Health Care
Information regarding my stance on Health Care issues.
BEAVERTON, Ore. – Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici was in Beaverton to present her new legislation to create more disposal bins for unused prescription medication.
The Congresswoman has spent the last six months visiting with constituents, law enforcement officials, addicts in recovery, and many others to understand the scope of the opioid crisis here in Oregon. She has been looking for something that can be done now, and something that would hold the drug manufacturers accountable.
During six months of community discussions about the opioid crisis, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici heard a recurring theme — the lack of options for someone to safely dispose of excess prescription pain pills after a surgery or illness.
Less than 5 percent of pharmacies, hospitals and other eligible sites in Oregon participate in drug disposal program, according to Bonamici, citing a Government Accountability Office study. Unused pills can be diverted to other family members or friends and misued.
Guns and safety headlined a town hall Thursday with U.S. Rep Suzanne Bonamici at Astoria High School.
A small crowd turned out for the discussion, the congresswoman's sixth this month during a spring tour of her district in Northwest Oregon. She started out thanking Astoria sophomores Isabel Talley and Kegan Rascoe, who handed her a stack of 78 signed form letters from students and staff calling for more federal funding to improve school safety.
Don Watson, a retired McMinnville math teacher, told U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici at a town hall Monday he is concerned about gridlock in Congress.
"What can we do to increase bipartisanship, even with an administration that's wacko?" he asked, drawing a chuckle from the 100 or so people gathered to speak with Bonamici at Chemeketa Community College's McMinnville campus.
WASHINGTON – TODAY, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education (ECESE) held a hearing entitled, "Strengthening Welfare to Work with Child Care." Across the country, far too many working families lack access to affordable, high-quality child care. In many states, the cost of child care is higher than the cost of attending college. This makes it difficult for parents to balance the costs of child care with holding down a good-paying job and providing for their family.
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) announced six town hall meetings across the First Congressional District, which includes Washington, Yamhill, Clatsop, and Columbia counties and part of Multnomah County.
Bonamici will take questions from residents and provide an update on her work in Congress. The town hall meetings will be held in Portland, Beaverton, McMinnville, St. Helens, Forest Grove, and Astoria.
A comprehensive approach to addressing the opioid crisis should encompass safe injection sites, former White House drug czar Michael Botticelli said during a discussion in Portland Friday at Central City Concern.
"If you wait until they have an overdose, it's too late," said Botticelli, who served in the Obama White House and is now the executive director of Boston Medical Center's Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine. "We need to think about things like expanding needle exchange programs."