I hope you are staying cool this week. Although temperatures are lower than last year’s heat dome, we know that the heat can be deadly, especially for older people and young children. As we move into August, I want to make sure you know about the resources that are available to you when the weather gets hot.

Multnomah County has a helpful website with links to cooling resources and tips for staying safe in the heat. Washington County also provides an updated list of cooling centers. Clatsop County residents can visit this page, and Yamhill County information can be found here. Columbia County resources can be found here.

In NW Oregon, we’re used to mild summers and it’s been rare for the temperatures to break triple digits. As the climate crisis continues to drive hotter summers, it’s important to invest in more heat-resilient infrastructure.

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Increasing US Manufacturing and Leadership

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The pandemic has underscored how important our domestic semiconductor supply chain is to transportation, the energy sector, national security, and scientific advancement. I’m pleased the House just sent the CHIPS and Science Act to President Biden’s desk to make a vital investment in domestic manufacturing and in workers in Oregon and across the country. It also includes my legislation to address ocean acidification, expand STEAM education, and advance regional clean energy innovation. Learn more here.

Ending Hunger

The Biden-Harris Administration is convening the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health to find solutions to end hunger, improve access to nutritious foods, and strengthen our nation’s food system. To better understand what is working and what can be improved, I hosted a virtual roundtable discussion on hunger with Oregon’s leading hunger and nutrition advocates.

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You can read my full report based on the experiences of Oregonians and watch the virtual roundtable discussion on hunger I hosted by visiting my hunger webpage. You can also learn more about my efforts to update our federal child nutrition programs, including a bill I recently introduced with the Chair of the Education and Labor Committee, Congressman Bobby Scott. Our Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act will increase access to school meals, expand eligibility for nutrition programs, make sure children are fed during summer breaks, and more.


Protecting Our Rights

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Justice Thomas was clear in his opinion concurring in Dobbs that, despite decades of precedent, he is interested in overturning other fundamental rights based on privacy, like the right to contraception and the right to marry who you love.

I voted to pass the Right to Contraception Act and the Respect for Marriage Act to protect the right to obtain and use birth control and the right to marry who you love regardless of gender or race. The House also passed the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act to make clear that states cannot criminalize, fine, or sue people who go to other states for abortion care. I  led 60 of my colleagues in calling on the Department of Education to use its authority under Title IX to protect students who are pregnant, parenting, or get an abortion.

I will not stop fighting for our reproductive rights. Lives are at stake.

Protecting Our Wildlife

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I started the month with a trip to the Oregon Zoo, a much beloved part of our community. I learned more about the Zoo’s conservation efforts from their dedicated staff (along with getting to feed the animals!). Since 2004, the Zoo has released 51 Oregon Zoo-reared California condors into wild areas in California and Arizona, and has been collaborating with Woodland Park Zoo and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to help the vulnerable Western pond turtle.

I helped the House pass the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act in June, a significant investment in wildlife and habitat conservation that would support the Zoo’s work. I call on the Senate to take it up soon.

ICYMI

 

   

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