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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

A shout out for Maria

Sen. Maria Cantwell got a mention from President Obama Friday in his speech about Afghanistan and Pakistan.

She was one of three members of Congress cited by the president as he backed their idea on economic development for the war-torn region. Cantwell, Reps. Chris Van Hollen and Peter Hoekstra have proposed "Reconstruction Opportunity Zones" for those areas, where most goods that are made there could be imported to the United States duty-free. 

To qualify, a proposed ROZ would have to make progress toward establishing a market-based economy and the rule of law, protecting of human rights and workers' rights, and other key benchmarks.

It was one of two bills Obama said he wanted Congress to pass to help his policies to the two 'Stans.



The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.