Jobs and Economy
Information regarding my stance on Jobs and Economy issues.
Federal leaders who enforce anti-discrimination laws assured House members last week that they're still committed to protecting workers' civil rights despite lawmakers' criticism about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC's) decision not to collect pay data—broken down by job category, race, sex and ethnicity—in the future.
EEOC last year logged the fewest investigators to probe civil rights complaints in at least nine years, POLITICO's Rebecca Rainey reports. The investigators numbered 741 in April 2018 and averaged 758 during that fiscal year. By comparison, during the last four years of the Obama administration there was an average of 825 EEOC investigators.
Several years ago, Washougal Mayor Molly Coston, then the president of the Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards, was approached by Chris Collins of the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership (LCEP), a Portland-based environmental protection nonprofit coalition of public and private groups.
Collins told Coston about the agency's plan to reconfigure the Port of Camas-Washougal's existing Columbia River levee system to reduce flood risk, re-connect 960 acres of Columbia River floodplain and increase recreation opportunities at the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
PORTLAND, OR [08/28/2019] – Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) convened a diverse group of advocates, families, and child care providers to hear more about the many challenges facing Oregon families who are seeking affordable, quality child care. Family Forward Oregon hosted the discussion.
A federal loan of $640 million will enable residents of the Tualatin Valley Water District and several Washington County cities to get their water from the Willamette River.
The announcement this week by the Environmental Protect Agency will allow the Willamette Water Supply Project to proceed with a $1.2 billion project that will deliver water by 2026.
The loans of $388 million to the water district and $251 million to the City of Hillsboro will be repaid by their water customers. Beaverton has also purchased a share, but it's not liable for the loan.
The Environmental Protection Agency has approved two new loans, totaling $640 million, for a major water-supply infrastructure program in western Oregon.
The loan approvals, announced on Aug. 19, are part of EPA's Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or WIFIA, program and will help finance the $1.3-billion, multi-year Willamette Water Supply System program.
In the not-so-distant future, a Tualatin-area natural area will link a continuous 50-mile regional trail system connecting the Willamette River in Wilsonville to the same river in North Portland.
With that in mind, Metro, area city administrators and others met with U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici at the Heritage Pine Natural Area on Wednesday, Aug 14, to call attention to a need for federal funding to help support continuing plans for an expansive regional trails systems.
BEAVERTON, OR [08/13/19] – Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) hosted Mary Anne Carter, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), for a series of visits to organizations that are part of Northwest Oregon's thriving arts community.
Edwards Vacuum, a supplier of semiconductor vacuum and abatement solutions, has completed and opened its new high-tech innovation and manufacturing centre in Hillsboro.
The 75,000-square foot, state-of-the-art facility will serve as the North American semiconductor headquarters for the U.K.-based firm, creating 100 new high-tech jobs.
Edwards is consolidating its Hillsboro staff in the new facility. Previously, the firm had more than 150 employees in multiple Hillsboro locations.