Jobs and Economy

Portland, OR – Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici visited Hopworks Brewery today to call attention to Wall Street speculation in commodity markets that is driving up the prices of aluminum, copper, gas, and electricity. This speculation is in turn raising the prices of everyday products that middle-class families use, including beer cans, home improvement products that contain copper and even gas for cars.

St. Helens, Ore. – Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) today visited the St. Helens Senior Center to talk with seniors about cuts to federally funded home-delivered nutrition programs, like Meals on Wheels. Automatic across-the-board spending cuts will result in 7,000 fewer meals served by the Community Action Team program in Columbia, Clatsop, and Tillamook counties. Bonamici has sponsored legislation to repeal the cuts and will soon lead efforts to pass a continuation of the Older Americans Act, which authorizes the program.

Beaverton, Ore. – Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) today unveiled the Opportunities for Success Act (H.R. 2659), legislation she introduced to help make unpaid internships more accessible to low-income students. The legislation is part of Bonamici’s new College to Jobs Agenda, which aims to reduce unemployment and underemployment among recent college graduates.

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) today voted against a revised version of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (H.R. 2642). The legislation, which is opposed by the Oregon Farm Bureau, contains no provisions for nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The agriculture reform and nutrition provisions have been considered together in the same bill for decades.