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U.S. Senator stops by for a visit
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| H&N photo by Gerry Baksys U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., talks to Klamath Basin residents at a town hall meeting Sunday at the Klamath County Government Center. |
March 12, 2007
Iraq was the main topic during a Sunday town hall meeting with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., at the Klamath County Government Center.
The senator also addressed renewable energy and water storage during his annual visit to Klamath County. About 20 people attended the meeting.
Wyden, who was elected to the Senate in 1996, said his yearly visits to every county in Oregon helps counteract the influence of special interest groups in Washington D.C.
“Klamath Falls is a long way from Washington D.C. and my job is to help bridge that gap,” he said.
He was in Lakeview on Saturday.
Following are questions from audience members and Wyden's responses.
Q: Can we get a picture of what is going on in Congress about Iraq? What is the status of funding for the soldiers?
Wyden: “We are approaching $500 billion spent on the war. I was one of 23 senators who voted against going to war. I believe Saddam was evil, but I didn't believe there were weapons of mass destruction or ties to terrorism. Imagine what we could have done in this country with $500 billion.”
Q: It feels like there has been so little oversight with the spending in Iraq. What has been happening?
Wyden: “It is a new day of respect for oversight. Haliburton showed up before the committee to answer questions. It is clear that has been missing for years, but it is back now.”
Q: My son was injured in Iraq. The treatment he's received for his medical care since coming back has been deplorable.
Wyden: “Nothing is harder for a parent than to have your son serving the country, suffering grievous wounds and not receiving adequate care. We will make calls about this first thing Monday morning. You and your family are not the only ones to complain.”
Q: I keep hearing things about Iran. Do you think there is a push for us to go to war there?
Wyden: “It's very troubling to see the same drum beat going on for Iran that went on before we went to war with Iraq. Are there bad people in the Iranian government? Absolutely. The question is what serves the interests of the American people. Fortunately, economic sanctions seem to be working.”
Q: Money borrowed to pay for the war puts disproportionate pressure on people. Is there a way to make everyone in America pay for the war?
Wyden: “One area I have the biggest concern about is ever since 9/11 there has been nothing asked of the American people. People don't feel connected to the war like they did during WW II.”
Q: What is the plan to get county dollars back from the federal government?
Wyden: “I and the leaders in the Senate favor a multi-year renewal of the Secure Rural Schools bill that I wrote a few years ago. The House is proposing a one-year extension. If we move fast enough, we can get the bill approved and their won't be any interruptions in payment. But Congress has to move quickly.”
Q: What is the progress of your health bill?
Wyden: “We have to deal with health care because if we don't, it will gobble up everything else. We will spend $2.3 trillion this year on health care. That is enough for one professional physician for every seven families. What's funny is that in 1994, when Clinton proposed overhauling the health care system, businesses said they couldn't afford to do it. Now, businesses are saying we can't afford not to do it.”
Q: We need water storage so we can capture flood water. What can be done?
Wyden: “The question becomes how do you pay for it? We put funding in the last ag bill for water storage, but the House took it out and I still don't know why.”
Q: People talk about bringing bio-fuel production to this area, but it is just one more thing that uses water. That brings us back to water storage.
Wyden: “In the Basin, because of decades of history, this is a unique period in time. Now, all of the sides are showing much more interest in talking then brawling.”
Q: Why was the (Klamath County) Head Start budget cut by $200,000?
Wyden: “I have always supported Head Start because dollar for dollar Head Start is one of the smartest thing the government does. Studies show that if you don't take care of kids early the brain gets damaged.”
Q: I would like to put a plug in for local rural transportation (Amtrak).
Wyden: “I hear about it every three days because Oregon residents travel to Asia or Europe and say, ‘Why can't we have a system like that?' Again it all comes down to funding. But that is one of the reasons why I am working on a proposal for ‘Build America Bonds.' That way a daughter and her father could invest in major projects to better America.”
- Gerry Baksys
Iraq was the main topic during a Sunday town hall meeting with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., at the Klamath County Government Center.
The senator also addressed renewable energy and water storage during his annual visit to Klamath County. About 20 people attended the meeting.
Wyden, who was elected to the Senate in 1996, said his yearly visits to every county in Oregon helps counteract the influence of special interest groups in Washington D.C.
“Klamath Falls is a long way from Washington D.C. and my job is to help bridge that gap,” he said.
He was in Lakeview on Saturday.
Following are questions from audience members and Wyden's responses.
Q: Can we get a picture of what is going on in Congress about Iraq? What is the status of funding for the soldiers?
Wyden: “We are approaching $500 billion spent on the war. I was one of 23 senators who voted against going to war. I believe Saddam was evil, but I didn't believe there were weapons of mass destruction or ties to terrorism. Imagine what we could have done in this country with $500 billion.”
Q: It feels like there has been so little oversight with the spending in Iraq. What has been happening?
Wyden: “It is a new day of respect for oversight. Haliburton showed up before the committee to answer questions. It is clear that has been missing for years, but it is back now.”
Q: My son was injured in Iraq. The treatment he's received for his medical care since coming back has been deplorable.
Wyden: “Nothing is harder for a parent than to have your son serving the country, suffering grievous wounds and not receiving adequate care. We will make calls about this first thing Monday morning. You and your family are not the only ones to complain.”
Q: I keep hearing things about Iran. Do you think there is a push for us to go to war there?
Wyden: “It's very troubling to see the same drum beat going on for Iran that went on before we went to war with Iraq. Are there bad people in the Iranian government? Absolutely. The question is what serves the interests of the American people. Fortunately, economic sanctions seem to be working.”
Q: Money borrowed to pay for the war puts disproportionate pressure on people. Is there a way to make everyone in America pay for the war?
Wyden: “One area I have the biggest concern about is ever since 9/11 there has been nothing asked of the American people. People don't feel connected to the war like they did during WW II.”
Q: What is the plan to get county dollars back from the federal government?
Wyden: “I and the leaders in the Senate favor a multi-year renewal of the Secure Rural Schools bill that I wrote a few years ago. The House is proposing a one-year extension. If we move fast enough, we can get the bill approved and their won't be any interruptions in payment. But Congress has to move quickly.”
Q: What is the progress of your health bill?
Wyden: “We have to deal with health care because if we don't, it will gobble up everything else. We will spend $2.3 trillion this year on health care. That is enough for one professional physician for every seven families. What's funny is that in 1994, when Clinton proposed overhauling the health care system, businesses said they couldn't afford to do it. Now, businesses are saying we can't afford not to do it.”
Q: We need water storage so we can capture flood water. What can be done?
Wyden: “The question becomes how do you pay for it? We put funding in the last ag bill for water storage, but the House took it out and I still don't know why.”
Q: People talk about bringing bio-fuel production to this area, but it is just one more thing that uses water. That brings us back to water storage.
Wyden: “In the Basin, because of decades of history, this is a unique period in time. Now, all of the sides are showing much more interest in talking then brawling.”
Q: Why was the (Klamath County) Head Start budget cut by $200,000?
Wyden: “I have always supported Head Start because dollar for dollar Head Start is one of the smartest thing the government does. Studies show that if you don't take care of kids early the brain gets damaged.”
Q: I would like to put a plug in for local rural transportation (Amtrak).
Wyden: “I hear about it every three days because Oregon residents travel to Asia or Europe and say, ‘Why can't we have a system like that?' Again it all comes down to funding. But that is one of the reasons why I am working on a proposal for ‘Build America Bonds.' That way a daughter and her father could invest in major projects to better America.”
- Gerry Baksys
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Stephanie Patterson Southwell wrote on Oct 4, 2008 6:19 PM:
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Margaret wrote on Apr 29, 2008 11:19 AM:
" It appears the two negative reader comments are associated with the wrong article, as they do not seem to relate. It's unfortunate they are appearing after reading such a nice article about this concert. "
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