Transportation and Infrastructure
In late 2020, DeFazio, Oregon's two U.S. Senators and Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Kurt Schrader and Suzanne Bonamici sent the Corps of Engineers a letter asking for additional support for harbor repairs and improvements at Coos Bay, Depoe Bay and Tillamook. "Our harbors along the Oregon coast can be particularly challenging due to unpredictable weather, the increasing intensity of storms, and especially dangerous wave conditions at our entrance channels," the group wrote.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, along with U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, recently wrote a letter to Adm. Karl Schultz, the commandant of the Coast Guard, requesting that two additional cutters be stationed locally. "The community of Astoria is well-equipped to support the Coast Guard and its vessels in their mission here in Oregon," the lawmakers wrote.
Bonamici congratulated Rainier for the completion of the project. "It took everyone working together, and it's really a testament to the perseverance of this community," she said.
The U.S. Postal Service is studying whether Warrenton needs a new post office after pressure from members of Oregon's congressional delegation. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who visited the city's aging post office near the corner of Harbor Drive and Main Avenue in August, wrote to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy last month about its inadequate condition.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici — Democrats of Oregon — stood side by side with U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Washington state Republican, to extol the benefits of the project to the region.
"They're not just rocks in the water," Wyden said. "They are linchpins for navigation. Without those jetties … we cannot have big league quality of life and job creation. It just simply doesn't happen."
House Democrats on Tuesday will issue an ambitious plan to combat climate change, a move intended to reassure their base of supporters but that's sure to inflame opponents on the right.
The proposal will be released at an event at the U.S. Capitol with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several other Democratic lawmakers.
Two lawmakers from Oregon are looking into how much people with diabetes pay for the insulin they need.
Sen. Jeff Merkley introduced the End Price Gouging for Insulin Act following a report prepared for fellow Democratic Rep. Suzanne Bonamici found that people in the region pay about $1,000 more a year on insulin than people in other countries — a "rip-off" according to Merkley.
Patricia Reser came more than ready to make her dream of a regional arts center in Beaverton a reality
Two years from now, the doors will open for the center, which her family foundation is the major donor at $13 million. The amount is about half the total raised from individuals, businesses and foundations. The other $21 million will come from city revenue bonds, repaid from city lodging taxes.
Warrenton ceremonially took the wheel at the Hammond Marina on Wednesday, accepting a new potential economic generator that is half empty after not being dredged in more than a decade.
Representatives from the offices of U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who helped enshrine the transfer in law, were on hand to celebrate, along with state Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose.