3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2017
Merkley, Wyden critical
of Trump’s nominee to
the US Supreme Court
GOP bill would sell 70,000
acres of Oregon public land
Democrats
plan to oppose
Gorsuch
40 acres are in
Clatsop County
Staff and wire reports
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley on
Tuesday condemned President
Donald Trump’s choice of fed-
eral appeals court Judge Neil
Gorsuch for the U.S. Supreme
Court, calling it “a stolen seat
being filled by an illegitimate
and extreme nominee.”
The Oregon Democrat
had warned he would filibus-
ter any nominee other than
Judge Merrick Garland, who
was nominated by President
Barack Obama to replace the
late Justice Antonin Scalia on
the Supreme Court but was
blocked by Republicans for
nearly a year.
“The most fundamental
thing that must be understood
about tonight’s announce-
ment is that this is a stolen
seat,” Merkley said in a state-
ment. “This is the first time
in American history that one
party has blockaded a nomi-
nee for almost a year in order
to deliver a seat to a president
of their own party. If this tac-
tic is rewarded rather than
resisted, it will set a danger-
ous new precedent in Ameri-
can governance.”
Merkley said the “strategy
of packing the court, if success-
ful, could threaten fundamen-
tal rights in America, includ-
ing workers’ right to organize,
women’s reproductive rights,
and the rights of ordinary citi-
zens to have their voices heard
in elections rather than being
drowned out by the corrupting
influence of dark money from
the richest Americans.”
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
called the Gorsuch nomina-
tion a “breathtaking retreat
from the notion that Ameri-
cans have a fundamental right
to constitutional liberties, and
harkens back to the days when
politicians restricted a people’s
rights on a whim.”
Gorsuch, a 49-year-old
judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals in Colorado,
wrote “The Future of Assisted
Suicide and Euthanasia,” a
book that outlines his oppo-
sition to assisted suicide and
euthanasia based on the intrin-
sic value of every human life.
Oregon was the first state to
adopt an assisted suicide law
for terminally ill patients. Four
other states have followed with
similar laws.
“His opposition to legal
death with dignity as success-
fully practiced in Oregon is
couched in the sort of jurispru-
dence that justified the horrific
oppression of one group after
another in our first two centu-
ries,” Wyden, an Oregon Dem-
ocrat, said in a statement. “No
senator who believes that indi-
vidual rights are reserved to
the people, and not the gov-
ernment, can support this
nomination.”
Gorsuch is the youngest
Supreme Court nominee in a
quarter-century. He’s known
for clear, colloquial writing,
advocacy for court review
of government regulations,
defense of religious freedom
and skepticism toward law
enforcement.
His
nomination
was
cheered by conservatives wary
of Trump’s own fluid ideology.
If confirmed by the Senate, he
would fill the seat left vacant
by the death last year of Scalia,
long the right’s most powerful
voice on the high court.
Gorsuch earned Republi-
can praise today as he visited
Capitol Hill. The judge was
accompanied by Vice Pres-
ident Mike Pence as he met
with Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell. McCo-
nnell called Gorsuch “an
outstanding
appointment”
and said Republicans were
“thrilled” to get the confirma-
tion process started.
Pence predicted that as sen-
ators get to know Gorsuch,
“they’ll come to understand
the enthusiasm” Trump has for
Gorsuch.
A Senate Judiciary Commit-
tee spokesman said the panel
hoped to begin confirmation
hearings in about six weeks.
Veterans get new
van for medical trips
to Portland hospital
The Daily Astorian
Excited volunteer driv-
ers for Astoria-area Disabled
American Veterans gathered
on a Saturday in December to
inspect their new Ford passen-
ger van and pick up their new
keys.
The new van replaces one
with a quarter-million miles,
all driven by volunteers. It is
larger, with room for 11 pas-
sengers, and provides safer
access for people with disabil-
ities, according to Dick Lang,
the driver coordinator.
The local volunteer driv-
ers make the round trip to
Portland almost every week-
day — totaling about 1,000
miles per week — enabling
local veterans to receive med-
ical treatment and prescription
medications.
The DAV is a nonprofit
that provides support for vet-
erans of all generations and
their families. The nationwide
organization, which helps
more than 1 million veter-
ans each year, provides more
than 700,000 rides for medical
appointments and assists vet-
erans with more than 300,000
benefit claims annually.
The local van is always in
need of drivers so that veterans
do not miss important appoint-
ments and treatment. These
appointments often take weeks
to schedule; a cancellation due
to lack of transportation can be
consequential.
Lang said it is a rewarding
experience to be able to assist
local veterans, many of whom
would not have any other way
to get to the Portland VA Hos-
pital for treatment.
For information on becom-
ing a driver, contact Lang
at dicklang@charter.net or
503-298-8757.
By ZACH URNESS
Statesman Journal
A lawmaker from Utah
has introduced legislation that
would “dispose” of 3.3 mil-
lion acres of public land nation-
wide, including 70,300 acres
in Oregon and 40 in Clatsop
County.
In what some have called
the opening shot by Republi-
cans to sell or transfer federal
lands, U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz
introduced H.R. 621 last week
to free up resources “for eco-
nomic development in strug-
gling rural communities.”
Environmental
groups
denounced the effort, say-
ing Chaffetz is pushing an
“anti-American public lands
agenda” with the broader goal
of privatizing natural treasures
across the West, a statement
from Oregon Wild said.
The land identified for dis-
posal — meaning sale to pri-
vate entities or states —
includes acreage from 10
different states. The bulk comes
from Nevada (898,000 acres),
New Mexico (831,000), Wyo-
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T HE D AILY A STORIAN ’ S
3 rd at
1997 survey
The identified land comes
from a 1997 survey conducted
by the Clinton administration,
which was seeking potential
revenue to benefit the Ever-
glades Restoration effort. The
survey never resulted in the
land being sold.
There’s no map showing
the exact location of each par-
cel, only a short description of
the land’s character, monetary
value and possible problems
with disposal.
In the entry for 1,475 acres
in Deschutes County, for
example, it’s noted that “rec-
reation is a major support of
Deschutes County’s economic
base, consequently, the county
is opposed to any loss of fed-
eral lands.”
The 2,120 acres in Jefferson
County, meanwhile, is identi-
fied as having mining claims,
endangered species, wetlands
and floodplains, along with his-
toric and cultural resources.
The largest area proposed
for disposal is in Harney
County, where 44,500 acres is
described as agricultural and
grazing land with some public
access.
“These lands have been
deemed to serve no purpose for
taxpayers,” Chaffetz said.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Ore., disagreed.
“Legislation based on a
decades-old report on lands
supposedly ripe for disposal
clearly belongs on the shelf,”
Wyden said in a statement.
“Public lands belong to all
Americans, and preserving
these lands in public owner-
ship keeps them accessible to
everybody — including hunt-
ers, fishers, timber enterprises
and recreation lovers.”
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Deadline to vote is
Oregon counties
In Oregon, the 70,300 acres
comes in parcels from 19 coun-
ties managed by the Bureau of
Land Management. The par-
cels range from 44,533 acres
in Harney County to 1 acre in
Marion County.
“I think this bill is basi-
cally a ‘test balloon,’ to get the
effort and conversation mov-
ing,” said Jim Moore, profes-
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AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz,
R-Utah, speaks during
news conference in Salt
Lake City last month.
Chaffetz has introduced a
bill to sell or transfer some
federal lands.
sor and director of the Tom
McCall Center for Policy Inno-
vation at Pacific University.
“The land referenced here is
pretty scattershot and may or
may not make sense. I’d watch
for a more focused effort if
we’re really talking about this
happening.”
It’s not clear whether Pres-
ident Trump’s administration
would support the bill. Trump
has made statements oppos-
ing the sale of public lands and
nominated Montana lawmaker
Ryan Zinke, who also opposes
the idea, to lead the Department
of Interior.
“That’s kind of the fly in the
ointment of this whole idea,”
Moore said.
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