News about the work I'm doing in my district and in the legislature.
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On Feb 20, a Strong Schools, Strong Oregon rally was held on the Capitol steps. It was put together by Education Oregon. It is good to see so many people interested in the political process. Left to right are Kate Brown, Laurie Monnes Anderson and Diane Rosenbaum.
On Friday Feb 18, Senator Monnes Anderson addressed the Oregon State Senate about her Buy American bill. This bill will permit transit agencies to give preference to American made parts. This common-sense change will give Oregon’s communities greater control over how their public resources are spent and will contribute toward the creation and ongoing sustainability of good, well-paying jobs in Oregon and nationwide. This is a jobs bill and it passed unanimously.
Read about Senate Bill 1556 on the web.
Watch a YouTube video of the speech here.
Senator Monnes Anderson voted for Senate Bill 1580, which passed the Senate on Feb 14. It is the health care transformation bill which will improve the way our state delivers care to Oregonians in need. I voted yes because it will cut waste and save money on health care costs. Dollars can be saved by increasing preventative care and decreasing emergency room visits.
Read her floor speech here.
A YouTube video is available in this link.
The Thibodeaux family visited on Feb 14, 2012. Debbie has two daughters, Michaela age 7 and Jordan age 9. They choose to use virtual schools. It was nice to see them.
The Oregon Health Authority published a document describing how health care costs can be reduced by over three billion dollars over five years.
Here is a report describing savings resulting from health reform -
http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OHPB/health-reform/docs/cco-fin-analysis-exec.pdf?ga=t
"Every loss of a home from foreclosure is a tragedy, but for a family to lose a home that could have been saved through mediation or other means is worse than a tragedy," said Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, who co-sponsored SB 1562 and SB 1564.
Read the Statesman Journal article here -
Here is the Oregon Capitol News story -
http://oregoncapitolnews.com/blog/2012/02/06/health-care-reform-the-devil-is-in-the-details/
The Senate Health Care Committee passed Senate Bill 1580, which would approve Oregon Health Authority's coordinated care organizations.
Read the Oregonian article here -
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/02/reforms_and_miniature_horses_u.html
On February 3, the Senate Health Care Committee passed out Senate bill 1580, the transformation bill. The next step is a vote of the Oregon Senate. The Oregonian newspaper article is here -
http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2012/02/oregon_senate_committee_moves.html
On February 2, 2012 the Oregonian ran an article about Governor Kitzhaber’s health reform bill. SB 1580 will overhaul the way health care providers get paid from Medicare. It would allow coordinated care organizations to form. You can read the full story here –
http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2012/02/high_stakes_power_struggles_as.html
On February 1 the Oregonian published an article about health care overhaul. Read the article below-
On Wednesday January 26, 2012, Senator Monnes Anderson toured the Portland Habitation Center. This center has a factory floor where boots, light fixtures and other things are made. They also employ many disabled people. We applaud the good work that Portland Habitation Center is doing.
I wrote a Christmas letter for 2011.
You can read it here -
On December 8, 2011 Senator Monnes Anderson went to the Gresham Armory to speak about substance abuse. The Greater Gresham Area Prevention Partnership (GGAPP) sponsored the event. The news release is linked below -
https://secure.dlccweb.com/o/5168/images/meeting Nov 15 2011.pdf
The Oregon Insurance Exchange will hopefully allow insurance customers to shop for the best deal on health insurance. Some information is available on their website.
On November 21, 2011 Senator Monnes Anderson toured a free dental event put on by the Oregon Dental Association. This 3 day event, in the Oregon Convention Center, is a chance for low income people to get free dental work. The event in 2010 helped over 1500 patients, over 7000 procecures were performed, and all in all over $800,000 worth of treatment was provided. Hats off to the people who make this possible. You can read details at:
On November 11, 2011 Senator Monnes Anderson gave a Veteran's day speech at 1 pm. Mayor Shane Bemis also gave a speech. The announcement in the Gresham outlook is here, under Gresham Heroes Memorial Service:
http://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/story.php?story_id=132045868535415300
A Washington State legislator invited Senator Monnes Anderson to present about Oregon's Health Insurance Exchange. On November 8, Senator Monnes Anderson presented to the Washington State Joint Select Committee on Health Reform Implementation. The meeting was at the Vancouver Library. She described the Oregon Insurance Exchange.
Here is a link to the Oregon Insurance Exchange website -
http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/health-insurance-exchange.shtml
On November 8, 2011 Senator Monnes Anderson traveled to the Library in Vancouver Washington. There was a meeting of the Washington Joint Legislative Select Committee on Health Reform Implementation. Monnes Anderson helped explain what we are doing in Oregon. The agenda of the meeting can be found in a link below -
https://secure.dlccweb.com/o/5168/images/meeting Nov 8 2011.pdf
