Jobs and Economy
When I travel around Northwest Oregon, I often hear from parents who struggle to pay for child care—which in Oregon can cost as much as a year of college tuition. I’ve heard from parents who don’t have access to paid family leave at work, and have to choose between caring for a new baby and earning a paycheck. Congress must do more to address the challenges facing our families.
Our economy will be stronger and people will be healthier when we acknowledge that families need policies that work for them, not against them. Equal pay for women, good wages, paid leave, and affordable child care will better support families in Oregon and across the country. When we open the doors of opportunity to everyone, we all succeed.
One of my top priorities in Congress is to grow our economy and implement policies that create more jobs in Oregon and across the country. As a leader on the Education and Labor Committee, I’ve introduced legislation to strengthen apprenticeships and paid, on-the-job training programs to provide workers with meaningful pathways to better paying jobs, and to connect businesses with workers who have the skills they need. I support the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024. I also helped pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to help to address the pay gap and provide workers with the tools they need to achieve equal pay for equal work.
More on Jobs and Economy
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.
The daughter of a music teacher, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici knows that the arts strengthen STEM and vice versa. “Integrating the arts into STEM education inspires more critical thinking, which we need to maintain our country’s spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship,” she says.
The Washington County commissioner and former Hillsboro mayor keynoted the county's Veterans Day ceremony.
The father of U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Beaverton also served in the Navy.
"I want to assure everyone that this is a coincidence," she said as the audience laughed.
Bonamici quoted from a 1963 Veterans Day proclamation by President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated just 11 days later, that the day is meant to honor men and women who have served in war and who also seek peace with "patience, perseverance and courage."
Many organizations representing the interests of older adults were thrilled with the U.S. House’s passage Monday of HR 4334, the Dignity in Aging Act of 2019, which reauthorizes the Older Americans Act. The leadership of Oregon Rep. Suzanne Bonamici on behalf of this bill was distinct and decisive. She chaired the subcommittee that produced the bill. Further, she ensured two things about the legislation and the process: It would be bipartisan and involve input from stakeholders.
Lawmakers are taking a look at how pregnant women are treated in the workplace.
Oregon Democratic Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici says many American women are forced to choose between their financial security and their pregnancy.
Bonamici says The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would require employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to pregnant employees.
Legislation sponsored by a Democrat that would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers is finding some support across the aisle, but many Republicans are still reluctant to get behind the measure.