Senate Committee to Hold Hearings on Administration of Unemployment Insurance Benefits

SALEM, Ore. – Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) announced today that the Senate Committee on Labor and Business will hold hearings in order to review the Oregon Employment Department’s (OED) administration of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits, including benefits provided under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The committee, chaired by Senator Kathleen Taylor (D-Portland), will meet remotely on Tuesday September 1, Wednesday September 2, and Thursday September 3. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the committee will hear from OED regarding its process for delivering UI benefits to applicants, the complications that it has faced in processing applications and distributing funds, and what the agency’s plans and needs are to improve delivery of benefits. Thursday will be reserved to hear directly from Oregonians who have applied for UI benefits.

“The Oregon Employment Department has a heavy burden,” Senator Courtney said. “It is trying to get unemployment checks out to thousands of Oregonians. The department has been overwhelmed by the demand. I have asked Senator Kathleen Taylor, the chair of the Senate Labor and Business Committee, to conduct hearings to see how the Legislature can assist the department. This is no time for blame or finger pointing. The Executive Branch and the Legislature must all chip in to help.”

Since March, hundreds of thousands of Oregonians have filed for Unemployment Insurance benefits due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act was passed by Congress in late March and provided for an expansion of these benefits to individuals who became fully or partially unemployed during the course of the pandemic. OED continues to address its backlog of unpaid claims to provide Oregonians with regular and pandemic-related Unemployment Insurance benefits.

“I respect the Senate President’s request to hold these hearings and ensure the public and legislators can make certain struggling Oregonians receive the funds they deserve,” said Senator Taylor. “I know the Unemployment Insurance division is overwhelmed and I want to ensure the Legislature is fully informed on how to support their work so they can help individuals and families who are out of work during this public health crisis.”

The Oregon State Capitol is currently closed to the public. The Senate Committee on Labor and Business will hold hearings virtually. They will be streamed on the Oregon Legislative Information website. The committee page can be accessed here: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2019I1/Committees/SLB/Overview.

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Ron Wyden

The Honorable Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator for Oregon. Oregonians know Ron as a senator who listens.  Always citing the need to “throw open the doors of government for Oregonians,” he holds an open-to-all town hall meeting in each of Oregon’s 36 counties each year.  He has won countless awards for his pioneering role in establishing a free and open Internet, is known for his commitment to an open government, having authored the "Stand By Your Ad" law and the resolution ending Senate Secret Holds, and he has been routinely recognized as one of the Senate's foremost health policy thinkers.  Thus far, he has held more than 966 meetings. To continue his pledge for open-to-all town meetings in each county in Oregon each year he serves in the Senate, Oregonians can ask a question at Senator Wyden's on-line town hall streamed on Town Hall Project's Facebook page. Wyden serves on the Committees on Finance, Budget, Intelligence, and Energy and Natural Resources.  He is ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee and the ranking Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Val Hoyle

Oregon’s statewide Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle was elected in May 2018. Previously, she was a State Representative and House Majority Leader. Hoyle spent 25 years working in the bicycle industry in domestic and international trade. She lives outside of Springfield, Oregon with her husband and her dog and has two grown children.

Caddy McKeown

Representative Caddy McKeown (D-Coos Bay) is a fourth generation Coos Bayan. She began her career in public service volunteering for her children’s school and went on to serve on the school board and later on the Board of Commissioners at the International Port of Coos Bay. In 2012, she was elected as State Representative for House District 9. In 2017 she became a Co-Chair of the newly-formed Joint Committee on Transportation. Under her leadership, the Committee passed an historic, statewide transportation package. During her last term, Rep McKeown continued to Co-Chair the Joint Committee on Transportation and served on the House Committee on Economic Development, House Committee on Natural Resources, and the Joint Oregon and Washington Committee on the Interstate 5 Bridge.

David Brock Smith

Representative Brock Smith (R-Port Orford) is a third generation Southwest Oregon resident of the area he now represents. A former Chair of the Curry County Board of Commissioners and the elected chair of the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) District 4 are just two of the positions he has held in his extensive history in local government. In the State Legislature, David serves on multiple House Committees, as well as two Joint Committees with the Oregon State Senate. During the 2019 regular session he served as Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction and was a member of the Joint Ways & Means Sub-Committee on Natural Resources, House Committee on Agriculture and Land Use and the House Committee on Natural Resources. David is also on key State Legislative Task Forces and Commissions. Some of those are: Chair – Oregon Legislature’s Coastal Caucus, and o-Convener Task Force on Sudden Oak Death with State Representative Caddy McKeown (D-Coos Bay).