Extended federal money pursued by Sen. Wyden
Legislation for extended county payments legislation, the Iraq War and other pressing issues were discussed during a Monday, June 18 conference call with reporters by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The senator said that he will pursue a five-year, $1.1 billion extension of a program to fund rural counties in lieu of declining timber receipts. That legislation will be considered in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Wyden said.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) heads that committee. And he is a co-sponsor of Wyden’s legislation, with Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
As such, Wyden said, the proposal has a good chance of making its way to the House. Wyden said that the differences between the Senate and House versions of the legislation then would be reconciled in committee.
“The key negotiators this time will be very sympathetic to Oregon and the rural west,” Wyden said.
The Real ID Act of 2005 also was discussed during the conference call. Many state legislatures have passed laws rejecting provisions of the Real ID Act, citing privacy concerns and the expenses associated with implementing it at the state level.
Wyden said that the Real ID Act will be examined as part of the continuing debate regarding immigration issues, and that a balance must be struck between personal freedoms and national security.
“The challenge in this country in these areas has always been something of a Constitutional teeter-totter,” Wyden said. “We want to protect collective security, but we also want to protect individual privacy.”
He said that he would prefer a “biometric” national ID system, and that such an approach also would remedy continuing problems with identity theft crimes.
“I personally think biometric systems look like the best approach, where you use fingerprints, thumbprints or something like that,” Wyden said.
The increasingly unpopular Iraq War remains a hot-button issue in the Senate, Wyden said. Democrats plan to use a coming defense authorization bill to challenge President Bush’s handling of the war, and it will be debated before Congress adjourns for its July 4 recess.
Wyden said that debate will “provide the opportunity for further votes in the Senate on timetables, benchmarks and real ways to force accountability with respect to the changes that are going to be necessary in Iraq to bring about self-governance.”
