Welcome to my website!

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Business-as-usual just isn’t good enough for government any more. We in Oregon can't solve a global recession on our own, but acting together as the “government for the people” we can help each other weather the economic storm.  The legislative session of 2011 will be challenged even more than usual to make sure our limited funds are spent wisely. 

We need to put more effort into improving our rail system – to get products to market and better choices for people wanting to take the train (instead of a car or plane) for business meetings, commuting to school, and vacation.  That means being ready to apply for federal rail subsidies when they are available; and giving rail improvements a higher priority than in the past. This is a huge, but largely unrecognized, economic development issue.

I have always been concerned about overlapping bureaucracies that can get in the way of efficiency, rather than helping get the work done.  For example, the state, every county, and many cities operate programs in policing, corrections, taxation, transportation, public health, and other areas.  Sometimes a local nonprofit agency must submit to several audits and report to multiple funding sources for the same program.  I believe we can find ways to reinvent these “shared services,” and in 2009, I achieved a significant breakthrough in establishing the Task Force on Efficient Government Services to do just that.  The Governor appointed me to chair the task force, and we have several subcommittees working for the past year on this project. 

Bureaucracy tends to get tangled not only in government, but in any big, complicated system like health care.  We need to keep improving access to basic health care, and take steps to reduce costs.  (How many forms do YOU have to fill out? How many approvals?).  Some clever forward-thinking health care providers are using information technology to good effect, so we know there are good answers out there.  The state can help by cleaning up outdated rules and encouraging innovation. 

I’ve got lots of energy for keeping us on – or moving us to - the right track.   We can’t afford not to.

Please visit my legislative website for a summary of recent legislative work and links to news releases and newsletters, etc.: http://www.leg.state.or.us/nathanson

During the 2009 and 2010 sessions, I served on four Ways and Means (Budget) committees so my time was spent primarily on working through tough budget problems and drawing attention to the ultimate costs and benefits of budget choices. 

Other work during these sessions included supporting and helping pass legislation in critical areas such as education, consumers, and jobs, promoting electric plug-in vehicle manufacturing, and getting my own key bills passed:

• Setting up the Task Force on Efficient Government Services
• Improving Services to veterans
• Reining in cost of Health care (health reinsurance and primary care)
• Helping people in manufactured home parks remain in affordable housing
• Curbing Metal theft
• Expanding the use of Earned Income Tax Credit

My committee assignments, until the 2011 session begins, are Joint Ways and Means (continuing as Vice Chair), Emergency Board (for certain budget decisions between sessions), Health Care, Justice System Revenues, and Task Force on Efficient Government Services (chair). 

Get more information about my legislative work, committee assignments, and the community I represent (House District 13, North Eugene) by using the navigation bar at the side of this page.

Sincerely,

Representative Nancy Nathanson