In the News

Plans for a business resource center run under the Columbia Economic Team are moving forward, as the project has secured commitments for $150,000 in local dollars to match federal and state funding sources. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici earmarked $175,000 for the resource center in an appropriations bill that passed the House and is now awaiting Senate action.

A delegation of Oregon leaders ⁠— including Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Kurt Schrader, and Peter DeFazio — wrote to the U.S. Department of Commerce urging them to declare a catastrophic regional fishery disaster. Three years of drought in a row have severely impacted the Pacific Northwest's salmon populations.

Much of Oregon's congressional delegation is asking the federal government to declare the effects of three consecutive years of drought a disaster for Chinook salmon fishing. The letter, signed by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader, warns that drought in 2018, 2019 and 2020 has reduced the scale of salmon runs.

On Oct. 26, 2021, on the heels of a five-year campaign spearheaded by North Coast Land Conservancy, the Rainforest Reserve was permanently conserved as a place brimming with critical habitat for a wide array of wildlife and plant species, to help them adapt to a changing world, while also supporting the surrounding communities. "The Rainforest Reserve is a remarkable accomplishment that will significantly benefit our region in many ways," added U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.).

The North Coast Land Conservancy has taken ownership of an iconic coastal rainforest above Arch Cape and Oswald West State Park. The purchase of the 3,500-acre property — previously industrial timberland — comes at a time when a number of North Coast communities are looking at ways to protect their drinking water sources. U.S. Rep Suzanne Bonamici called the purchase a "remarkable accomplishment that will significantly benefit our region in many ways."

If you read the headlines right now you might think Democrats can't agree on anything — in fact, that could not be further from the truth. The real story is that congressional Democrats, from all parts of this country and from every conference in our Caucus, are almost unanimous in our support of the reconciliation bill called the Build Back Better Act and delivering the climate investments needed to meet the goals that science and public health demand.

Oregon's congressional delegation has taken several close looks at Chemawa over the last few years, starting with a visit in May 2018, which included representatives from several Oregon tribes. That visit was followed a year later by an emotional and occasionally combative congressional hearing. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Beaverton, and Kurt Schrader, D-Canby, have visited Chemawa more recently, including in 2019, when they emerged to say they felt encouraged that the school was making changes.

Stars in the House—the daily live streamed concert series created by Playbill correspondent and SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky and producer James Wesley—spotlights Americans for the Arts' National Arts and Humanities Month, the largest annual celebration for the arts and humanities in the nation, October 25. Guests include U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici, Government Affairs Manager of Americans for the Arts Lauren Cohen, Poet Laureate and National Arts and Humanities Month Ambassador Alora Young, and Voices Inside Founder and Artistic Director Robby Henson.