2 • The Southwest Portland Post
POLITICS
September 2017
Sen. Ron Wyden confronted about Israel Anti-Boycott Act at local town hall
Sen. Ron Wyden held a town hall at Wilson High School on Aug. 5.
(Photo by Lyndsey Hewitt, Pamplin Media Group)
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)
made his Multnomah County town
hall visit to Wilson High School on
Aug. 5. Wyden was introduced by
Rep. Margaret Doherty (D-35).
“Senator Wyden has kept his pledge
of holding town halls in every Oregon
county each year,” Doherty said.
“This is unprecedented.”
This is the 55th town hall of the
year. Nearly 300 community members
and elected officials packed the
auditorium.
“Political change doesn’t come
from the top down, it’s bottom up,”
Wyden said. “That’s why it’s so
important for members of Congress
to get out into the communities they
represent and hear directly from their
constituents.”
And with that, Wyden answered
questions drawn by lottery. He said
that there were no subjects off limits.
The first question addressed
entitlements such as Social Security
and Medicare running out of money.
“Medicare of today is not the
Medicare it once was,” Wyden said.
“Increase in cancer, diabetes, heart
disease, stroke, and other chronic
diseases are all causing costs to rise.
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“Prescription drugs are also
skyrocketing. We need to update
the Medicare guarantee. It is not a
voucher program.
“Ten thousand people turn 65
every day who become eligible for
Medicare. I am all for raising the wage
base of Social Security contributions.
Let’s just be careful and hope we do
that without affecting small business
owners.”
By far the most compelling topic
of the event was the many questions
on S.720, the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.
Wyden is one of 46 co-sponsors. This
bill declares that Congress oppose
the United Nations Human Rights
Council resolution of March 24, 2016,
which urges countries to pressure
companies to divest from, or break
contracts with, Israel.
The council targeted Israel with a
commercial boycott, calling for the
establishment of a database, such
as a “blacklist”, of companies that
operate, or have business relations
with entities that operate, beyond
Israel’s 1949 armistice lines, including
East Jerusalem.
Opponents of the bill were scattered
throughout the auditorium holding up
placards stating “I support Palestinian
rights” and yelling various comments
to Wyden’s answers. Outside, a
Palestinian fl ag fl ew.
A fl yer, created by the American
Civil Liberties Union, claimed that
the proposed federal legislation
attempts to criminalize the boycott,
divestment, and sanctions (BDS)
campaign for Palestinian rights.
The ACLU claims the bill would
punish business owners and
individuals based solely on their
point of view and such a penalty
is in direct violation of the First
Amendment.
“I do not take a back seat to anyone
on protecting the fi rst amendment,”
Wyden said.
A follow-up question immediately
brought up the topic again.
“The ACLU has interpreted this bill
as unconstitutional,” the audience
member stated, “and your support of
it threatens free speech. We urge you
to remove your name as a co-sponsor
of this bill.”
“Exercise your rights to protest any
way you can,” Wyden said.
A question addressing healthcare
was next.
“Section 1332 of the Affordable Care
Act,” Wyden said, “permits a state to
apply for a state innovation waiver
to pursue innovative strategies for
providing their residents with access
to high quality, affordable health
insurance while retaining the basic
protections of the ACA.”
“The biggest challenge of single-
payer,” Wyden said, “is how do you
get there from here? We spend more
than $3 trillion a year on health care.
We’re not spending it in the right
places.”
Wyden was asked about preserving
public lands. He replied that he
doesn’t support the administration’s
intention of reducing public land.
Wyden recommended a grassroots
movement to challenge the potential
changes.
Wyden answered questions about
large, private contributions infi ltrating
politics and Russia meddling into
national elections.
“According to the Supreme Court,”
Wyden said, “there should be no limits
on campaign donations, initiated by
Citizens United.”
The U.S. Supreme Court held
that freedom of speech prohibits
g o v e r n m e n t
f r o m
restricting independent political
expenditures by nonprofit and
nonprofi t corporations, labor unions,
and other associations.
“Donors should at least be required
to post campaign donations online,”
said Wyden. “It would take a
constitutional amendment to overturn
this decision.”
“There are national voter
suppression tactics. You can see it on
TV,” he said. “People wait in the heat,
or are told they are not going to the
right polling place.”
Wyden has been urging Congress
to look at vote-by-mail nationally
which makes it much easier to vote
and comes with a paper trail.
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Editor & Publisher .........Don Snedecor
Reporters / Writers...... ....KC Cowan, Jack Rubinger,
................Erik Vidstrand
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Advertising Sales ...........Don Snedecor
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