rstover

Name: Rachel Stover State: Washington Political Party: Republican

I am most like Washington state representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers because we agree on a lot of the same issues for Washington state. I also believe that her solutions to the issues will really work and the government should definitely take them into consideration. __http://mcmorris.house.gov/__

__Five points where we agree:__
 * 1) The government needs to have a budget and we need to cut back on our spending.
 * 2) Believe that taxing people will not fix this issue
 * 3) People need to pay more attention to the amount of pollution in the air
 * 4) Americans have the right to affordable health care

__Five facts about Washington:__
 * 1) Washington currently has about six million people living there
 * 2) As of the 2000 census, the state population was approximately 5.9 million and the state work force numbered about 3.1 million.
 * 3) It was admitted as a state on November 11, 1889
 * 4) Washington is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west; Oregon to the south (the Columbia River forming most of this border); Idaho to the east and British Columbia, Canada to the north.
 * 5) Washington is the 42nd state on the constitution

__Five facts about Washington that relate to my topic:__
 * 1) Washington is currently trying to pass a clean energy and global warming bill
 * 2) Washington's main goal is to eliminate pollution by 35% by the year 2020
 * 3) Washington has been instrumental in passing global warming solutions at the state level
 * 4) Washington has also banned PBDE's (toxic chemical that was being poured into rivers)
 * 5) Congress is considering a bill that will restore our clean water act to protect all waterways

__3 issues that are most important to me:__ - I believe that our government needs to be setting up more programs to help protect the environment. I also think that more laws should be made referring to some of the ways the Earth can be polluted. For example, I think that by the year 2020, 30% more people in the U.S. should be driving in electric cars. Pollution has become so bad for not only your health but for the Earth too that in some areas it is said that breathing in that daily air pollution is like smoking 20 cigarettes a day. Also air pollution increases the risk of cancer by over 70%. It is also one of the leading causes of global warming. 2. __Our country's budgeting__ - I believe our government needs to be asking themselves more " what can we really afford? What are our wants, versus our needs?" We also need to be paying more attention to how much we are spending per year. This is a very important topic to discuss because, governments all across the U.S. now are starting to cut some educational programs in order to save some money. I think if government simply had a budget to begin with, they shouldn't have to take things away from students, like education. 3. __Taxation__ - Referring to my last issue, I also don't believe in taxing the people as a way to get out of our debt. It is not fair to the people that our government does that. If they would have just set a guideline for themselves in the beginning, they wouldn't be having this problem. This is just yet another way our government decides to try and save money.
 * 1) __Pollution__

__Bill Link:__ http://mockcongress2011.wikispaces.com/HB66 - Our bill was created to help graduated high school students get into college at an affordable rate. People should vote for this bill because it would really help the economy build back up and it would give people more knowledge and a bigger chance at getting employed. This is offered to all people who make a monthly income of 1,000 or lower. These courses will be offered in available high school and college classrooms.

__Websites used:__
 * 1) "Washington Fast Facts and Trivia." //50states.com - States and Capitals//. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. [].
 * 2) "Washington State Information - Symbols, Capital, Constitution, Flags, Maps, Song and More." //50states.com - States and Capitals//. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. [].
 * 3) "Washington: History, Geography, Population, and State Facts — Infoplease.com." //Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free Online Reference, Research & Homework Help. — Infoplease.com//. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .
 * 4) "Just For Kids - Washington Fun Facts - Department of Early Learning." //Department of Early Learning, Washington State//. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .
 * 5) "Washington State Info - Washington State Symbols - Washington State Facts | The US50." //The US50 - A Guide to the Fifty States//. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .
 * 6) //NACAA//. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .
 * 7) "Stopping Global Warming Pollution - Environment Washington." //Home - Environment Washington//. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .
 * 8) "Health Impacts of Air Pollution from Washington DC Area Power Plants - Clean Air Task Force (CATF)." //Clean Air Task Force//. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .
 * 9) "Olympia, Washington." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .
 * 10) "Washington." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .