My first time meeting a U.S. Cabinet Secretary
Oregon State Legislature sent this bulletin at 08/14/2023 12:20 PM PDT
Hello Friends,
Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. Here’s another update from “the interim” – in between legislative sessions. Thanks for staying up to date with my office!
Please Support Deputy Dozé’s Recovery
On July 26th, Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Chuck Dozé was shot several times in the line of duty in Tualatin. He sustained life-threatening injuries and underwent multiple surgeries. Fortunately, he returned to his home last Tuesday. There is a GoFundMe page to support Deputy Dozé and his family. Please consider donating to support him in his recovery.
Round Table with the Health and Human Services Secretary
Earlier this month, I had the honor of participating in a roundtable discussion on Oregon’s behavioral health workforce with the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Senator Jeff Merkley, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, and my Congresswoman, Andrea Salinas, at Tigard High. The roundtable included nearly 20 stakeholders from across the region, ranging from labor leaders to higher education administrators to healthcare professionals.
Senator Merkley, Congresswoman Salinas, Secretary Becerra, Congresswoman Bonamici, and I participating in the roundtable at Tigard High School
The discussion was wide-ranging, but many of the policy solutions mentioned, including non-traditional certification pathways for social workers and expanding billable services, are actually within the state and local governments’ jurisdictions. I am looking forward to partnering with our congressional delegation, federal officials, and local partners to move forward on strengthening the behavioral health workforce in Oregon.
President Biden’s Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and I in the Tigard Rite Aid
At a later event, Secretary Becerra and the delegation visited the Rite Aide just off Main Street in downtown Tigard. They discussed how the Inflation Reduction Act has mandated lower costs of insulin and immunizations, and it enables the federal government to (finally) negotiate drug prices. Americans will experience these negotiated prices in the next couple of years, saving us thousands of dollars every year.
Fun fact: This was my first time meeting a cabinet secretary–at least an active one. On a work trip in 2017, I ran into former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen at a hotel restaurant in Maine, and he was gracious enough to chat with me. Cohen, a Republican, is a deeply patriotic man who was a maverick in the Senate. He served for four years leading the DOD in the Clinton Administration.
The Eastern Oregon Economic Summit
Earlier this month was also the annual Eastern Oregon Economic Summit in La Grande. Kudos to Representative Bobby Levy, who represents the La Grande area, for organizing the opportunity. During the Summit, I participated in a tour of the timber industry in the area, visiting the Woodgrain Island Particleboard Plant, Woodgrain La Grande Sawmill, and the Boise Cascade Elgin Plywood Operation. I got to spend the day with folks from across the state, including Hermiston Mayor Dr. David Drotzmann, Columbia County Commissioner Margaret Magruder, and other leaders from industry, government, and the nonprofit sector.
As we expand housing production in Oregon, I look forward to working with Representative Levy and my colleagues in the Legislature to strengthen Eastern Oregon’s economy while also making housing more affordable. Wood products are literally the building blocks to create more housing supply, and we should work to sustainably and responsibly use the resources here, in Oregon, to solve our own problems and build up local industries.
Visiting a wood products facility in Eastern Oregon
National Night Out!
August 1 was National Night Out, and I have to give a huge shoutout to my friend and neighbor, Jimmy Brown, for hosting an awesome gathering in the Cook Park neighborhood. I hope you got to participate in an event in your neighborhood. My (brief) remarks to neighbors were about how isolation is one of the major factors driving polarization and division in this country–and opportunities to build community like National Night Out are the antidote to this challenge. We should do it more often!
National Night Out event with Councilor Maureen Wolf, Council President Yi-Kang Hu, Councilor Jeanette Shaw, Congresswoman Andrea Salinas, Tualatin Valley Water Board Member Carl Fisher, Mayor Heidi Lueb, me, and Chief Kathy McAlpine
Taiwanese Association of Greater Portland
I was grateful to be invited to the Taiwanese Association of Greater Portland’s summer picnic by Tigard Council President Yi-Kang Hu. It was awesome to see Joseph Lu again there (he is the man that I mentioned in a previous newsletter who is launching a battery factory in Tualatin that could employ up to 400 people). It was a pleasure to meet other members of the Taiwanese American community.
Tigard Council President Hu and I at the Taiwanese Association Picnic
End of Session Joint Townhall
I wasn’t sure how many people would make it to our end-of-session Town Hall on a beautiful summer day, but I was pleased to see a crowd of folks take some time to join Rep. Neron, Senator Woods’s office, and me to talk about the session. I shared my three-act play metaphor for the session (inspired by this episode of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s “Wiser than Me” podcast with Jane Fonda). I appreciated the audience’s engagement and the thoughtful policy ideas we hear–spanning from healthcare regulation to transit access around affordable housing.
Taking constituent questions at our end-of-session joint town hall
Mark your calendars!
This month, I’m holding a constituent coffee at Symposium Coffee. You’re invited! I’ll start with an overview of the 2023 Session and what it will mean for Tigard. We’ll then open up the floor for questions–anything I’m unable to answer, we will follow up with afterward.
Constituent Coffee
1 PM on Sunday, August 27th
Symposium Coffee
12345 SW Main St, Tigard, OR 97223
Bethlehem House of Bread Anniversary Celebration
For some reason, I agreed to compete in a hot sauce competition at the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Bethlehem House of Bread, a local non-profit food bank and community support center for those in need. Come watch me regret my decision in real time–for a good cause!
1 PM on Saturday, September 9th
9055 SW Locust St, Tigard, OR 97223
Local Highlights - Two Organizations to Know
IMPACT Immigration
A couple of weeks ago, I met with IMPACT Immigration, a local non-profit doing incredible work providing mental health evaluations for immigrants in Oregon.
IMPACT Immigration provides high-quality psychological evaluations for all immigrants or refugees, regardless of their ability to pay. Evaluations are conducted in multiple languages and document the human story of each immigrant. The report is then included in legal status applications so that immigration attorneys can represent immigrants more successfully and families can remain together.
Training is also available to licensed mental health professionals who want to specialize in this work.
For more information see www.IMPACTimmigration.org.
Washington County Master Gardener Association
At one of my recent constituent office hours, I met with some local leaders of the Washington County Master Gardener Program. The Program’s volunteers provide relevant, research-based education and outreach to the public about horticulture and household pests, promoting sustainable practices that minimize risks to human health and the environment. The Washington County Master Gardener Association (WCMGA) sponsors a wide variety of gardening–related demonstrations, lectures, seminars, and workshops in various Washington County Oregon locations. They are an awesome local resource.
Check out their upcoming events here!
Kayaking with a Neighbor!
Lastly, I hope everyone is enjoying the weather and spending some time outdoors. Here’s a snapshot of my Saturday kayak trip with my friend, Rep. Courtney Neron from neighboring House District 26. We couldn’t decide whose district to meet in, so we met in the literal middle, on the mighty Tualatin River, which borders our two districts 😂. We kayaked until our hands were blistered (not recommended), despite the pond-like pace of the water below us.
Let the record show that we entered the river from Cook Park, firmly in House District 25.
Thanks for reading,
Ben Bowman
Oregon State Representative
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