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Education * Dialogue ♦ Independence
Message to legislators: Prioritize our most vulnerable
STEPHANIE TAMA-SWEET
C ON TR IB UTIN G C O LU M N IS T :
e all know that times are hard.
Demand for emergency food boxes
is at an all-time high, unemployment
in Oregon is* the second highest in the
nation and reliance on food stamps and
public assistance is soaring. In these tough
economic times, countless individuals and
non-profit organizations have been working
throughout the legislative session to make
sure that our elected officials prioritize our
most vulnerable citizens. Oregon Food Bank
is one of those organizations and here is a
quick summary of our legislative work in the
past few months.
The legislative session began with a quick
and decisive victory with the passage of
House Bill (HB) 2436. This bill established a
document recording fee which will fund the
preservation and building of new affordable
housing units and will assist counties with
their efforts to end homelessness. HB 2436
was a great win for housing and anti-poverty
advocates, but at that point, our work had
just begun.
Oregon Food Bank is supporting three
bills that would help provide food to hungry
Oregonians. All three bills are currently
sitting in the Joint Ways and Means
Committee. The first, HB 5019, is a general
budget bill which includes funding for the
Oregon Food Bank Network. Historically the
food bank has received $2 million from the
state but with demand for emergency food
boxes up over fifteen percent statewide, the
Network is asking for an additional $1
million to help meet the increasing need.
The bill is currently sitting in the
■
Stephanie Tama-Sweet is the public policy advocate fo r the
Oregon Food Bank. The Oregon Food Bank is the hub fo r a
statewide network o f 915 hunger-relief agencies serving Oregon
a n d Clark County W ashington.
Transportation and Economic Subcommittee
of Ways and Means.
Two additional anti-hunger bills would
provide nutritious food to our most
vulnerable citizens: pregnant women,’
children and senior citizens. HB 2924 ;
supports the Farm Direct Nutrition Program
(FDNP) which provides eligible seniors and
WIÇ (Women, Infants and Children)
participants with coupons to be spent at
local farmers markets. This program
supports local agriculture and ensures that
struggling families can purchase nutritious ;
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fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately; the
FDNP program received a proposed
$200,000 cut in the Ways and Means
Co-chairs’ budget Advocacy efforts will be
needed not only to expand FDNP but to
preserve it for the future biennium. The bill
has a nominal fiscal impact and is currently
sitting in the Human Services
Subcommittee of Ways and Means.
The school breakfast bill,'Senate Bill (SB)
695, is in the Education Subcommittee of
Ways and Means. This bill would eliminate
the 30-cent per meal co-pay for school
breakfasts for children between 130 arid 185
percent of the federal-poverty level.
Eliminating the co-pay in other states has
increased participation rates of over 45
percent Participation at this level would
bring more than $4 million of federal
matching funds to the state.
In addition to these food bills, Oregon
Food Bank has been working to expand
health tare and protect anti-poverty
programs; HouseBill 2116 would expand
health care coverage to 80,000 children and
roughly 100,000 low-income adults. These
expansions would be funded through a
provider and insurance tax, both of which
would be reimbursed at a 2:1 rate by the
federal government Implementation of
these taxes would bring Oregon more than
$1 billion of federal funds. HB 2116 is
currently in the Revenue committee and will
then be referred to Ways and Means.
On May 15th, the state’s revenue forecast
revealed a $4 billion deficit in the 2009-11
budget which includes $351 million needed
to balance the current 2007-09 budget which
ends on June 30th, 2009. In response to the
forecast, the Co-chairs of the Ways and
Means Committee released their budget on
May 18th. The cuts to human services as
outlined in this budget are dramatic.
Advocacy efforts are needed not only to
expand programs for the upcoming
biennium, but also to protect programs from
the proposed cuts outlined in this budget
With just five weeks left of the legislative
session, there is much work to be done,
. Contact your legislator and let them know
that you prioritize programs which feed
hungry Oregonians and protect, the most -
vulnerable. Supporting anti-hunger and
poverty programs is not only the right thing
for families; it is the right solution to this
economic crisis.
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