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Leger Fernández is co-sponsoring the bill with U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, a Democrat from Oregon, and is optimistic that they will receive support from members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. "Our nation's important transition to clean energy will create significant economic growth," Bonamici said in a press release.

Time is running out to make long-overdue investments in our country's growing community of LGBTQ+ elders, who have spent their lives breaking barriers and blazing the path toward equality for the generations who follow. In our roles as a member of Congress who is passionate about addressing the needs of older LGBTQ+ Americans, and as the CEO of the nation's largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ older people, we know this moment is a rare opportunity.

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, who represents Oregon's 1st Congressional District, shared a thread on Twitter, recalling that she had visited New York just days before the attack and had taken a photo of her children in front of the Twin Towers. She said, "As we reflect on this anniversary, let us recommit to doing what makes our communities stronger – engaging in daily acts of kindness, spending time with loved ones, and creating a welcoming place for all."

Gail Greenman took the reins this week at the WEA, a business advocacy group in Washington and west Clackamas counties. Greenman, who lives in West Linn, previously worked as director of national affairs for the Oregon Farm Bureau, a lobbying position. The WEA convenes regional meetings, including representatives from the business and nonprofit communities, elected officials, and bureaucrats from throughout Portland's Westside suburbs. The group also presents programs open to both members and non-members, such as an upcoming virtual forum at 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 17, with U.S. Rep.

Workforce training programs and Pell Grants need to be robustly funded in President Joe Biden‘s broad $3.5 trillion spending package, Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee said Thursday as they debated the panel's portion of the tax and spending bill. Representative Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon said she feared Senate Democrats would "significantly decrease" an $80 billion increase to workforce development in the bill and urged them to match that amount.

Recently an Oregon mother told me that "if child care crumbles, if it gets even a fraction more difficult to find, then our collective ability to work crumbles too." Finding quality care for her children was so time-consuming it felt like a second job. Even though she eventually found a pre-school for her older child, she had to rely on a combination of babysitters and family for her infant because care for very young children is expensive and difficult to find.

Home care workers and consumers shared their daily lives with members of Congress to urge them to support a $400 billion investment in care that would make it easier for seniors and people with disabilities to get the care they need, and create good, union jobs for care workers. In Oregon, SEIU 503 members Gloria Arroyo Martínez and José Arroyo welcomed Rep. Suzanne Bonamici as they spent a day caring for their 31-year-old son Oscar. "Families like ours rely on care. That's why I'm asking you to fight for good union home care jobs," said Gloria.