Wyden optimistic on O & C; coy on elections
In a conference call with news media representatives on Friday, April 6, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) gave an update on his continued efforts to secure federal O&C funds for timber-dependent counties.
Wyden had spent the previous week conducting a series of town hall meetings throughout the state and visiting veterans’ health-care centers. He claimed a “huge, huge victory” for O&C legislation garnering more than 70 votes in the Senate last month.
“I had been hoping to get 55,” Wyden said. “It was an extraordinary bipartisan showing of how strong support is for communities where the federal government owns so much of the land.”
The Senate plan would provide more than $1 billion for rural communities during the next five years, with the first year being fully funded at $282 million.
“Now, I think the challenge is to have a grassroots coalition to try and get the House to go along with the Senate’s position,” Wyden said. “We just need rural communities to have the time they need to make the transition.”
Wyden said that he would like to see timber-dependent communities enter into areas like biomass and forest thinning.
With regard to veterans’ health care, Wyden said he learned much from his recent tours of regional facilities.
“My sense is that there are an awful lot of good doctors, hospitals, nurses and providers, but there are still an awful lot of veterans falling between the cracks,” Wyden said. “Part of the challenge is, a lot of the system hasn’t kept up with the times.”
The O&C legislation is part of an emergency appropriation for the U.S. military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congressional Democrats have included a time table for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq as part of that bill, which President Bush has promised to veto.
As such, Wyden said, “There’s going to be a lot of sparring back and forth between Congress and the president with respect to Iraq.”
However, Wyden said that he is optimistic that a compromise eventually will be reached between the executive and legislative branches of the government on the proposed legislation.
“At some point, the legislation must pass in order to secure additional dollars for our troops,” Wyden said. “It may go through one or more vetoes, but we’re going to get this done as quickly as possible. I think we’re on the goal line.”
Wyden said that a different strategy and policy are needed for the war, and that the public has demanded as much.
“I think it’s obvious that Congress feels strongly about changing course in Iraq and the American people feel very strongly that we need to change the course in Iraq,” Wyden said. “The last election was a resounding vote for a new course in Iraq.”
Asked if he supports impeachment of President Bush, Wyden said that he would rather focus on working with Republican legislators to advance his top priorities.
“I’m not for impeachment,” Wyden said. “I’m going to spend my time trying to work in a bipartisan way to get results for the public.”
Wyden answered coyly regarding if he would support Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield) if DeFazio were to run against U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Pendleton) in 2008.
“It’s too early to talk about elections,” Wyden said.
