Jobs and Economy
When I travel around Northwest Oregon, I often hear from parents who struggle to pay for child care—which in Oregon can cost as much as a year of college tuition. I’ve heard from parents who don’t have access to paid family leave at work, and have to choose between caring for a new baby and earning a paycheck. Congress must do more to address the challenges facing our families.
Our economy will be stronger and people will be healthier when we acknowledge that families need policies that work for them, not against them. Equal pay for women, good wages, paid leave, and affordable child care will better support families in Oregon and across the country. When we open the doors of opportunity to everyone, we all succeed.
One of my top priorities in Congress is to grow our economy and implement policies that create more jobs in Oregon and across the country. As a leader on the Education and Labor Committee, I’ve introduced legislation to strengthen apprenticeships and paid, on-the-job training programs to provide workers with meaningful pathways to better paying jobs, and to connect businesses with workers who have the skills they need. I support the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024. I also helped pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to help to address the pay gap and provide workers with the tools they need to achieve equal pay for equal work.
More on Jobs and Economy
At the federal level, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills in July that would provide over $60 billion to support and stabilize the childcare industry, but the bills remain stalled in the Senate. “I’ve heard from many women in Oregon that the lack of child care during COVID-19 is forcing them – and women they know – to leave the workforce,” said Bonamici in a statement. “That’s extremely troubling.
According to a University or Oregon study, 80 percent of every dollar invested in restoration projects stays in-county, and 90 percent stays in-state. But the ultimate payoff, Trenholm said, lies in the future: restoring the lifeblood of coastal communities by helping them fish again. “Salmon are an integral part of the culture and ecosystem of the Pacific NW, and we must do all we can to help them survive and thrive,” said Rep. Suzanne Bonamici.
Oregon Health Authority director Patrick Allen said in a town hall with community members last week that tracking how a workplace outbreak originated and spread can be difficult. The agency organized the town hall after U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, expressed concerns that the community lacked information about the outbreak.
Trying to ease concerns in Clatsop County, the director of the Oregon Health Authority indicated Friday that a surge in coronavirus cases would likely not move the county back from phase two of the state’s reopening plan. Gov. Kate Brown placed the county on the state’s watch list after virus cases spiked after the Labor Day holiday and a workplace outbreak at Pacific Seafood in Warrenton.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, a Democrat from Beaverton, issued this statement after the House vote: "The House passed critical legislation several months ago to stem the loss of life and blunt the worst effects of the pandemic, but the Senate failed to act. This update to the Heroes Act reflects what our country needs now — aid for schools, workers, businesses, childcare, testing and treatment, and more.
The question-and-answer session will be broadcast simultaneously in Spanish with American Sign Language interpretation. "When I saw the news about a major workplace outbreak at Pacific Seafood’s Warrenton facility, I was deeply concerned," Bonamici, an Oregon Democrat, said in a statement. "This is a small, tight-knit community with limited health care capacity. A COVID-19 outbreak could be devastating and could again disrupt in-person education and shutter businesses.