Politics
Democrats warn of lost opportunities as GOP-led Senate walkout persists
Oregonians have much to lose if the legislative session ends by June 25 without a functioning Senate that can vote on bills, Democrats warned Tuesday. The GOP-led Senate walkout is preventing votes on bills intended to benefit average Oregonians from urban Portland to rural eastern Oregon. Examples run the gamut: Bills held up by the […]
U.S. House committee approves bills on whole milk, condemns sheltering migrants in schools
By Ariana Figueroa WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee on Tuesday passed several bills that are a rebuke of not only the Biden administration’s policies on immigration, child nutrition and health care, but also regulations from the Obama era. The committee passed a resolution that condemns the use of public schools to […]
Oregon Attorney General investigating Fox News for possible lawsuit
Oregon’s attorney general is investigating the parent company of Fox News with the intent of suing over possible losses to state employee retirement funds because the channel broadcast false claims about the 2020 election. The investigation, which Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced Monday, is tied to an April settlement of nearly $800 million in a […]
Child care advocates say Oregon’s proposed budget isn’t enough to move the needle
Legislators are considering a proposal that would allocate about $1.3 billion to Oregon’s new Department of Early Learning and Care to tackle child care needs across the state, but advocates say an additional $70 million is needed. House Bill 5013 outlines the state’s plans for agency operations and statewide programs in the next two years. […]
Hard to read summaries, supposedly behind Senate walkout, could easily be fixed
Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, and leader of the Oregon Senate Republicans who in effect have staged another quorum-denying walkout, has acknowledged the obvious: The walkout was about the content of a group of bills, about policy choices, not a technical issue of whether their summaries met legal requirements. Before moving on from what clearly was […]
Fines not deterring absent Republican senators as walkout persists
So far, $325 daily fines are not swaying Republican senators to return to floor sessions and end their walkout. Last Thursday, Senate Democrats agreed to the fines, starting Monday, to compel senators to return. But that plan appears to have failed: On Monday, the Republican-led boycott continued, preventing the chamber from doing business. Nineteen senators […]
Federal trial on Oregon gun control Measure 114 begins Monday
A federal judge will start hearing arguments Monday in a lawsuit that may determine the fate of a voter-passed law to regulate how Oregonians own firearms and ban ammunition magazines with more than 10 rounds. In November, Oregon voters passed Measure 114, which is intended to help stem the scourge of gun violence and mass […]
Unofficial GOP-run oversight committee packed by Oregonians telling Republicans to end walkout
A handful of Senate Republicans, in the fifth week of their walkout and facing the looming threat of hundreds of dollars in fines, found their way back to a cramped hearing room in the state Capitol on Thursday evening. They joined a few House Republicans for a meeting of an unofficial legislative committee, intent on […]
U.S. Senate sends Biden debt limit legislation ahead of Monday default deadline
WASHINGTON — The bipartisan debt limit bill is on its way to President Joe Biden after the U.S. Senate voted Thursday to clear the measure for his signature. The 63-36 vote followed several amendment votes, all of which were rejected. Biden is expected to quickly sign the package, preventing a default on the debt that […]
Supporters of Oregon ‘right to rest’ bill vow to keep fighting
Supporters of a scuttled bill to allow homeless people to camp in any public spaces vowed to keep trying during a small rally outside the Oregon Capitol on Thursday. Rep. Farrah Chaichi, D-Beaverton, and her legislative assistant were among 14 people who showed up to the protest over House Bill 3501, a measure to decriminalize […]
Oregon senators joining walkout will face fines for future unexcused absences
Oregon senators participating in the GOP-led walkout will need to decide Monday whether to return to floor sessions or face daily $325 fines. The walkout has denied the Senate a quorum since May 3, halting votes on bills addressing housing, drug addiction, public education and other issues. On Thursday, Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, […]
U.S. House approves debt limit package, sending it to Senate days before default deadline
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House took a broadly bipartisan vote Wednesday night on the debt limit package, sending it to the U.S. Senate where lawmakers are expected to vote quickly to clear the measure. The bill would suspend the nation’s borrowing limit through Jan. 1, 2025 and set caps on discretionary spending for two years. […]