Education
The school board's actions received further admonishment throughout August, along with threats of legal trouble. The Newberg City Council voted 6-1 to affirm Roger's letter opposing the school board's actions. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and the Legislature's House Democratic Caucus shared similar sentiments.
"The pandemic has made it really challenging to be a health care worker right now," said Kyla Siemens, who is in her second year studying to be a physician assistant at Pacific University's Hillsboro campus. She was one of three students involved in a panel discussion Wednesday with U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, who shares Siemens' concern that a variety of factors will discourage people from entering the health care industry.
Bonamici spoke to students entering the health care field amid a global pandemic.
Provisions to standardize food date labeling were also included in Rep. Pingree's Agriculture Resilience Act, which was reintroduced in April 2021. Additionally, in September, Reps. Pingree and Newhouse, along with Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-Oregon) reintroduced the School Food Recovery Act, which would create a new program at the USDA to support schools working on food waste reduction projects.
A long-time program promised to forgive federal student loans for people who have worked in public service and made loan payments for 10 years. But that's not the way the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, or PSLF, has worked for borrowers. "The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program passed back in 2007, and it was really intended to encourage students to pursue public service, and the benefit was that discharge of the balance after paying for 10 years," Rep. Bonamici said during a webinar she hosted late Monday afternoon.
As the executive director of Oregon Tradeswomen, Kelly Kupcak wants to see other women — and people of color — have the same opportunities for apprenticeships that helped her raise two sons as a union heavy equipment operator. "I am living proof of what pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeships can do," Kupcak said at an online forum organized by U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici. Bonamici, a Democrat from Beaverton and the 1st District of northwest Oregon, is co-chairwoman of the Bipartisan Apprenticeship Caucus and a member of the House Education and Labor Committee.
This special edition of the All In: Student Pathway Forward podcast is focused on federal policy with a featured guest who is one of the strongest legislative champions in Congress for community colleges and workforce development, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, serving Oregon's 1st congressional district. Congresswoman Bonamici discusses how her federal policy work supporting community college students and workers has been shaped by her own community college student experience at Lane Community College.
Oregon Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici was in Portland Monday to discuss her efforts to help young people meet their most basic needs. She visited the Portland State University campus and stopped by the campus homeless shelter, the campus food pantry, and a child development center. She says the Build Back Better Act will help students who rely on these services.