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Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

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Letter: Approach is to prioritize assistance

By U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, Camas
Published: June 16, 2016, 6:00am

A job I take most seriously as this region’s federal representative is assisting residents with federal agencies. One such case was presented in the June 11 story “Illness, immigration agency block new Piano Hospital leader.” The story did not portray my office’s response to Lori Amstutz or my role accurately, so I’d like to set the record straight. It’s critical folks know that my office treats every case as a priority.

When a Southwest Washington resident asks for help, my staff and I will never tell them “no” or “get in line.” Instead, we advocate for individuals’ requests to the best of our ability. If a federal agency is delaying its decision, I work to speed it up and relay it to the individual as quickly as possible.

If the first answer is “no,” our approach is to exhaust every possible avenue within the law to get a federal agency to “yes.” We always conduct an official inquiry, just as we did for Amstutz, and try every way possible to find a solution. This approach is our rule, not our exception.

When asked by the media about cases, we don’t share details without the written permission of the individuals we are helping because it often includes personal information protected under the Privacy Act, but we don’t refuse from commenting. Every single case is important, and we don’t take shortcuts.

I hope any resident who reads this feels encouraged to contact me at 360-695-6292 or jhb.house.gov if they ever need assistance with a federal agency. I’ll always, always do my best to help.

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