[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 162 (Monday, September 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S6546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Tribute to Jake Oken-Berg
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to bid farewell
to an individual who has not only served as a longtime staff member but
a highly respected member of our close-knit team, Jake Oken-Berg.
Serving for the last 10 years as my business liaison, Jake has been my
ambassador to Oregon's business community and its leaders. Frankly,
when you consider some of my positions, Jake has undoubtedly developed
the diplomatic skills necessary to actually be an ambassador.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On page S6546, September 20, 2021, the following appears: Mr.
WYDEN. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be
considered made and laid upon the table and the President be
immediately notified of the Senate's action. The PRESIDING
OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from
Oregon. TRIBUTE TO JAKE OKEN-BERG Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I come
to the floor today to bid farewell to an individual who has not
only served as a longtime staff member but a highly respected
member of our close-knit team, Jake Oken-Berg.
The online Record has been corrected to read: Mr. MERKLEY. I ask
unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made
and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified
of the Senate's action. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection,
it is so ordered. The Senator from Oregon. TRIBUTE TO JAKE OKEN-
BERG Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to bid
farewell to an individual who has not only served as a longtime
staff member but a highly respected member of our close-knit team,
Jake Oken-Berg.
========================= END NOTE =========================
Jake has always approached his work with enthusiasm and a positive
attitude, with steadfast determination to help me build and maintain
critical partnerships with the business community throughout the State
and to provide their feedback on how we can write better legislation.
His creative pursuit of my partnership with the business community
was on full display when he organized our office's ``Made in Oregon''
manufacturing tour. That tour comprised many trips across the State
over several years, with business leaders, owners, and managers. Some
of the most interesting gatherings I have ever been at were part of
that ``Made in Oregon'' tour. It highlighted the contributions that
Oregon's businesses, manufacturers, and workers are making to our State
and to the country, and it shined a light on policies that are needed
to ensure American companies and American workers stay competitive in
the 21st century.
Over the past decade, Jake has helped develop policies and strategies
relevant to many sectors of Oregon's growing economy.
One such strategy has been to make Oregon a global leader in mass
timber, including the production of cross-laminated timber and mass
plywood and the research on charring and stress loads necessary to
rewrite building codes.
Another strategy has been to make Oregon a national leader in the
production of hemp for CBD, building on Oregon's legal cannabis
industry.
Yet another strategy has been building up Oregon's sustainable energy
industry, accelerating the development of wind and solar and wave
energy and supporting measures to increase the efficiency of the
manufacturing process to use less energy.
It is pretty staggering to think of all the balls Jake had to juggle
at the same time over those 10 years, but he did it, and he did it
making it look easy.
Our team and our State saw the fruits of Jake's decade of partnership
pay off over this last year and a half as businesses throughout Oregon
faced extremely difficult, dark days amid the pandemic and the economic
recession.
As businesses ground to a halt and workers quarantined at home,
owners and managers were grappling with issues of how to continue to
pay employees or whether they had to let them go, paying rents and
leases, paying subcontractors and suppliers under the threat of going
out of business.
So many owners and managers reached out to my office seeking
assistance to access the economic injury disaster loans and the
Paycheck Protection Program to keep their businesses and their
employees afloat. Jake coordinated our response, communicating not only
with the business leaders but with the local elected officials and the
leaders of our business chambers. He produced guidance. He organized
roundtables. He led discussions. He served as a hotline for every
question. He helped owners figure out how to address unique challenges
as they arose.
When business owners were getting turned away from their own banks,
for instance, Jake took the lead in developing alternative approaches
so they could get the help they needed. And when specific sectors, like
the live entertainment sector, which is such a staple of life and
culture in our State of Oregon, was left out of the list of businesses
that could receive emergency aid, Jake made it his business to get that
changed. I can't even begin to guess how many Oregon businesses and
workers were able to weather those dark and difficult days because of
Jake's all-out efforts.
I suspect that if he was here right now and we asked him what, after
a decade of service, his greatest accomplishment has been, he would say
it was simply to help make Oregon a better place for businesses and for
workers, and then he might pause and, being the huge soccer fan that he
is, say that a high point was when he made a connection so that I could
spend a day with the owner of our Portland Timbers.
So, Jake, thank you for giving so much to the team and to the people
of Oregon over these last 10 years. It goes without saying that it is
going to be a monumental undertaking trying to fill your shoes, and you
are going to be missed by every member of our team. We wish you the
best. We look forward to continuing to follow the great things that you
will do in your next chapter for our State and for the country. We know
that in whatever form it takes, you will never stop working to build a
better world.
Well done, Jake Oken-Berg, and thank you.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.