Street roots
Feb. 3, 2012
Local obligations will suffer under planned federal budget cuts
BY SAM ADAM S
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
ast August, Congress passed a bill
authorizing the president to increase
the nation’s debt ceiling, while also
requiring that the deficit be reduced by
cutting spending by $2.3 trillion over 10
years. However, $860 billion of these cuts
come from non-defense discretionary
spending — community development block
grants, housing programs, education, social
programs, workforce development,
transportation, and other programs that are
vital to cities like Portland. Local jurisdictions
rely on those funds - either directly from the
federal government, or as pass-throughs from
state government - to keep our local
programs and safety nets intact.
The proposed federal cuts could be
devastating locally, in Portland and
Multnomah County, and in other metro areas.
From social-service programs and affordable
housing to economic development programs
and infrastructure projects that put people
back to work directly, our city and county rely
on federal funding.
During my recent visit to Washington D.C.
to participate in the 80th Winter meeting of
the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), I
met many other mayors who shared my
concerns over these proposed cuts. During
the meeting, the USCM also released a new
economic report that highlights the ongoing
challenge our cities face: While job growth is
expected to increase in nearly all metro areas
this year, it will not be by enough to reduce
the unemployment rate below 8 percent.
Against this backdrop of a slow recovery
and looming federal budget cuts, Los Angeles
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke to hundreds
of my fellow mayors about an agenda to put
America back to work. In particular, he called
for investing in infrastructure jobs by passing
bipartisan transportation legislation, cutting
taxes for working Americans by extending the
payroll tax cut, providing relief to those
looking for work by extending unemployment
benefits, and strengthening communities by
protecting the Community Development
Block Grant program.
L
Sam Adams is the
mayor o f Portland.
He recently returned
from the US.
Conference o f Mayors
in Washington D.C.
The City of Portland has included in its
2012 Federal Legislative Agenda similar
action items, as we work to protect the
funding of the vital programs that are
threatened by these cuts. Throughout 2011,
my council colleagues and I have let our
congressional delegation know how budget
cuts have threatened services to our most
vulnerable populations. We fight for these
programs every year, but now that there is a
statutory requirement to cut them, it makes
our job that much tougher.
The City of Portland supports federal
legislation aimed to create both near- and
long-term jobs. Direct municipal aid provides
local governments the flexibility to generate
economic growth and create employment
opportunities. The city believes that such
legislation should include traditional
infrastructure funding for transportation and
water priorities, as well as funding for social
services and housing assistance to prevent
families from losing their homes, and
substantial investment in education to provide
for an educated workforce.
Specifically, the city will continue to
communicate the impact of HUD budget cuts
on the city’s most vulnerable populations, and
to advocate for the highest possible levels of
funding for community development block
grants. The dity will also explore partnerships
with federal agencies, such as the Small
Business Administration, to pursue
opportunities to promote entrepreneurship
and small business development. While in
D.C., I sat down with Small Business
Administration Deputy Administrator Marie
Johns, and invited her to Portland this March
to meet to meet with upstart entrepreneurs
who want to realize their dreams of owning a
small businesses. My goal is to help connect
those entreprenuers with resources offered
by-the federal government and advice from
more experienced business owners.
At the previous USCM meeting, at the
urging of Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, I fought
for a resolution calling on President Barack
Obama to end our costly and wasteful wars as
quickly as possible, and investing those
savings back into domestic needs. Now, with
our troops coming home, it is even more
important that we turn our sights to domestic
issues, and support programs and policies
that provide for jobs and more here at home.
On Jan. 12, the Portland City Council
passed a resolution establishing as a position
that the City of Portland praises our United
States troops and their families, applauds the
end of the Iraq War and supports the further
drawdown of troops in Afghanistan. As the
United States reduces its presence in those
countries, my council colleagues and I are
la Portland, oar collective loess Is centered
os getting people back to w ork and helping
oar communities recover from the
recession, We need the federal government
to be owr partner la this effort»
formally asking the President to redirect
these war dollars home to meet vital human
needs, promote job creation, rebuild our
infrastructure, aid municipal and state
governments, and develop a new economy
based upon renewable, sustainable energy
and reduce the federal debt.
While we urge the federal government to
help cities with our recovery, we are also
working locally to boost our economy. At the
USCM meeting, I participated in the Metro
Exports Task Force and highlighted
Portland’s partnership with the Brookings
Institute to boost exports in the region. In
February, Portland will officially roll out our
local export plan.
At USCM and here in Portland, our
collective focus is centered on getting people
back to work and helping our communities
recover from the recession. We need the
federal government to be our partner in this
effort, and we will be working hard in the
coming months to achieve these goals.
Legal Notice
If you worked for Labor Ready Northwest in Oregon on a repeat ticket
between 1997 and the present, you could receive up to $25 or $50 from
a class action.
A wage and hour class action called Crawford v. Labor Ready Northwest,
Inc. has been filed on behalf of certain Oregon employees of Labor Ready
Northwest. The class consists of everyone who has worked for Labor Ready
Northwest in the state of Oregon at least once on a repeat ticket since June 27,
1997. A “repeat ticket” is an assignment by Labor Ready Northwest to the same
job on the next business day.
The worker who brought this class action and Labor Ready Northwest have
now reached a settlement which an arbitrator must approve. If you are a member
of the class, depending on when you first worked for the company, you may
receive up to either $25 or $50 from Labor Ready. If the arbitrator approves the
settlement, your rights will be affected unless you take yourself out of this case.
On November 28,2011 a Notice of Class Action Settlement was sent to the
last known address of many class members. That notice explains the settlement,
including how much will be paid to class members who file claims on time if the
settlement is approved; how to object to the settlement; and how to take yourself
out of the case. If you did not get this notice, you can obtain it by callinq 1-888-
226-8857, or writing:
Oregon Labor Ready Class Action
P.0. Box 26170
Santa Ana, CA 92799
and providing your name, current address, current daytime telephone number and
current email address. You may also obtain a copy of the notice at
www.lrnwsettlement.com.
WWW.OCCUPYPORTIJIND.ORG
Please act quickly. The deadline for filing a claim, for objecting to the
settlement and for asking not to be in the case is February 6,2012. If the
settlement is approved and you have not made a claim or asked to be taken out
of the class, you will not be paid anything but still will not be able to brinq vour
own suit.