8
in other words
april4
2019
Bonamici Bulletin
By Congresswoman Suzanne
Bonamici
Six Spring Town Hall
Meetings
I will be holding six
town hall meetings
across the First Congres-
sional District, which includes Wash-
ington, Yamhill, Clatsop, and Columbia
counties and part of Multnomah County.
I will take questions from
residents and provide an update about
my work in Congress. The town hall
meetings will be in McMinnville,
Portland, Astoria, Gaston, Hillsboro, and
Clatskanie.
Town hall meetings are an im-
portant part of my work, and I look for-
ward to hearing directly from the people
I’m honored to represent. Recently, Or-
egonians have contacted me about many
of the serious and urgent issues I am
working on with my colleagues. Those
topics include protecting the environ-
ment, lowering health care costs, stand-
ing up for workers, making higher edu-
cation more affordable, and demanding
the full and immediate release of Special
Counsel Mueller’s report.
Members of my staff will also
be available at the town hall meetings
to assist anyone experiencing problems
with federal agencies such as the VA,
Social Security Administration, or IRS.
I hold more than a dozen town hall
meetings every year, including at least
one by telephone.
My local schedule for town hall
meetings is as follows:
Gaston
Thursday, April 18, 2019 - 6:00 p.m.
Gaston Jr/Sr High School, Gymnasium
300 Park St
Gaston, OR 97119
Hillsboro
Tuesday, April 23, 2019 - 6:00 p.m.
Century High School, Auditorium
2000 SE Century Blvd
Hillsboro, OR 97123
Clatskanie
Wednesday, April 24, 2019 - 6:00 p.m.
Clatskanie Cultural Center, Birkenfeld
Theater
75 S Nehalem St.
Clatskanie, OR 97016
Making the Mueller Report Public
The public deserves to see Special Coun-
sel Mueller’s full report and the docu-
ments underlying it. Despite the conclu-
sions of Attorney General Barr, there are
still many outstanding questions about
the President’s actions and conflicts of
interest. The U.S. House of Representa-
tives will continue to fulfill its responsi-
bility to independently investigate these
issues and their repercussions on our de-
mocracy.
Sweeping Reforms to Restore Our De-
mocracy and Expand Voting Rights
Free and fair elections are the founda-
tion of our democracy. Unfortunately,
voter suppression and out-of-control
campaign spending have prevented
many people from accessing the ballot
box and limited their voice in govern-
ment. The House has taken action to
restore our democracy and protect vot-
ing rights by passing the historic For the
People Act. The For the People Act will
expand the voter protections Oregon has
pioneered to the rest of the country, in-
cluding our groundbreaking automatic
voter registration system. This legisla-
tion will also protect the integrity of our
elections by requiring paper ballots na-
tionwide. It will also end the influence of
“dark money” by requiring any organi-
zation involved in political activities to
disclose its donors. The For the People
Act is a step in restoring confidence in
our elections and in government.
Making Progress in Efforts to Ad-
dress Climate Crisis
The Select Committee on the Climate
Crisis met for the first time this week to
chart a path for how we will approach
our important work. In an op-ed in The
Oregonian, I called for action and out-
lined my vision for what we must do
to make a meaningful difference on
this issue. Then, I spoke on the House
Floor to remind my colleagues that our
children and grandchildren’s futures
depend on our actions today. Finally,
I was proud to cosponsor the first bill
on the climate crisis of this Congress.
The Climate Action Now Act will
make sure that we uphold our commit-
ments under the Paris Climate Accord
to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Standing Up for Workers
My grandfather was a coal miner, and
he lost his leg in the mines. In 2019, we
should be able to keep worksites safe
for workers. Shockingly, the U.S. still
has not banned asbestos, and every year
firefighters, construction workers, and
even teachers and students are exposed
to this known cancer-causing chemical.
I’ve partnered with Senator Merkley
to introduce the Alan Reinstein Ban
Asbestos Now Act to finally ban asbestos
once and for all. Additionally, gender-
based wage discrimination continues to
be an injustice to millions of working
families. The Paycheck Fairness Act,
which passed the House with bipartisan
support, will help achieve equal pay for
equal work by eliminating loopholes and
stepping up enforcement. With this bill,
we can finally disrupt a national cycle of
discriminatory pay that keeps too many
women and families in poverty.
Fairness and Equity in Education
It is unconscionable that our country
has yet to fulfill its commitment to edu-
cate Native American students. After
OPB uncovered very troubling condi-
tions at the Chemawa Indian School in
Oregon last year, I pressed the Director
of the Bureau of Indian Education for
answers about a list of problems at Che-
mawa. The Bureau still hasn’t given us a
satisfactory response―and now another
student has died shortly after leaving
the school. Robert Lee Tillman was just
15 years old. Along with several col-
leagues in the Oregon delegation, I’ve
called for Congressional hearings on
this issue so we can get answers and
find ways to support the school and its
students before any more students are
harmed. I’ve also been working on af-
fordable higher education. Any qualified
student should have the opportunity to
benefit from higher education without
being burdened by debt. As the college
admissions scandal draws attention, we
must recognize that this case highlights
systemic inequities that have existed for
decades. Students of color, first genera-
tion students, and low-income students
often have to overcome racism, lack
of resources, and institutional barriers
just to get in the door. That’s unaccept-
able, and unjust. As I work with my col-
leagues on the Committee on Education
and Labor to reauthorize the Higher Ed-
ucation Act, we will carefully consider
inequity in college admissions and work
to address it.
Vernonia’s Voice is published on the 1 st and 3 rd
Thursday. Look for our next issue on April 18.
Need more room?
NOTICE OF BUDGE COMMITTEE MEETING
A public meeting of the 2019-
2020 Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD Budget
Committee will be held Tuesday,
April 30, 2019, at 7:00 PM at the
Mist-Birkenfeld Main Station located at
12525 Highway 202. This is a meeting
where deliberation of the Budget
Committee will take place. Any person
may attend this meeting and discuss
the proposed programs with the
Budget Committee.
BUSINESS TO BE CONDUCTED
AT THIS MEETING WILL BE:
- Election of Officers
- Presentation of Budget Message
- Presentation of Budget Document
- Discussion of the Budget Document
- Public Testimony
- Scheduling of possible future
meetings
The proposed budget document will
be available for inspection on April
23, 2019 at the Mist-Birkenfeld Main
Station at 12525 Hwy 202, Mist,
Oregon, during the hours of 9:00 am
to 5:00 pm.
Joe Kaczenski
Budget Officer
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