D.C. with Democrats in the minority across the board as Republicans prepare to control the White House, Senate and House.
KING 5’s Joyce Taylor spoke with Gluesenkamp Perez on Friday about her priorities, which range from healthcare to major support for local farmers.
She said localism is the strongest point of unity.
“When we have a representative body in Congress who is all bringing their local perspectives, that is how you arrive at a more universal truth,” she said. “We need a more representative body. We need to break the criteria of trust fund, JD (juris doctorate), no kids, Ivy League. That's not the American experience. … Having a different a different set of priorities reflected in what kinds of candidates are supported and taken seriously, I think that's an important step to building a building a political body that really is serving the American people.”
Farmers are top of mind for Gluesenkamp Perez, who said she will put emphasis on trusting farmers and work to reorient food systems around real, nutritious foods.
“How we can support young farmers who've been priced out of farmland by frequently foreign investors, how we can have more domestic produce,” she said. “We're importing 40% of our fresh fruits and vegetables, like, that should make everybody kind of freak out.”
When it comes to affordable housing, Gluesenkamp Perez said she and her husband built their own house, and that efforts should be made to simplify the path for permitting and zoning regulations.
“A lot of it comes back down to paying the trades, paying people for the work that they're doing, growing their skill sets, having more family-owned businesses, building wealth in the middle class that gives us the economic freedom and power to build something worth having,” she said.
In her second term, Gluesenkamp Perez’s said health insurance costs are a concern she will work to address. She didn’t have health insurance before being elected, and among the changes she’d like to make, Gluesenkamp Perez said she supports legislation that would reform pharmacy benefit managers.
So-called PBMs manage prescription drug plans, but they’ve been under fire for inflating drug prices.
“I'm on legislation to reform the PBM model … working with physicians assistants to think about how we can address scope of practice, how we can support more residencies in rural communities, to provide more access to primary care,” she said. “[I’m] working to get accountability and integrity in that system, those are all things that are a real priority for me.”
Addressing the drug crisis and its societal impacts, Gluesenkamp Perez said she voted for the “largest border security workforce in our nation's history,” and that there is no political boundary when it comes to drug trafficking along the I-5 corridor.
“We can't leave our law enforcement with one hand tied behind their back," she said. "The human cost is just too profound."