14
community
may16
2019
Legislature Votes to Approve Student Success Act continued from front page
walkout at the beginning of the school
day in coordination with the school ad-
ministration, and met with supporters
in front of the school, while students at-
tended brief, age appropriate assemblies
that discussed public discourse and civic
engagement.
Following her statement Safier
explained why Vernonia teachers chose
not to walk out for the entire school day.
“In certain districts the message is best
sent by shutting down and having teach-
ers march. If our message today is to
encourage Vernonians and other com-
munity members to pay attention, then
shutting down after all our snow days
isn’t the best way to show it. We think
this is a better way to show solidarity
with the community members.”
“Our students deserve small
class sizes,” said Safier in closing. “Our
students deserve restored music and arts
programs. They deserve access to coun-
selors and nurses. It’s time for Salem to
invest in education.”
While teachers were encourag-
ing the legislature to increase education
funding, Senate Republicans failed to
show up for a scheduled vote on the bill
for four straight days during the week
of May 6, holding out for PERS reform.
This denied Democrats a 20 person quo-
rum - Democrats needed two Republi-
cans to appear - and shut down all legis-
lative business is Salem. It was reported
that a number of Republicans had left
the state so they could not be forced to
appear at the Senate to vote.
Over the Mother’s Day weekend
legislators hammered out a compromise,
with help from Oregon Governor Kate
Brown, that brought three Republicans
back to the Senate chambers on Monday
for the vote.
As part of the compromise,
Democrats have promised to address
funding for PERS. They also agreed to
kill a bill requiring students in public
schools to be vaccinated, and dropped a
bill on gun control.
“I made an impassioned plea on
the floor yesterday that we have to have
meaningful, and I mean meaningful and
substantive, reform to PERS, otherwise
the outcome that we all so desperately
want for education will not be achieved,”
said Senator Johnson in her phone inter-
view. “So I decided that as long as I laid
down a marker saying the two things
needed to be together - funding for edu-
cation and PERS reform this session - I
could support a huge tax increase.”
Some Democrats in Salem were
jubilant after the Senate passage of the
Student Success Act, while others were
more pragmatic.
“This is a historic, historic day,”
said Senate Majority Leader Ginny
Burdick, a Democrat from Portland who
was a chief supporter of the gun control
bill. “This is not a pretty process some-
times, but we have a gorgeous result to-
day.”
“I have not been the tiniest bit
shy about saying that we cannot pass
these taxes without PERS reform,” said
Senator Johnson. “We cannot cost busi-
nesses more and by extension cost Or-
egonians more, if we’re not willing to
admit that we need to make serious re-
forms to PERS.”
Bonamici Bulletin continued from page 3
country’s landmark civil rights laws
guarantee all people the right to be safe,
secure, and free from discrimination.
I’m proud to stand with the LGBTQ
community as we fight for equality
nationwide.
The Department of Education
has a responsibility to protect ALL stu-
dents. Yet the Trump administration
has rolled back crucial protections for
transgender students. When I asked Sec.
DeVos whether she knew that these ac-
tions would put transgender students at
risk, she admitted that she did. The De-
partment of Education’s failure to pro-
tect transgender children is unconscio-
nable, and I will continue to stand up
for transgender kids and their families.
Acting on Our Climate Agenda
The House is making prog-
ress on our climate action agenda. I pre-
sided over the House for final passage
of the Climate Action Now Act, which
will honor our country’s commitments
under the Paris Agreement and lay the
groundwork for further action.
Oceans and estuaries are fac-
ing the consequences of our inaction
to reduce human-caused emissions of
greenhouse gases. The Science Com-
mittee unanimously approved my bi-
partisan bill, the COAST Research Act,
to help communities facing ocean acidi-
fication. With this bill, we can support
vulnerable communities and industries
by strengthening research on how they
can best prepare and, when possible,
adapt to ocean and coastal acidification.
Our oceans and estuaries are resilient,
but threatened. We must take action to
help them heal.
At home in Oregon I vis-
ited Seaside High School, where stu-
dents are monitoring water quality to
help surfers and swimmers know when
it’s safe to be in the water. I also saw
an enormous wave energy device be-
fore it shipped out to Hawaii for test-
ing. Oregon is at the forefront of marine
energy, and as we transition to a clean
energy economy robust federal invest-
ment can help unleash innovation and
catalyze industries that harness the
power of our oceans’ waves. I’ll contin-
ue to champion clean energy and make
sure we are creating good-paying jobs
and growing the economy as we ad-
dress the climate crisis.
Visiting Schools
and Supporting Students
Visiting schools and seeing
students learning gives me hope for the
future. Last month I visited five schools
and convened a roundtable discus-
sion with leaders in higher education.
At Imlay Elementary, students had the
opportunity to dissect fish in a hands-
on science lesson, thanks to the Lower
Columbia Estuary Partnership. In Hill-
sboro and Gaston, students in career
and technical education courses were
receiving real-world job experience and
learning valuable skills. I also celebrat-
ed the artistic talents of students across
Northwest Oregon who submitted their
artwork to my Congressional Art Com-
petition. The winner, Jennie Cho, will
have her artwork displayed in the Capi-
tol in Washington D.C. for one year.
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