Gov. Chris Gregoire is traveling today to Washington, D.C. where she and other governors will meet Wednesday with President Barack Obama on the issues of climate change and clean energy.
She will be one of 11 governors in the room. The others are:
Jim Douglas (R) of Vermont; Joe Manchin III (D) of West Virginia; Steven Beshear (D)of Kentucky; Dave Freudenthal (D) of Wyoming; Brian Schweitzer (D) of Montana; John Baldacci (D) of Maine; Phil Bredesen (D) of Tennessee; Bob Riley (R) of Alabama; Mike Rounds (R) of South Dakota and Ted Strickland (D) of Ohio.
Also Wednesday, Gregoire is scheduled to meet one-on-one with Sheila Bair, the chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, to talk about federal efforts to support community banks.
Then the governor will sit down with Christina Romer, head of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner may also be in attendance.
Some state Republican legislators wanted Gregoire to show up at her session with Bair carrying a copy of House Joint Memorial 4029 that calls on Obama and Congress to “actively support” community banks in making loans to small businesses and aiding the residential and commercial real estate sectors.
Rep. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, introduced the bill last Thursday. That same day it got heard and passed out of the House Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee.
It did not get acted on by the full House before Gregoire’s flight departed.
Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish, told me this morning that Republicans were under the impression the governor wanted it in hand for the meeting. He said he believed House Speaker Frank Chopp intervened to prevent quick floor action.
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