My experience at the White House
Oregon State Legislature sent this bulletin at 11/22/2023 09:17 AM PST
Friends,
As we rapidly approach Thanksgiving (already?!), I’ve been reflecting on the things I’m most grateful for–and I’ve got a long list. But in this newsletter, I wanted to share with you a special experience I had last week in Washington D.C., including a memorable visit to the White House. I feel truly thankful to my community for the opportunity to represent them and serve as a state legislator. Wishing you all a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday.
White House Visit
I don’t love wearing suits–I strongly prefer jeans. But when you’re a freshman legislator and you get invited to the White House, you try to dress like you belong there.
I was fortunate to be invited by the White House to a briefing alongside legislators and mayors from across the country–Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty and I represented Oregon. Representing the Biden Administration were several of the President’s most senior advisors in the White House: Tom Perez, Mitch Landrieu, Stef Feldman (Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention), Paul Friedrichs (Director of Pandemic Preparedness and Response), and Gene Sperling. These folks are heavy hitters from the President’s inner circle, and they provided some useful information for state and local leaders.
As Tom Perez said, “This is a moment of grave peril–but a moment of remarkable opportunity.”
Here are some highlights from the briefing:
- Mitch Landrieu explained that trillions of dollars will flow from the federal government into the states in the coming months and years as a result of several pieces of monumental legislation: the American Rescue Plan Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. These are truly historic investments.
- Around 90% of these dollars will ultimately be spent by state and local government (that’s us). It’s estimated these investments will create 14 million new jobs. Oregon has already accessed some of these resources–but we will have many more opportunities in the years to come.
- Just in time for holiday gatherings, the federal government is sending out a new round of four free COVID tests in the mail–claim yours here: www.COVIDtests.gov.
- There has been an increase in the spread of preventable diseases because of immunization hesitancy, including measles. Shockingly, there was a case of polio in New York in 2022 that left a man paralyzed. Dr. Friedrichs spent his career in the military–he is a retired Major General in the Air Force. He emphasized our responsibility to clearly provide information about immunizations to parents. A great federal resource can be found here: Vaccines for Children Program.
- Gene Sperling, who served as the Director of the National Economic Council for Presidents Clinton and Obama, spoke about learning the lessons from previous economic recessions–and applying them in his work as Coordinator for the American Rescue Plan ($1.9 trillion). While there is more work to do, the early results are promising: record-low foreclosure rates, evictions below historic levels, and the longest streak of unemployment below 4% in 50 years. Additionally, the United States has the highest economic growth and lowest inflation of all G-7 countries.
- Stef Feldman spoke about the work being done to partner with states to curb gun violence, including extreme risk protection orders. A colleague shared about his work on “smart guns” at the state level.
NewDEAL Leaders Conference
I feel incredibly lucky to have been selected as a member of the NewDEAL program, alongside some high-caliber legislators and local elected leaders from across the country. I learned a ton. Here are some highlights:
- “54% of America’s young people have never seen a cow in real life.” That’s what David McCullough III told us–he’s the founder of an incredible organization called the American Exchange Project, which connects American kids to other parts of the country with geographies and cultures vastly different from the ones they grew up with. Think “foreign exchange students” – but domestically. I spoke with him afterward and told him I was extremely interested in bringing them to Oregon for an in-state exchange program (which he said is definitely possible). This is one of the most divided and polarized moments our country has experienced in decades–this program is one way we can build empathy, understanding, and relationships across our state.
- Adar Cohen, a mediator who has worked in incredibly high stakes, high pressure environments, spoke about the importance of establishing trust and connection first–before having difficult conversations (an excellent reminder for people working in politics). He said that curiosity is a key ingredient to doing this well, and urged us to ask really good, unexpected questions. One great one that has stuck with me: “What do people get wrong about you?”
- There were a couple of great breakout sessions–but the one that was most informative for me was called “Climate Change: Preparing Communities for New Federal Investments” that included Dan Carol, who worked in the Kitzhaber Administration, and now works as the Senior Director of the Center for Financial Markets at the Milken Institute. It got a bit wonky, but I think one high-point takeaway is this: we need to figure out how to “de-risk” clean energy and other critical infrastructure projects using public dollars to stimulate development. The Inflation Reduction Act is a tremendously impactful new tool for states and cities to help accomplish this. Here are a couple of resources: www.10Kcommunities.org and www.communityinfrastructurecenter.org
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
On my final day in DC, I had a few hours before I needed to head to the airport, so I went to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was one of the most impactful experiences I’ve had in years.
It’s a huge building–and the main exhibit starts by entering a line where you pick up an identification card with the name, photo, and story of a person who experienced the Holocaust. You then get on an elevator and head to the fourth floor–on the way up, they play a short video of an American veteran who liberated one of the concentration camps describing his disbelief at what he saw. I was emotional before I stepped off the elevator.
The displays–videos, photos, timelines, audio, artifacts, models, and more–can be graphic and incredibly difficult to look at. But they are real. To me, it’s important for us to see what really happened, despite how gruesome and depressing it may be. President Eisenhower described why:
The things I saw beggar description. … The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick ... . I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to “propaganda.”
Tremendous foresight from the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe. He then cabled back to the US requesting members of Congress and journalists to come and bear witness to the atrocities in the camps. I think the same is true intergenerationally–we need to see and experience the horrors of the Holocaust to remember and, hopefully, do something about it.
I think everyone walking out of the museum carries big feelings and emotions, with lots to process and reflect on. I will be thinking through my experience for awhile (including the temporary exhibit about what’s going on today, right now, in Myanmar, where the United States has determined that genocide has occurred).
Thank you for reading–I know this week’s wasn’t a traditional newsletter, but it was a particularly impactful experience in DC for me, and I wanted to share why. We’ll get back to our regular newsletter programming of events, legislation, and the like after Thanksgiving.
I hope you have time to laugh, rest and eat great food with your family this week.
With gratitude,
Ben Bowman
Oregon State Representative
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P.S. This Saturday is Small Business Saturday, and next Tuesday is Giving Tuesday! Please consider supporting businesses and nonprofits in our community this week as you prepare for holiday. Willamette Week’s GiveGuide is a great resource for nonprofit donations. The Tigard Chamber of Commerce has information about businesses in Tigard and the Beaverton Chamber of Commerce for Beaverton!