Health Care
Information regarding my stance on Health Care issues.
Oregon plans to test all workers and residents in large senior care homes for the coronavirus by Sept. 30 and then retest all workers once a month, public health officials announced Monday.
"The state cannot implement their plan with the current limited supply of testing transport media and swabs," Sen. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Suzanne Bonamici and Kurt Schrader wrote.
Responding to concerns from Clatsop County, the Oregon Health Authority said the state will not recommend mandatory coronavirus testing for essential workers at seafood plants and other food processors.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici asked the Oregon Health Authority for clarification on the guidance Saturday after The Oregonian reported a Hispanic couple in Washington County was denied coronavirus testing at two hospitals, reportedly because they were asymptomatic.
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici pressed for clearer coronavirus screening guidelines Saturday in response to a report by The Oregonian/OregonLive about a Latino couple twice rejected for testing.
In a letter to the Oregon Health Authority, Bonamici said she was "alarmed" to read that Michael Lopez could not secure testing for him and his wife, Milady, because they did not have symptoms.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., on Friday led members of Oregon's congressional delegation—including Sen. Ron Wyden and Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader—in pushing the Trump administration to help meet Oregon's urgent need for critical coronavirus testing supplies at long-term care facilities.
State regulators appear satisfied that Bornstein Seafoods has addressed safety concerns about the coronavirus cited in a complaint by the Lower Columbia Hispanic Council on behalf of workers at the Astoria seafood processor.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, last week criticized OSHA nationally for issuing only one citation, related to record keeping, despite what she described as the worst worker safety crisis in recent memory.
The partisan divide over how to ensure workplace safety surfaced repeatedly Thursday as Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee questioned the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration about the agency's response to the pandemic.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., put Labor Department Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Loren E. Sweatt on the spot when she asked how many of the nearly 5,000 COVID-19 related complaints received so far by OSHA have ended in enforcement action.
Four of the seven members of Oregon's congressional delegation this week said Covid is exacerbating inequalities in the financial system and federal lawmakers should take additional steps to help underserved communities.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued its first coronavirus-related citation "within the last week," the embattled head of the agency told lawmakers Thursday at a marathon House subcommittee hearing on OSHA's virus enforcement — or its alleged lack thereof.
Sweatt disclosed the recent write-up in a line of questioning by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., about the enforcement figures. Pressed on whether "these citations [can] be issued faster," Sweatt said "rushing to issue a citation" is not the best use of the agency's resources.