OSA Capitol Update from Washington D.C

Senator Merkley invited our Executive Director Emma Kallaway to D.C. to testify in front of the Senate Economic Subcommittee on Banking and Housing on June 6/25. Senator Elizabeth Warren was also present to ask questions.

Here are the links to her oral and written testimony.

The hearing was picked up by Time magazine.

As a member of the panel it was Emma’s job was to discuss the long term impacts of student loan debt on the US economy, convey her personal story, and share student stories. Emma took the invitation, only after asking if they wanted a current student leader. The Senator’s office wanted someone who had graduated from a public institution.

The next morning, Emma was invited to the Oregon only meeting in D.C on 6/26, entitled “Good Morning Oregon.” Senator Merkley’s staff was in attendance and Emma took the opportunity to advertise our voter registration efforts and lobby for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

Later that day Emma attended the U.S Senate hearing on “sexual assault on college campuses.” The debate was informative. The politics of this important issue often boil down to what is the role of the institution to prevent and report. OSA students should develop a clear opinion on prevention and reporting as well as solutions before moving forward with lobbying on this issue in Oregon. Everyone on the panel agreed that sexual assault is drastically under reported. Members of the panel asked that lawmakers avoid further fixes to the crime of sexual assault that victimizes a person not just once but often twice. We need real policy and cultural changes on our college campuses.

Interestingly, the Cleary Act requires disclosure of this information in an annual security report. In Oregon we should review this and make a public document comparing the reports of different schools and consider using that report to lobby elected officials.

Emma spent the remainder of her time in Washington lobbing Congresswoman Bonamici, Congressman Schrader, and Congressman Defazio’s staff.