Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force Oregon and Federal Legislative Work

On this page, you can learn more about the Oregon State  Legislature and Federal Legislature, what issues are pending, and how to take action.

The Oregon Food Bank's advocacy website is a wonderful tool for contacting your elected officials as well as writing a letter to the editor.  You can also get both your state and federal elected officials contact information via the Oregon Blue Book or at 1-800-332-2313.

Oregon State Legislature:

The Oregon State Legislature regularly meets every other year. In 2008, the Legislature met for a special 1-month session. The next full session will begin in 2009. 

During the 2008 special session, we worked hard to improve Oregon's contribution to important nutritional programs, preserve affordable housing, and assure access to health care for all Oregon's children; you can view our 2008 legislative agenda here. For more information on the session's outcome, please see our 2008 Legislative Session Wrap Up Report.

If you are interested in helping the Task Force with the upcoming legislative agenda, please contact Patti Whitney-Wise at 503-595-5501 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Federal Legislature:

The United States Congress is working on the upcoming federal budget.  Federal budget cuts in the national safety net threaten many of the gains made in Oregon.  Besides working at the state level, we must work together to stem the tide of cuts to low-income families at the federal level.

Cuts of this nature are always dangerous, but they are particularly unreasonable when there have been huge tax cuts for wealthy Americans and corporations over the last four years. Medicaid, Food Stamps, Child Nutrition programs, and other basic safety net programs are the last protections for our most vulnerable populations, and should not be cut.  
The Farm Bill is up for reauthorization and now is the time to provide input to the USDA. The Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force has several recommendations and suggested actions for this important bill. 

Janet Bauer at the Oregon Center for Public Policy is moderating a listserve on the federal budget that you are welcome to join at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OregonFederalBudget.