At my town hall meetings and visits across Oregon this month, I heard many concerns about the GOP’s plan to significantly cut Medicaid. Medicaid cuts don’t just affect patients covered by Medicaid; they will affect the health care system in ways that will have catastrophic consequences for everyone.

The local hospital and clinic leaders I met with were clear: Oregon’s hospitals and clinics are already struggling financially, and the GOP’s cuts would force them to stop providing some services, reduce staff, and, especially with smaller rural facilities, even close their doors. People still get sick when they don’t have insurance, but too often they go without preventive or primary care. This leads to worsening health conditions and overcrowding of emergency rooms.

I joined with Senator Wyden, Representative Bynum, SEIU, and several Oregonians on Juneteenth to speak out against slashing Medicaid funding.

Cutting Medicaid is irresponsible, inhumane, and immoral, and I will fight these cuts in every way I can. I will continue standing with Oregonians to defend our values and commit to improving—not cutting—access to health care.

Hearing from Oregonians

Thanks to all the Oregonians who attended one of my recent town hall meetings. The people I heard from were overwhelmingly opposed to Trump’s reckless actions that threaten civil rights, the economy, public safety, and national security. Your perspectives inform my work in Congress, and I hope you’ll continue to share your stories with my office.

I’m committed to doing everything I can to stand up to the Trump administration and GOP’s dangerous agenda.

Working to Save Job Corps

At the end of May we got the abrupt and shocking news that the Department of Labor was “pausing” the Job Corps program, laying off staff, and sending students home within days, right before graduation season. My office was flooded with anxious calls and messages from people who are distraught. The Trump Administration and DOGE have made many bad decisions, but this one is especially short-sighted.

Congress created Job Corps in 1964 as a program in the Department of Labor, and over the decades Job Corps has opened doors of opportunity for millions of students by providing skills training matched to in-demand jobs in the region. There are more than 120 Job Corps sites, most of them residential. Job Corps has been a lifeline for students ages 16-24 who haven’t found their footing in traditional high schools. Many Job Corps students were previously homeless or in foster homes, and Job Corps gave them a home and hope and a future.

Before my town hall meeting in Seaside, I spoke with Tongue Point Job Corps students and staff in a meeting at Clatsop Community College. I heard many stories about how Job Corps changes lives, and how closing the program would harm students, staff, and the broader North Coast community and economy.

A federal judge in New York heard arguments in a case challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to shut down the Job Corps program this month. The judge recently issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the Trump administration from shutting down Job Corps during the lawsuit, stating that “there can be no difference between termination and closure here, where the DOL has gutted the Job Corps centers so as to make them inoperable.”

Please keep up the pressure and keep speaking out about Job Corps. I will continue to hold the DOL and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer accountable.

Responding to ongoing conflict in the Middle East

I am devastated by the ongoing violence in the Middle East and the increasing civilian casualties. I continue to call for diplomacy and immediate de-escalation to bring stability to the region. The U.S. should be doing everything possible to avoid a dangerous and costly war with Iran. Instead, Trump’s dangerous actions will further inflame violence and risk the lives of U.S. servicemembers.

The President does not have the authority to enter into war without Congressional approval—it is unconstitutional. To begin a war is among the most consequential decisions a nation can make, affecting its troops, civilians, and the world. The American people deserve to have their representatives play their proper role in our constitutional government, especially involving a decision of such enormous gravity. I support the bipartisan War Powers resolution led by Reps. Khanna and Massie, which would reaffirm that Congress has sole power to declare war.

Iran should never have the capability to develop a nuclear weapon. In 2015 I voted for a diplomatic solution and in favor of the Iran Nuclear Agreement to avoid this type of confrontation and violence in the Middle East and to protect the world from the dangers of a nuclear Iran. Iran was complying with the terms of the agreement and we had an international coalition in place to hold them accountable. But in 2017 Donald Trump ended the agreement, and he did it without getting a vote from Congress.

Without our international coalition in place, Iran once again advanced its nuclear capabilities, and the UN Atomic Watchdog Agency recently censured Iran for not complying with its nonproliferation obligations. The U.S. should immediately return to negotiations and focus on reaching a resolution that will prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon without additional bombing.

ICYMI

I questioned Education Secretary Linda McMahon during a committee hearing
I visited the Oregon Zoo, met baby elephant Tula-Tu, and learned more about their conservation programs
I spoke with Ms. Frazzled about the Education hearing with Sec. McMahon
I hosted Rep. Maxwell Frost for a conversation with young leaders
I joined local leaders for a roundtable discussion on the Trump administration and GOP threats to gender-affirming care

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