Jobs and Economy
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. This includes investing in infrastructure projects to improve our roads, bridges, rails, schools, and electrical grid; providing additional resources to help Oregon’s small businesses succeed; and doing everything we can to get the unemployed and underemployed back to work.
Small businesses are a critical part of our nation’s economy, and it’s important to give them the support they need. I’ve visited businesses of every size in every part of the district, and heard from business owners about their successes and their struggles. By focusing on what small businesses need to grow and thrive, we can find solutions to growing and sustaining our economy as a whole.
I also voted to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank because of the crucial role it plays in helping Oregon companies export their goods to overseas markets. In just the last five years, the Ex-Im Bank has supported more than $94 million in export sales from small businesses in Oregon’s First Congressional District, underscoring its critical importance in our local economy.
More on Jobs and Economy
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-05), along with Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), announced the designation of Oregon’s Van Duzer Corridor as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) this month.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, a Democrat from Beaverton, helped secure a $400,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to perform cleanups at the former gas station and a nearby brownfield site.
"We know that because of the (population) growth and the Cascadia subduction zone, we need to prepare for those emergencies and the eventual earthquake," Bonamici said. "We need to have our police force and emergency managers have the tools and have them in a seismically sound building."
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici says she will continue to defend the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively, even as a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court heads in another direction.
The Democrat from Beaverton spoke last week after she met with representatives from Local 503 of Service Employees International Union, which not only represents the largest group of state government employees but also child and home care workers. They met in Beaverton.
At my recent visit to Anvil Academy in Newberg, I met a student with a learning disability who is using woodworking skills to start his own business. Another powerful success story came from Tigard-Tualatin Superintendent Dr. Sue Rieke-Smith, who told me about how a student experiencing profound poverty and homelessness was transformed by an auto mechanics class and is now in college studying to become a mechanical engineer.
BEAVERTON, Ore. [08/21/18] – Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) announced that Easterseals Oregon will receive $1.5M in federal funding over three years to provide employment services for homeless veterans in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties. The funding allows Easterseals Oregon to expand beyond Multnomah County and offer these services for the first time in Washington and Clackamas counties.
The mint business is growing in the Clatskanie area. To keep up with consumer needs, Seely Family Farm will take advantage of funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D) toured the Seely farm in the Clatskanie area on Aug. 14. Her office supported the securing of a USDA Rural Development Value Added Producer Grant of $250,000 to help staff to the mint operation. The funds will cover around five jobs at the company.
WASHINGTON, DC [08/15/18] – Congresswoman Bonamici, Senators Wyden and Merkley, and Representatives DeFazio, Blumenauer, and Schrader called on the Trump Administration to work with China to reduce or eliminate Chinese tariffs that are harming Oregon’s hazelnut farmers and making it difficult for them to compete with growers in other countries.