Turning the Oregon Way up to 11(01)

This month, I held my 1,101st town hall (my 36th of 2024) to keep my pledge to hold an open-to-all town hall in every nook and cranny, in each and every county of Oregon, every year.  

I’m proud to say, with direct input from Oregonians, I can always bring back common-sense ideas to D.C. and write them into bills, like those historic bills recently passed under the Biden-Harris Administration: Forward-thinking bills that build up communities and create good-paying, locally sourced American jobs.

Below are some of the challenges I hear from Oregonians, followed by recent, logical solutions that resulted from these valuable conversations:  

Clean Environment and jobs: The Inflation Reduction Act is the largest federal investment in climate in U.S. history, creating opportunities for Oregon companies to benefit by converting to, or generating, alternative energy and fuel sources, like wind and solar that are abundant here in Oregon and can’t be outsourced. This not only builds a better environment today and into the future, it also generates good-paying, sustainable jobs throughout the state. 

State resiliency during and after crises, transportation safety and more jobs: The historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law adds economic muscle throughout our state with much-needed federal investments generating new and solid jobs that strengthen the economy in all Oregon communities. I'm gratified to have worked on this legislation providing significant resources that have helped deal with destructive wildfires and severe drought, rebuild rural Oregon, bolster access to public transit and protect clean drinking water. All of this while creating more good, local jobs throughout the state. 

School funding and supporting the counties that support America’s public lands:  I authored the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Program in 2000 to financially assist counties with public, tax-exempt forestlands with funds that support their infrastructure that in turn supports every American’s ability to get onto those public lands – be it for business, pleasure, or cultural necessity. The Senate just renewed the bill by a unanimous vote, sending it to the House. In addition to supporting county services like roads, these payments are critical to maintain education programs in Oregon and across 41 other states and over 700 counties nationwide. It bears repeating: This common-sense legislation spurred by conversations with Oregonians makes so much sense it got a unanimous vote at a time it’s hard to get a unanimous vote to order apple pie in the Senate.  

Women’s Healthcare: As Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, I have introduced legislation to address a rising trend of hospitals in rural and underserved areas closing their labor and delivery units with significant consequences for expectant parents, families, and their local communities. Too many rural communities have become maternity deserts, leaving families without access to care. It’s time we reverse this trend and offer some stability to rural hospitals so they can keep their labor and delivery ward doors open. This legislation will give rural hospitals the means to continue serving their communities, and ensure that large hospital chains can't exploit the funds for profit without providing crucial healthcare in underserved communities.

I will continue to watchdog any attempts to dismantle women’s reproductive freedom or the Affordable Care Act, ensuring every Oregon maintains their rights to healthcare.  

Behavioral health: It’s no secret that being a teenager is hard. I’m hearing how much COVID worsened the feelings of social isolation and mental health challenges young people are battling. What was a four-alarm fire, exploded during the pandemic into an inferno.  

Mental health is a top priority for me. That’s why I led a bipartisan initiative as part of the gun safety legislation in 2022 that included a number of policies to improve youth mental health through Medicaid and CHIP that I’m proud to say were worked on within the Finance Committee, including:

  • Tools and resources for states to expand mental health care at schools; 

  • Guidance to expand telehealth; and 

  • Stronger enforcement of Medicaid’s gold-standard coverage for kids for the 40 million children enrolled in the program.  

Housing: I want every Oregonian to have a real opportunity to buy a home. That’s why  I’m leading efforts on the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act and the Workforce Housing Tax Credit bipartisan bill to deliver much-needed relief for low- and middle-income families to help get them over the threshold into a home of their own. 

This is just skimming the surface of topics I’ve heard from Oregonians and a display of why it’s so important that lawmakers—whether federal, state or local—throw open the doors of government so Oregonians can make their voices heard.  It’s the Oregon Way—turned up to 11.