Health Care
Information regarding my stance on Health Care issues.
Oregon's entire congressional delegation on Monday urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, to help the state cope with the latest surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, by providing medical personnel. U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer, Kurt Schrader, Suzanne Bonamici and Cliff Bentz all signed a letter sent to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. The lawmakers were following up on a request sent to FEMA by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown last Friday, when she also requested medical personnel.
"I look forward to delivering federal resources to these community-driven projects to help the people of Northwest Oregon, support our economic recovery and promote equity," Bonamici said in a news release. "These projects will create tremendous opportunities for our community, and I will continue to do all I can to advocate for the Senate to pass this needed funding." Virginia Garcia's $2 million expansion is the largest allocation of funds among the nine projects.
While a lot of work still needs to be done, Multnomah County's new Behavioral Health Resource Center is coming along. On Tuesday, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici and Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury went inside the building, which is located at Southwest Park Avenue and Southwest Oak Street, for a quick tour. County commissioners approved the $26 million center earlier this year. To help fund it, Bonamici has requested $1.3 million in federal funds. She says they should know by the end of the month if it's approved.
The Oregonian/OregonLive asked 7 U.S. Congressional members from Oregon and 89 members of the Oregon Legislature if they'd been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
"What really helps is to make the vaccine available and accessible and come to the community. So we are here in a large parking lot in Tektronix," said Congresswoman Bonamici.
After considering more than 70 applications, Rep. Bonamici is seeking over $2 million through Community Project Funding to expand and maintain the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health clinic in Newberg. In selecting the clinic, Bonamici said, "I was looking for projects that would help support job creation, help with economic recovery and provide good paying jobs to people who've faced historic barriers to employment or services in their community."
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., is joining a legislative effort to turn the tide on such grim statistics. Bonamici joined the Black Maternal Health Caucus, launched by Reps. Alma Adams and Lauren Underwood, to sponsor a package of bills under the umbrella of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021. Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, is also a sponsor. "As a mom, I know how pregnancy and childbirth is an empowering time of life, but for so many women, it's terrifying and dangerous," Bonamici said in an interview. "It isn't an income issue.
"Virginia Garcia is a trusted health care provider serving our community, including those most in need," Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici said in the release. "This award of $10.2 million will help us defeat the pandemic, expand vaccinations in an equitable way, make COVID-19 testing and treatment more widely accessible and increase capacity during the pandemic and beyond. I'm thrilled to help deliver these needed federal resources to our community, and I applaud the team at Virginia Garcia for their steadfast leadership during these challenging times."
"It will help the senior citizen in Seaside who needs a vaccine but doesn't have access to the internet," Bonamici said in a statement. "It will help the new mom and her husband, both paramedics, who don't have access to paid family leave and can't afford child care. It will help restaurants like a beloved Portland eatery that has been shut down for months but could finally reopen thanks to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. It will help school leaders in districts big and small who want to bring students back to classrooms but don't have the funding to do so safely.