{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/2022/6/rep-sewell-continues-her-congress-your-community-tour-stops-westervelt", "Rep. Sewell Continues her Congress in Your Community Tour with Stops at Westervelt Lumber and Thomasville Regional Medical Center", "2022-06-28", "2022", "2022-06", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri A. Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", "sewell", "https://sewell.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Thomasville, AL \u2013 Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) continued her Congress in Your Community Tour in Thomasville, Alabama. Rep. Sewell began by visiting Thomasville\u2019s Westervelt Lumber Mill where she toured the facility and spoke with employees during a town hall event. She then toured the Thomasville Regional Medical Center and met with the facility's leadership to help address their urgent funding needs.\n\nAfter arriving at Westervelt Lumber\u2019s Thomasville Mill, Rep. Sewell spoke with the facility's employees during a town hall event and provided an update on her bipartisan legislation, the Disaster Reforestation Act, which would help the lumber industry recover following a natural disaster. Sewell then toured the facility for a firsthand look at Westervelt\u2019s work which serves customers across the United States.\n\n\u201cI know just how critical the timber industry is to Alabama\u2019s 7th Congressional District and to the State of Alabama,\u201d said Rep. Sewell. \u201cI want to thank Westervelt Lumber for bringing jobs, opportunities, and investments right here to our Clarke County community.\u201d\n\n\u201cI also know companies like Westervelt face an immense financial burden when natural disasters damage our forests,\u201d continued Sewell. \u201cWe must ensure that our tax code allows businesses to recover when disaster strikes, which is why I\u2019m proud to be leading the bipartisan Disaster Reforestation Act in the House of Representatives. This bill would provide needed relief to this critical industry, allowing companies to claim losses of uncut timber from fire, storms, insects, invasive species, drought, or theft.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Westervelt Company was pleased to welcome Congresswoman Sewell to our Thomasville Lumber facility today,\u201d said Westervelt President and CEO Brian Luoma. \u201cWe appreciate her support on issues important to our industry, including the benefits of managed forests and the economic impact to our local communities.\u201d\n\nFollowing her stop at Westervelt Lumber, Sewell visited the Thomasville Regional Medical Center where she met with hospital officials about how she can best support efforts to keep the hospital open. For months, Rep. Sewell has been strongly advocating for critically-needed federal support to address the hospital\u2019s urgent financial situation. During today\u2019s visit, she reiterated her commitment to supporting the hospital which serves as a critical resource for those living in the Black Belt.\n\n\u201cThe residents of Thomasville, Clarke County, and the Black Belt depend on the Thomasville Regional Medical Center for lifesaving care,\u201d said Rep. Sewell. \u201cI, along with Mayor Day, have been working tirelessly to find solutions that would address the hospital\u2019s urgent financial needs. I want my constituents to know that I am committed to doing everything in my power to assist the Thomasville Regional Medical Center so that it can continue to serve this community.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are fortunate to have Congresswoman Sewell on our team,\u201d said Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day. \u201cShe has been an integral part of our efforts to improve our community and to raise the level of health care throughout the Black Belt. Her assistance and leadership in attracting jobs to the area through companies such as Westervelt has been invaluable. We are grateful she spent time with us in Thomasville today.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:13:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://sewell.house.gov/2022/6/rep-sewell-continues-her-congress-your-community-tour-stops-westervelt"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.4658730253577232, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}