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With ongoing need for small businesses and individuals to seek help, the House Republican Office has compiled a list of resources and links to find them. The difficulty of this time comes down to knowing where to get the services you need. Please feel free to reach out to my office if anything is unclear, we are here to help. Business Oregon has provided a Small Business Navigator tool and the Veterans Department has launched a Veterans Resource Navigator. Those links are added below as quick reference. These pages are continuously updated with new information so be sure to check them frequently.
COVID-19 Economic Resources page
Small Business Navigator
Veteran Resource Navigator
Finally, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program has been streamlined and digitized. As of July 17th, the PUA online filing system is now functioning in a completely digital format instead of a manual system. This is good news as they try to get the backlog of claims processed by August 8th. The Oregon Employment Department recommends everyone use the new digital system to fill out their PUA weekly intake and certification forms. Although, if you have not received any PUA benefits or confirmation of received documents, a representative from OED may call to inform you that restarting your initial PUA claim may be necessary. Otherwise, please use the new digital system for weekly benefit claims moving forward. Furthermore, if your PUA claim has been delayed longer than 6 weeks, please use the direct contact form to get your claim reviewed by a specialist. The links below will direct you.
Old claim direct contact form (***Only use if your regular Unemployment Insurance claim is older than 4 weeks and only if your Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claim is older 6 weeks. IF either initial claim is not that old then it will only slow down the system further.)
File a new claim (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Unemployment Insurance)
I know there are many still waiting for assistance, and many that are still in desperate situations because of the Governor’s mandates stemming from COVID. #ICYMI: The $600/week Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), ended on July 25, 2020.
Retroactive payments:If you have not yet been paid for the weeks between March 29 and July 25, you will still receive the additional $600 per week for those weeks once your claim is processed, for every week eligible. It is likely, you will get several payments at once.
If you are still feeling impacts by the shutdown and need assistance, please know there is a valuable resource: 211. For help in paying rent, utility bills, food or for info on health plans. Go to 211: https://www.211info.org/ call 2-1-1 to get more information. Free interpretation provided.
Click here for more information about unemployment: https://unemployment.oregon.gov/
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Governor Brown and her Healthy Schools Reopening Council have announced new guidance for how schools will look this fall. The new guidance is from Oregon Health Authority in collaboration with the Education Department. Teachers and administrators are aware of the difficulties the new mask requirements will impose on grade school children. This will be an ongoing and evolving policy as time goes on. There will be another announcement the week of August 11th with more information on how classes will be taught online, in-person or as a mixture of both. For more information on how the Greater Albany Public School system is handling the reopening process or to contact them with concerns, follow the links below.
Contact form for GAPS
Greater Albany Public Schools Website
A recent Secretary of State audit pointed out that nearly 1 in 5 mandatory reports made to the authorities about child abuse came from teachers and school administrators. With the lock down and school closures there has been a major drop of reports made around child welfare. Court Appointed Special Advocates is another route for children to be heard and to feel like they have someone to turn to. With visitation restrictions and fear of transmitting the disease CASA volunteers are decreasing and unable to meet case load requirements. A projected flood of new reports is expected and having the volunteers to respond is needed now more than ever. Please consider becoming a volunteer or donating today by following the link below.
The Emergency Board met on July 14, 2020 to respond to several financial crisis’ facing Oregonians. The following is a list of the allocation of funds.
- $25.6 million in emergency assistance for small businesses facing financial shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This supports businesses with no more than 25 employees that have not received support under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or other provisions of the federal CARES Act.
- $50 million to support music, culture, and community venues and organizations that have been closed, cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic.
- $62 million to the Oregon Cares Fund for Black Relief and Resiliency to provide economic relief to Black individuals and businesses.
- $30 million to the COVID-19 Leave Fund for workers who contract or have been exposed to the virus but do not qualify for traditional sick leave.
- $35 million to fund $500 Emergency Relief Checks to Oregonians who are still waiting for unemployment benefits.
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Oregon has a state constitutional requirement (Article IX, Section 2, 4, & 6) to maintain a balanced budget. The Coronavirus Pandemic has impacted every citizen which has a downstream affect on the revenue the state government will receive from taxes. Addressing this issue is key and the House Republican Leader made a statement to ensure that Oregonian priorities are met during these difficult times. Check out the full statement below.
House Republican Leader Statement
Governor Brown gave a Press Conference on Wednesday, July 22nd, and announced new orders that will take effect Friday, July 24th. First, the Governor is expanding the face covering requirement to include children 5 and older. All Oregonians 5 and older must wear masks in public indoor spaces and outdoors where physical distancing cannot be maintained. Second, gathering size limits for indoor venues is now maxed out 100 people (previously 250). This includes churches while outdoor groups are maintained at 250 at this time. Lastly, all restaurants and bars must end service at 10 pm. The House Republican Caucus has compiled and organized a webpage for daily updates and current information. Check out the links below and be sure to sign up for text message updates.
House Republican Caucus COVID update
Special Session is over and my harvest has begun, and I am trying to keep you all updated from the field. The job of a farmer never rests even as my tractors keep giving me fits and I wish for better cell service. But I want to take a moment to share my account of what felt like another short session. I missed the public engagement at the Capitol and as you know, I want to be as engaging with friends and neighbors as much as possible because that’s my job. The public's input and commentary were not present in this political process and it felt like there was barely a process at all! Granted there were online options and email submissions but that is still not enough in my opinion. Every committee hearing and vote was riddled with technical difficulties that I can only imagine was more frustrating and painful to watch on the other end.
To me, it seemed like we spent more time trying to figure out how to stay physically apart rather than discuss the needs of our citizens. We have a finite amount of money and a budget crisis. Let’s be efficient with it and put us all together once. This way we save time, money, and get help to Oregonians who are in desperate need of it.
Unfortunately, we kicked the can down the road on some central issues. Chief among the forgotten was the $2.7 billion shortfall in our budget (according to the State Economist report, slide 15), addressing the gubernatorial overreach, and of course, the unemployment department debacle. Accountability and transparency are the issues you will continue to hear from me, along with advocating for better management of our agencies, resources and priorities. I hope you hold me to it.
Thank you to all the constituents who have sent my office emails and letters to voice your concerns. We take them very seriously and use them to advocate on your behalf. My virtual door is always open, and I look forward to seeing you all soon, in person, around the capitol, or in our beautiful community! Stay safe and be well.
Talk soon,
 Capitol Phone: 503-986-1415
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-389, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.ShellyBoshartDavis@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/boshartdavis
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