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A group of 165 Democrats, led by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), wrote a letter last week to DeVos citing concerns with ne hiring at the Office of Federal Student Aid and what they said was a failure to hire enough employees in the Office for Civil Rights.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act, sending it to the president's desk to be signed into law.

Bonamici said she was grateful that the House passed the legislation to address historical injustices and honor the fishing treaty rights of four Columbia River Tribes.

There were audible sighs of relief in Oregon's business community after congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump reached an agreement on a new trade pact replacing NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement.

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, whose district covers much of northwest Oregon including parts of Portland, was one of several Democratic members of the House Education Committee to press Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on the agency's decision to restrict debt relief for former students of shuttered for-profit colleges.

The Trump administration is proposing changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The proposed changes could impact more than 20,000 people in Oregon starting in 2020.

Some of the changes were finalized this week. President Trump has said the new rules will help encourage SNAP recipients to find jobs, but local representatives are pushing back.