Washington Rep. Kilmer gets challenging job: modernize Congress

In a rare case of bipartisanship in the "other" Washington, the House creates a Select Committee for Modernizing Congress. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., who represents the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas, will chair the panel. less In a rare case of bipartisanship in the "other" Washington, the House creates a Select Committee for Modernizing Congress. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., who represents the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas, will ... more Photo: Tom Williams, CQ-Roll Call,Inc. Photo: Tom Williams, CQ-Roll Call,Inc. Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Washington Rep. Kilmer gets challenging job: modernize Congress 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

Americans have been treated of late to a Congress characterized by arcane procedures and constant paralysis.

Departing Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan had an approval rating in one poll of just 13 percent.

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., is heading a rate bipartisan effort to change all that.

The four-term Congressman from the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas will chair a new Select Committee for Modernizing Congress, consisting of six House Democrats and an equal lineup of Republicans.

Its charge ranges from developing administrative efficiencies to treatment of House staff to "policies to develop the next generation of leaders."

"His commitment to bipartisanship in the Congress will be vital to this committee's work to modernize this institution," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in tapping Kilmer for the post.

RELATED: A first: U.S. House to hold hearings on 'Medicare-for-all'

Kilmer is a comer in Congress. He copped a seat on the House Appropriations Committee as a minority Democrat in his second term, and has effectively fought the Trump administration's bid to eliminate all money for the Puget Sound cleanup.

He was able, as a minority Democrat, to get small pieces of legislation through the Republican-run House of Representatives.

"Americans deserve a Congress where they have a say and things get done," Kilmer said in a statement. "They deserve a Congress that uses cutting edge technology, and that is as diverse as our nation."

RELATED: Different strokes for different House Democrats -- Kilmer and Jayapal

Kilmer is also representing a district that demands service, accountability and the presence of its member of Congress. The 6th District was represented for 36 years by Rep. Norm Dicks, who dealt with issues ranging from removal of Elwha River dams to relocation of tsunami-vulnerable Native American coastal villages.

Kilmer has trooped around the Olympic Peninsula holding town meetings. He positioned himself at gates of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at the onset of a previous government shutdown. He made it a cause to upgrade the memorial to Japanese-American internment on Bainbridge Island.

Kilmer is not the only Democratic lawmaker to get an importing posting in the 116th Congress.

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., is the new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

Elected in 1996, with a district that now includes southeast Seattle, Smith is the state's longest-serving member of Congress.