Oregon House Passes Veterans Help

By ANTHONY MACUK

SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday designed to aid military veterans seeking civilian employment.

While the new law is a relatively small change, supporters say it will have a large positive impact on veteran welfare and employment.

House Bill 4063 would require certain licensing boards to take into account training received in the military when evaluating veterans seeking employment in a particular industry.

Currently, many returning veterans find that the training they received in the military could be put to practical use in civilian occupations. The bill’s carrier, State Representative Julie Parrish, R-West Linn, provided a long list of such occupations in a variety of fields, including security, education, medicine, and engineering.

In principle, such opportunities seem like an excellent way for veterans to reintegrate into civilian life. However, many veterans find that the training they received in the military cannot be transferred into the civilian arena; and veterans are often forced to waste time and money by repeating training they have already received.

“Many times soldiers have difficulty explaining their training and skills in civilian speak,” said Parrish. “The methodology of military training does not always line up perfectly [with civilian education].”

Several other representatives expressed strong support for the bill, praising it as an important move towards greater veteran employment.

“This is something we can all do in all of our districts to get our overly unemployed veterans back to work,” said Rep. Deborah Boone, D-Cannon Beach.

Rep. Greg Matthews, D-Gresham, also gave a speech in support of the bill. He stressed that the issue runs deeper than simply finding jobs and is really about finding a place for returning soldiers in society.

“The problem is…we don’t know how to receive them,” said Matthews. “We don’t know how to transfer their experience to the civilian world. This is one more step.”

Although several representatives voiced concerns about the bill, their objections pertained to the bill’s subsection on teacher licensing, which was interpreted as being inconsistent with the rest of the resolution. A linguistic error left open the possibility that veterans might not be able to transfer their educational training into a teaching license.

Parrish addressed the teaching concern by promising that the bill would be amended in the Senate to solve the language problem. This was enough to satisfy most of the representatives who had objected. Reps. Margaret Doherty, D-Tigard, Jeff Barker, D-Aloha, and Matthews all pledged to vote for the bill once they had been assured that the amendment would be added.

The bill faced no other opposition and passed with a nearly unanimous vote. Even Rep. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, who voted against the bill, explained that his vote was purely due to the problem with the teaching provision.

“I love this bill,” said Dembrow. “I will be voting ‘no’ on it today, but I look forward to voting ‘yes’ on it when it comes back with the changes.”

In her closing speech, Parrish again emphasized the value of putting veterans back to work and thanked both veterans and veterans’ organizations for their work in support of the bill.

“The people doing work for veterans are a quiet few,” said Parrish. “We can’t put a price tag on the value we can return to them for all they’ve done for us.”

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Health Reform Activist Speaks February 17

Nationally-known health care activist Margaret Flowers visits Corvallis February 17 to discuss single-payer health care. Flowers is perhaps best known for being arrested during a meeting of President Obama’s Health Care Reform Committee in May, 2009. When the Committee was having a public roundtable discussion, Flowers and two other physicians challenged Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) with the question, “Will you allow an advocate for a single-payer national health plan at the table?” According to a piece Flowers wrote May 8 of that year, Baucus’ response was “Get more police!” and the doctors were arrested and taken to jail. Flowers speaks at the Corvallis Public Library (645 NW Monroe Ave.) February 17 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Admission is free. Flowers is an unpaid Congressional Fellow for the Maryland Chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program.

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ODFW Art Contest Announced

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wants artists to enter its Habitat Conservation Stamp art contest. The winning artist will receive $3 thousand and the artwork will be used to produce a stamp and other promotional items. Deadline for entries is 5:00 p.m. Feb. 29, 2012. Artwork must feature one of the fish or wildlife species identified in the Oregon Conservation Strategy, in its respective Strategy habitat. Adopted by the 2011 Oregon State Legislature, the new Habitat Conservation Stamp allows Oregonians to purchase an annual stamp to benefit conservation of Oregon’s native species and habitats. Stamps sell for $40 a year and include a free ODFW Wildlife Area Parking Pass (a $22 value). Revenue will be used for restoration of the native habitats that are home to the state’s fish and wildlife. Habitat Conservation Stamps will go on sale in 2012. Rules and entry form are found on the ODFW website.

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Komen Planned Parenthood Decision Will Not Affect Oregon

By Christen McCurdy of our Oregonian News Network partner The Lund Report

February 2, 2012 — Oregon-based Planned Parenthood affiliates will continue to provide cancer screening services despite a decision by Susan G. Komen For the Cure®, a national organization that raises funds for breast cancer screenings and research, to officially sever ties with Planned Parenthood.

None of the Planned Parenthood affiliates in Oregon have ever sought funding from Komen. However, its affiliates in Idaho and Washington have, and now they must reduce the number of cancer screening services following Komen’s decision, said David Greenberg, CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Columbia Willamette.

“I’m really sad that Komen allowed itself to be bullied in this way,” Greenberg said, noting that many of his staff – and he himself – have participated in previous Race for the Cure events, and that he believes many people in Portland and Southwest Washington support both organizations. “It’s really sad to imagine this partnership ending. It’s not the money that is so painful here. It’s the loss of services for low-income women and women of color, people who have no other place to go.”

Planned Parenthood clinics see more than 60,000 women per year, and most come for well woman exams – which include a breast exam and Pap smear (which can detect abnormal cervical tissue before it becomes cancerous). Portland-area Planned Parenthood clinics can also perform fine-needle aspirations to examine breast tissue if a suspicious mass is found, but do not perform mammograms.

“I think it’s entirely appropriate to say Planned Parenthood is a major provider of breast healthcare in the area,” Greenberg said.

Nineteen Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide received $680,000 in funding from Komen for the Cure last year, and $580,000 the year before – earmarked for breast examinations. Tuesday, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America – which has a budget of over $1 billion annually — learned it would no longer provide these grants.

In Oregon, Komen has not taken a position on this decision, but is letting its constituents know how they can contact national headquarters, said, Devon Downeysmith, marketing communications director for the Oregon and Southwest Washington Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Komen funds about 8,000 mammograms a year for low-income women through its Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, Downeysmith said. If a woman who received a mammogram through the program is diagnosed with breast cancer, she’s automatically enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan.

Meanwhile, Komen told the Associated Press that it had recently revised its grant criteria to exclude making grants to organizations currently under local, state or federal investigation. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) announced an inquiry into whether Planned Parenthood uses federal funding for abortion services. On Wednesday the charity posted a statement to itswebsite which did not mention the investigation, saying its decision had been mischaracterized.

Nevertheless, two Komen affiliates – one in Connecticut and one in Denver – have stated they’ll continue to fund Planned Parenthood affiliates in their respective regions.

Critics point out that Komen’s director of public policy is a conservative activist named Karen Handel who ran for governor of Georgia, and has taken a strong stance against abortion. Though her position statement on the issue has been removed from her campaign site, it can be accessed using the Internet Wayback Machine.

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Humane Society Officers Want OSP Authority

By Sarah Ross © 2012 by our Oregonian News Network partner Oregon Capitol News

SALEM, Ore.- Law enforcement officers charged with enforcing animal welfare hope to move from the governor’s office to the state patrol, with a new bill in the upcoming legislative session. House Bill 4021 would transfer commissioning authority of Oregon Humane Society officers from the governor’s office to the Oregon State Patrol. “We are law enforcement; and we’d like to be under the state police, because it’s a much clearer chain of authority, and it’s where our law enforcement officers belong,” said Sharon Harmon, executive director of the Oregon Humane Society.

Harmon said the commissioning authority should change because officers complete the full police academy and subsequent certifications, are certified peace officers, and are considered to be a law enforcement unit by the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. Since the group operates statewide, Harmon said there is no police jurisdiction other than the Oregon State Patrol which would be a better fit for the organization.

The executive director told Oregon Capitol News that the current law keeps any new or national organizations from becoming a humane investigation in Oregon because it limits investigators to officers which have been commissioned under that law for five years. “By that definition, that’s only the Oregon Humane Society,” said Harmon. The bill would need approval from the House and Senate before going to the governor to be signed into law.

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