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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2019)
A4 East Oregonian Friday, December 13, 2019 CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner ANDREW CUTLER Editor WYATT HAUPT JR. News Editor JADE McDOWELL Hermiston Editor Founded October 16, 1875 OUR VIEW A voice for fairness I n an era of bare-knuckled pol- itics, it is instructive to reflect on the career of William Ruck- elshaus, the first administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He died in Seattle in late Novem- ber at age 87, leaving behind an unblemished career as a voice for environmental reason. Ruckelshaus was no stranger to pitched political battles. His career in President Richard Nixon’s admin- istration abruptly ended when Ruck- elshaus resigned his job at the U.S. Department of Justice instead of fir- ing the Watergate special prosecutor. But after two turns as EPA admin- istrator — as the agency’s first chief under Nixon and again under Presi- dent Ronald Reagan —Ruckelshaus probably knew more about how the EPA and statutes such as the Endan- gered Species Act work than anyone else. In 2011, Capital Press interviewed Ruckelshaus about the EPA, the Endangered Species Act and issues related to the protection of species. Edited for space, here are some of his thoughts: On the Endangered Species Act: If the law is working properly, the “how to” is an agreement by the peo- ple who will be impacted by the nec- essary changes. It doesn’t work as well as it ought to, because a lot of time the government comes in and imposes habitat requirements that the manager of the land doesn’t find completely reasonable. On the Clean Air Act: After a Capital Press Photo, File William Ruckelshaus in his Seattle office in 2011. couple of years of administering it, I knew it needed change. ... What has proven really hard is to get these laws changed, and the reason is, I think, the people who lobbied the laws through were primarily out- side the government, and the gov- ernment agencies that administered these laws and the staffs on commit- tees remain in place for a long time — they get a vested interest in the law and they fight furiously against any changes. The scope of the Endangered Spe- cies Act: (Congress) wrote the law broadly enough, and of course it’s been interpreted broadly enough, it encompasses a lot more than they probably originally intended. Changes needed in the Endan- gered Species Act: If I’m a land- owner and someone is running a highway through my land, I may not like it, but at least I’m being com- pensated for it. If I’m forced to put buffers alongside streams that run through my land in order to protect salmon, sometimes those buffers take a significant amount of my land, and I think they should be compen- sated for that. ... If that’s a public good and it’s being asserted against a private property owner, then why shouldn’t the public pay for it the same way they do with a highway? On environmental regulations: In the first place, some guy writing the regulation down in Olympia or in Salem, and not being on the actual land itself, can’t possibly draft a reg- ulation that makes sense on every piece of land. So the landowner has the regulator from the government coming on their land, starting to tell him how to manage it. He’s been managing for five generations and this guy’s maybe six months out of school. Well, they’re not going to be very pleased with what they’re told to do. ... (Let) the individual landowner have a lot more authority about what he should do to manage the land in such a way that it doesn’t adversely impact the environment. And com- pensating them where there are sig- nificant costs involved. On collaboration: If they’d see themselves as part of a family, they’d begin to make progress. But if they see themselves as adversaries, as enemies, then you don’t make any progress. ... My experience of listen- ing to farmers and environmental- ists when they finally let their guard down, they are not nearly as far apart as they think they are. I’ve heard farmers say, “Well, if that’s what you want us to do, that’s not so hard.” And here the environmentalists would say, “Well, I guess that’s not really the problem, is it?”... Once you see those interests come together, it really is remarkable. These words, spoken from expe- rience, offer wisdom to all sides of many issues, whether they involve the environment or other topics. Maybe, just maybe, the world needs more voices for reason like William Ruckelshaus. We’ve seen plenty of the alternative. OTHER VIEWS Supporting arts and culture in Oregon D YOUR VIEWS Walden making a difference in prescription costs As someone with a long career in nursing, I know how important it is that my patients have access to the prescriptions they need to live healthy lives. I appreciate the good work that Rep. Greg Walden is doing to lower prescription drug costs and increase access for patients. Walden’s work to help import FDA-approved drugs into the U.S. would help lower the price of critical drugs like insulin, while providing Amer- icans with greater choice in the marketplace. Walden has also used his post on the Energy and Commerce Committee to get legislation passed that goes after high prescription drug prices. In 2018, he helped pass legislation to increase price transparency and allow phar- macists to inform patients that their drug would be cheaper if they paid for it out of pocket rather than through insurance. This year, he doubled down on that by introducing the “Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2019.” The bill would lower out of Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. pocket spending for patients and ensure that the U.S. will continue to lead the world in developing new cures. I have personally taken part in meetings Greg has held with constituents in his district as well as health care professionals that deal with pharmaceutical drugs every day. The message is always the same — lower prescription drug prices. He has worked hard to carry that message back to D.C. and get results. Sam Palmer, Grant County commissioner John Day o you value public radio, payers. While the new tax laws music, libraries, muse- reduced the number of Orego- ums and monuments? nians who itemize deductions If so, please take advantage of at the federal level, the benefits Oregon’s most generous offer to of investing in Oregon culture support them. remain the same. Whether or Every Oregonian has the right not you itemize, your donation to direct a portion of to the Cultural Trust their state taxes to fund still prompts a 100% arts and culture, but tax credit on your state only a small percentage taxes. act on it. Contributions to the Here’s how it works Cultural Trust are easy to make and can be done — make a donation to online at www.cultural- one or more of Ore- gon’s 1,400-plus cultural trust.org. The Trust can C harles accept appreciated stock nonprofits, then make a s ams III as well as IRA distribu- matching gift to the Ore- COMMENT gon Cultural Trust by tions, which may pro- vide additional tax ben- Dec. 31. You get 100% efits. For clients using Donor of the Cultural Trust donation Advised Funds to make dona- back when you file your state tions, their matching gift to the taxes — by claiming the cultural Trust must come from an alter- tax credit — and the state legis- lature invests that same amount nate source of funds to qualify in Oregon culture. for the tax credit. The tax credit Since its creation in 2001, the is limited to $500 for individual Cultural Trust has awarded more filers, $1,000 for joint filers and than $30 million to Oregon cul- $2,500 for C-corporations. tural nonprofits. In Umatilla, If you enjoy Oregon’s arts Morrow, Union and Wallowa and culture community, partici- pating in the Cultural Trust tax counties those grant awards have credit program is the best way to exceeded $1.2 million, including give back. Make sure a portion a FY2020 award of $33,764 to of your state taxes supports arts the Athena Gem restoration proj- ect. A 10-year impact study by and culture. It’s a win-win for ECONorthwest calls the Trust’s everyone in our great state. geographic reach “remarkable.” ——— Charles Sams III is the board And now, the Cultural Trust chair of the Oregon Cultural tax credit is an even more Trust. important tool for Oregon tax- The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to the editor to editor@eastoregonian.com, or via mail to Andrew Cutler, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
