Dear John,
The Oregon Legislature is currently considering how to balance the state budget and use federal funds from the congressional stimulus package — and we need your help to ensure legislators prioritize investments that will deliver an equitable, green economic recovery for all Oregonians.
From COVID-19 to systemic racism to climate disasters, the crises of the past year have made clear the status quo is not working. Climate change and environmental injustices are only worsening public health outcomes in Oregon, while disproportionately harming low-income and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities.
Join us in urging the Oregon legislature to rebuild a better, healthier, more resilient Oregon for all by investing in policies and programs that create family-wage green jobs, protect public health, and reduce harmful climate pollution. Please join us in voicing support for the programs needed to properly implement the Oregon Climate Action Plan (OCAP), which was launched with Governor Brown’s historic executive order on climate. OCAP needs to be fully funded to ensure a just transition to clean energy is possible for all Oregonians.
Right now, Oregonians like you have a critical opportunity to weigh in and tell the legislature to support a green, equitable economic recovery. Click on your congressional district below, and sign up to provide verbal or written testimony through the link on the committee page. Feel free to use the below sample testimony as guidance!
District 1 - Suzanne Bonamici: olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Committees/JWM/2021-04-14-17-30/Agenda
Wednesday, April 14, 5:30-7:30 pm
District 2 - Cliff Bentz: olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Committees/JWM/2021-04-17-13-00/Agenda
Saturday, April 17, 1:00-3:00 pm
District 3 - Earl Blumenauer: olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Committees/JWM/2021-04-21-17-30/Agenda
Wednesday, April 21, 5:30-7:30 pm
District 4 - Peter DeFazio: [link removed]
Thursday, April 22, 5:30-7:30 pm
District 5 - Kurt Schrader: [link removed]
Saturday, April 24, 1:00-3:00 pm
Click here to find out which district you live in: [link removed]
We recognize that the hearing for the First Congressional district was last night, and while it may be too late to testify in person it is not too late to submit written testimony. You have until 5:30 PM today to submit written testimony urging the co-chairs of the Joint Ways and Means committee to fully fund the Natural Resources Agencies, and other crucial programs, including implementation of the Oregon Climate Action Plan, and so much more.
With your help, we can advance an equitable economic recovery that benefits all Oregonians.
Thank you,
Julia DeGraw
Coalition Director, OLCV
Click here for tips for how to testify remotely: [link removed]
Sample Testimony:
Dear Co-Chairs Johnson, Steiner Hayward and Rayfield, and members of the committee,
For the record, my name is [your name] and I live in [town or city]. As you consider how to balance the state budget and use federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, I urge you to move Oregon forward by ensuring an equitable economic recovery for all.
Specifically, please prioritize full funding for our state natural resource, environmental, and health agencies to support family-wage green jobs, protect public health, and reduce harmful climate pollution.
We cannot afford to return to “normal”—normal wasn’t working. I urge you to seize the opportunity to rebuild a better, healthier, more resilient Oregon for all, by supporting funding opportunities that promote equitable job growth and health outcomes, lift up workers and frontline communities, and help mitigate climate impacts by supporting a transition to a clean energy economy.
As you shape the legislative budget for the 2021 - 2023 biennium, I ask that you fully fund agencies working to meet our state’s climate and equity goals. By providing funding for programs that reduce emissions, invest in clean energy jobs, and promote climate-friendly infrastructure, you will support an equitable and stable economic recovery that improves public health outcomes and benefits families and working people.
That includes funding to:
-Fully fund all the program areas for the Governor’s Climate Executive Order, also known as the Oregon Climate Action Plan (OCAP)
-Support transportation electrification and equitable, climate-smart transportation planning at the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) and Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
-Implement greenhouse gas reduction programs currently underway at the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), including the Climate Protection Program and the Statewide Transportation Strategy.
-Invest in environmental justice land use planning that ensures state climate work advances equity-driven solutions.
-Promote climate mitigation policies that provide public health co-benefits.
-Commit to equitable outcomes and environmental justice by funding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion staff in a number of natural resource agencies.
Thank you for your consideration,
[Your name]
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Oregon League of Conservation Voters
321 SW 4th Ave Ste 600
Portland, OR 97204
United States
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