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To contact me, please click here: Rep.HaiPham@oregonlegislature.gov
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We’re into our third week of our busy five week sprint through session! It’s been a busy, exciting, eventful, and rapid few weeks but I am most optimistic to see real progress.
On opening day, we hit the ground running with a public hearing on one of my priority bills, HB 4091 in House Behavioral Health and Health care! The bill passed the committee unanimously and now heads to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means.
Thank you to Representative Conrad for testifying in support of the bill!
Every session, the Legislature is asked to consider and weigh a number of bills that mandate health plans to cover certain benefits or require payments to providers. Current law requires a report to better understand the social and financial impacts to Oregonians. HB 4091 establishes the Health Insurance Mandate Review Advisory Committee (HIMRAC) to create a report on the social and financial impacts of proposed health insurance mandates on Oregonians.
As a Legislator who serves on the House Behavioral Health Committee, it’s important to me that I have detailed and thorough information on the potential impacts to Oregonians and their health care. We need to have a holistic perspective to make evidence-based decisions that benefit everyone.
By establishing a good process, we can work to eliminate disparities and gaps in health care coverage, increase transparency and strengthen our democratic process. Here’s a great article from the Lund Report on why this is so important.
And on day 2, my other priority bill, HB 4154 which aims to increase Oregon’s Semiconductor Talent Workforce pipeline. I am excited to be championing this bill alongside Representative Bynum and Representative Sosa and thrilled to have bipartisan, bicameral support for the bill.
 To read the full press release visit this link.
When my parents and I arrived in the US as refugees after the Vietnam War, they would take any job they could find - from housekeeping to yard work. It wasn’t until my dad was able to learn English and put himself through school that he could pursue a career at Hewlett Packard in Corvallis that we were able to begin building generational wealth. The opportunity for him to take a competitive, family wage job opened the door for my siblings and I to pursue our own dreams and goals.
Oregon alone is projecting the creation of 6,300 new jobs in the semiconductor industry and 1,000 construction jobs over the next several years. By supporting our K-12, higher education, and advanced programs, among all ages, we can create a pathway for all Oregonians to have stable, family-wage jobs in the semiconductor and manufacturing industry. I am excited for the bipartisan bicameral support on this bill and for making steadfast progress.
A huge thank you to State Representative Nathan Sosa and Representative Wallan for testifying in support of this bill!
I also testified alongside Senator Manning in support of SB 1578, the Oregon Health Care Interpreters bill. I remember as a child during doctor's visits, I had to translate complicated medical information from the doctor in Vietnamese to my parents, which I was understandably not prepared to provide.
Rep Pham and Senator Manning testifying in support of SB 1578
Now as a healthcare professional, it’s essential for me to ensure that I am able to communicate effectively with my patients in their native language, making sure that they are able to access complicated medical information and services. For something as important as medical care, we need certified health care interpreters to ensure that everyone has the same access to information.
It was great to meet with everyone who came to The Ackerlys at Reed’s crossing for my constituent coffee. It’s so important to me to hear from everyone on key issues and have an open discussion. Stay tuned for more in-district events and opportunities!
A special shout out to former Hillsboro Mayor Tom Hughes who came to the event!
With the quick sprint of short session, I’ve been in back to back meetings and having conversations with many of our fantastic advocates who make this work happen. It’s awesome to see so many people come down to the Capitol, meet with legislators, and share their stories.
I had the opportunity to meet with the Mayors Consortium and had a great conversation with Mayors Steve Callaway from the City of Hillsboro, Mayor Jaimie Fender of King City, and Mayor Lacey Beaty of Beaverton. It's important that we work together with state and city governments to hear about what they're seeing directly in our communities and how I can best represent the district in Salem.
More recently, the Vietnamese Dual Language Immersion Program students came to meet with the Vietnamese Caucus! It is so exciting to see so many students of color come to the Capitol and engage in civics.
Meeting with students, advocates, and Benny the Beaver!
Last week was University Day! All seven of Oregon's universities and colleges had come down to the Capitol to advocate for some important priorities - building education pathways for the semiconductor workforce, funding higher education and make college accessible for students, and improving food and housing security. I was surprised run into my alma mater's mascot, Benny the Beaver in the hallway!
Meetings, meetings, meetings!
And of course my office and I have been in many conversations with the community on issues that we are prioritizing this session - from working to build up Oregon's affordable housing supply, ensuring we have adequate childcare for all families, bolstering our behavioral, mental health, and wraparound services, and making sure we have safe communities. Thank you to all of the advocates to made time to meet with me in Salem!
Now that we’re halfway through the session, we have a much sharper focus on the bills that made it through the deadlines. Most recently, this past Monday, February 19th was the last day for policy committees to move bills introduced in their chamber (Senate bills must have made it out of the Senate, and House bills out of the House) with the exception of a few committees that don't adhere to the same deadlines.
Below are some upcoming key dates for the remaining half of session:
Legislative Language Access Resources
The Legislative Policy Research Office (LPRO) is working hard to ensure there is strong language access during our democratic process. It’s essential that all members of the public have access to information about the decisions that are being made in Salem.
American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters are available for all committee hearings, some providing services remotely and some in-person. LPRO also offers spoken language interpretation, translation, and live-captioning services for many languages.
To learn more or to request services, visit the Language Access Services website, email languageaccess@oregonlegislature.gov, or call 503-986-1538
Portland Community College Quickstart Program
With my work in building up the semiconductor talent industry, I am excited to be partnering with universities and community colleges like PCC. They offer a fantastic paid-internship program that gives students an hands-on experience on growing in this field in just 10 days. Opportunities like this one are helping to create a pathway for historically underrepresented workers in the industry - black, indigenous, people of color and women are strongly encouraged to apply.
Want to learn more? Check out this link and take the assessment to get started. You can read this KGW article to learn about the impact of programs like Quickstart.
Small Business Association Economic Injury Disaster Loans (SBA EIDL)
These low-interest loans aim to assist businesses in overcoming the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing due to the disaster. Eligible operational costs covered by the loan include worker pay and benefits, rent, utilities, and debt payments. It's important to note that the loans are not intended to cover physical property damage.
For more detailed information about the loan program, eligibility criteria, and the application process, please visit the SBA loan application page for storm damage found here. We also recommend reading the coverage provided by the Oregonian for a deeper understanding of the available aid and how it aims to support our community's recovery - The article can be found here.
Tax Season Resources
It’s tax season, and the deadline for filing is Monday, April 15th! Be sure to file and file early, below are some helpful resources -
Tax Preparation Resources for Low-Income Oregonians are available for low- to moderate-income taxpayers through a number of trusted programs -
- Free services provided to anyone, with a focus on taxpayers who are over 50 years old and have low to moderate income
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Find a location here or call (888) 227-7669 to learn more
- Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
- Offers free help to people who generally make $60,000 or less, persons with disabilities, and limited English-speaking taxpayers.
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Visit the IRS webpage to learn more
- OR find a location near you using the VITA site locator
- Virtual service is offered in addition to in-person service, mainly located in the Portland metropolitan area
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Visit the website to see if you qualify and make an appointment or call (503) 243-7765 to learn more
- This service offered by United Way can help guide you in filing your own taxes or help prepare your taxes for you if you qualify
- To learn more, visit their website or call the helpline at (866) 698-9435
Free Options for E-Filing Oregon Income Tax Returns are free fillable forms that performs basic calculations and are ideal for taxpayers who don’t need help preparing their returns and want to file electronically.
Child Care Assistance in Beaverton
Are you a childcare provider in Beaverton? Portland Community College (PCC) can provide you with free childcare worker for up to 3 months or 300 hours of work. These students are a part of the Early Education Program at PCC, and have requested the opportunity for work experience. This program is paid for and managed by Westside works, bilingual workers can be requested. After the trial period you are welcome to hire this professional as full-time staff.
To qualify you must:
- Have a childcare center in Beaverton
- Be able to provide a designated onsite supervisor.
To learn more and apply please visit this link.
Scholarship Opportunity
The Oregon Student Aide (OSAC) Scholarship Application provides current and future Oregon students one easy application to apply for multiple scholarships at one time. OSAC awards more than $10 million in scholarships annually through more than 600 scholarships.
The 2024-25 OSAC Scholarship Application opened November 1, 2023. Final deadline is April 1, 2024 at 11:59 PM (PT). To learn more and apply, visit this link.
211 Info
In honor of 2/11 last week, we are sharing 211info which helps families identify, navigate, and connect with local health and social services - available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 211 is a lifeline for so many families who struggle to find services and assistance. Callers can connect with live agents who offer confidential support and live translation services in over 240 languages and help you find the support you need.
211 offers over 25,000 resources and partners with over 2,500 agencies to meet the needs in housing & shelter, utility assistance, food & meals, health care, and consumer & public safety.
To learn more or to access these resources, visit https://www.211info.org/
And as always, please reach out with any questions or concerns, and get involved in the issues you care about. You can reach my office by emailing me at rep.haipham@oregonlegislature.gov or calling 503-986-1436.
Be sure to follow me on social media for more daily updates and alerts about future events:
Facebook: @staterephaipham
Instagram: @rephaipham
Cheers!
 Yours truly,
Representative Hai Pham
House District 36
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1436
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-282, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.HaiPham@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/phamh
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