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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2019)
6A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • MARCH 1, 2019 Wyden from A1 YAC: National Legislation YAC co-Chair MJ Raade and Vice Chair Courtney Owens, referring to recent passage of a YAC-sponsored state bill restricting the sale of nitrous oxide to individuals under 18, asked what steps they could take if they wanted to make the law national. Wyden recommended re- searching how nitrous oxide moves throughout the states and how that might apply to the nation’s Commerce Clause, applauding their effort to ex- pand their project. after the Republican-con- trolled House passed a bill Nov. 16 to drop legal protections for Gray Wolves across the contig- uous United States, reopening a lengthy battle over the spe- cies’ status. The senator likened the sit- uation to enforcing traffic law and supported the enforcement of local laws against those who violate it. Foreclosure Fraud A community member num- ber was called next, eliciting a question from a Eugene resi- dent who asked what has hap- pened to money which came in to the state years ago to address foreclosure fraud, adding that he was forced to sell a property that morning “because of the mess.” Wyden replied that this was the reason he was one of the few who voted against the “bank bailout bill,” referring to the Emergency Economic Sta- bilization Act of 2008, so as to deny bonuses to executives and instead direct funds to home- owners who were taken ad- vantage of. Wyden sent one of his staffers to the questioner to walk through his situation and find a solution. Depression Next a student asked about psychological depression rates in Oregon and how the prob- lem could be addressed. Wyden acknowledged that the state has serious problems in rural areas, particularly with veterans and those with opioid addictions. His own brother was a schizophrenic, he said, who died too young. The senator bemoaned an effort in Washington D.C. to cut Medicaid, which would de- crease funding for people with mental health problems. He also criticized insurance companies for not treating mental health as seriously as they treat physical health. “So I’m going after them as well,” he said. Giving mental health sup- port to people experiencing homelessness, he said, was another issue needing more at- tention. Climate Change A community member thanked Wyden for voting for the Green New Deal and raised concerns about climate change as related to the Department of Defense. “Our U.S. military is the largest in the whole world in the use of fossil fuels,” she said, adding that the military was exempted from greenhouse gas emission limitations as part of the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement. “The first thing we ought to do in January of 2021 is rejoin the international climate ef- fort to deal with this problem,” the senator said to applause. “I think we have to kick the carbon habit in America, and it actually ought to start with people in the Department of Defense.” Wyden also brought up the Green New Deal, calling it as- pirational rather than a piece of legislation. “There are 40 separate tax DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL A Cottage Grove High School student asks Sen. Wyden about gun control during the Feb. 19 town hall meeting. breaks for energy and most of those tax breaks for ener- gy in effect support the ener- gy tax relics of yesteryear,” he said, adding that he wanted to “throw them all in the garbage can” and replace them with only three tax breaks for clean- er and more efficient energy. Gun Control A student next asked if the senator supported more gun restrictions in light of a seem- ing “epidemic” of mass shoot- ings. Wyden responded that there appear to be bi-partisan, “prac- tical, common-sense steps” to deal with gun violence that don’t involve violating the Sec- ond Amendment. He supported putting up roadblocks to gun ownership for people with mental health challenges, are on the terror- ist watchlist and who have been convicted of domestic violence, promising to work on legislation that creates a safer environment for students as well. Marijuana Law A community member com- mented that banks will not award home loans “to anyone even tangentially related to the marijuana industry.” She said veterans who come out of the military and look for security work have run into obstacles when those security compa- nies are in some way related to the marijuana industry and veterans are thus denied their entitlement to VA home loans. “These are ridiculous re- strictions,” said Wyden. “I am a sponsor of legislation that would allow folks in those businesses to use the banking system, which they’re prohib- ited from doing.” The senator criticized a “patchwork” set of rules re- garding marijuana through- out the country and said he in- troduced legislation the week before which would make one uniform set of rules. Electoral College Next, a student asked the senator if he thought the Unit- ed States Electoral College was TURNING 65 AND NEED HELP WITH YOUR MEDICARE CHOICES? Call Paul to help simplify the complicated. a help or a hinderance to the democratic process. Wyden said his view has changed on this over the years, commenting that the system’s original aim was to give more voting weight to states with smaller populations and “that probably made sense for many decades.” Today, however, because our information, travel and communication systems have spread to a national level, “I think it’s time, and it ought to start for the 2020 Election, to have our president decided by popular vote,” he said. Homelessness A Creswell resident asked about homelessness, wonder- ing if the idea of using bank- owned homes as homeless housing before auctioning them off could be introduced as national legislation. Wyden said the first step would be to see if banks could be incentivized to come for- ward. On other fronts, the senator said he wanted to see money being used more ef- fectively by using the nation- al Low-Income Housing Tax Credit scheme to make better facilities. The senator sent staff to speak with the resident about his plan. Universal Health Care A community member asked what the senator’s thoughts were on universal health care in the United States. “First of all, I think health care is a basic human right,” Wyden said to applause, “and it ought to be secure for all Americans. Second, we are spending enough money today for good, universal coverage.” Wyden said the country is expected to spend $3.5 trillion on health care this year, which is enough to send every fami- ly of four a check for $40,000. “We’re spending enough,” he said. “I think we’re in agree- ment there.” He characterized his role in Congress as a bulwark against Republican efforts to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, citing the unad- dressed problem of about 165 million people as receiving health care through their pri- vate employers. He also castigated an over- ly bureaucratic billing system bloated with administration costs, which said should be streamlined by centralizing the process. Border Security A student then asked what the senator’s views were on immigration and the proposed border wall between the Unit- ed States and Mexico. “First of all, so that nobody is confused, I think this idea of declaring a national emergency to build the wall is one of the most horrible precedents I’ve heard about ,” Wyden stated, to which the audience resound- ingly cheered. He said the idea of building a wall “is based on a fable,” refer- ring to the promise that Mexi- co would pay for the wall. Quality Local Care... • Sports Training: Golf, Running, Tennis and More... • Orthopedic • Sports Rehabilition • Rapid Acess for Urgent Issues • Lunch and Evening Appointments 75 Gateway Blvd. Suite A Cottage Grove, OR 97424 541-942-6482 southlanephysicaltherapy.com W. Stu Hogg PT, OCS, COMT Visit us on Facebook Marie Williamson PTA Winter Heating Tune-Up Only $99* We’ll make sure your system is running eff ectively and effi ciently. 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