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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 2018)
A10 Blue Mountain Eagle BROWN Continued from Page A1 94 percent to 99 percent and insured children from over 98 percent to 100 percent. Housing and homelessness Brown has pledged to request $370 million from the Legislature for afford- able housing incentives and housing assistance in the next two years. Since she became governor, lawmakers have allocated $300 million to assist in building affordable units, homelessness prevention programs and rental assis- tance. Oregon Housing and Community Services has awarded subsidies and tax credits to build about 15,000 units in the past three years. Gun control Next year, Brown plans to again introduce failed legislation to prohibit transfer of a firearm for 10 business days if Ore- gon State Police are un- Wednesday, October 3, 2018 able to determine whether the recipient is eligible to receive the weapon. The proposal is known as clos- ing the “Charleston loop- hole.” She supports rais- ing the legal age from 18 to 21 to purchase an assault rifle and a ban on bump stocks. Environment The governor supports and her staffers are active in helping to craft legis- lation to create what is known as a cap and trade program called “Clean Energy Jobs.” Cap and trade programs set an allowance, or a cap, for the amount of carbon dioxide industry can emit free-of-charge. Any business that re- leased more than that amount would be re- quired to buy credits at auction to offset their emissions. The proceeds of those purchases would go to- ward investing in projects aimed at stemming cli- mate change. She also was a player in passing the state’s Low Carbon Fuels Standard to reduce the intensity of carbon in fuel and the statewide plan to gradual- ly abandon coal-generated electricity. Public Employees Retirement System Public employers are in heavy debt over the state’s generous public retire- ment benefits. Brown has spearheaded some modest changes to the pension system, such as incentives for public employers to pay off debt, but none so far have made a signifi- cant impact on the state’s $25 billion unfunded fu- ture obligation to retirees. Brown said she wants covered workers to have “skin in the game,” and noted that after recent rounds of collective bar- gaining, 98 percent of state workers will pay 6 percent of their salary for their pension side ac- counts. That’s known as the “employee contribu- tion” but had long been paid by the state. BUEHLER Continued from Page A1 development and offer prop- erty tax abatement to incen- tivize the construction of affordable units. He also is a proponent of tweaks to the state’s land use laws to make it easier to build affordable housing in areas that are now outside the urban growth boundary. Gun control Buehler supports a ban on bump stocks and raising the legal age to purchase an as- sault rifle from 18 to 21. In 2017, he voted for Brown’s legislation to con- fiscate firearms from domes- tic abusers. He voted against a bipar- tisan bill designed to pre- vent suicides and other gun violence by creating a way to petition the courts to tem- porarily confiscate a fire- arm from a family member or loved one who is at risk of harming others or them- selves. “... if you are going to take away someone’s funda- mental right in regards to the Second Amendment, in my opinion, they need due pro- cess,” Buehler said. “They need to have their time in court, too, to make their case why they shouldn’t have their firearm taken from them, and most other states have that due process com- ponent in the legislation.” He also opposed a pro- posal by Brown to prohibit the transfer of a firearm for 10 business days if Oregon State Police are unable to determine whether the re- cipient is eligible to receive the weapon. The propos- al is known as closing the “Charleston loophole.” Environment Buehler opposed a pro- posed cap and trade program in Oregon earlier this year but says he would be willing to support a carbon tax to ad- dress climate change. Cap and trade programs set an allowance, or a cap, for the amount of carbon dioxide industry can emit free-of-charge. Any business that released more than that amount would be required to buy credits at auction to offset its emissions. The proceeds of those purchases would go toward investing in projects aimed at stemming climate change. Buehler says he opposed that plan because the reve- nue went to the Department of Environmental Quality rather than bolstering the state’s general fund. He voted for the state’s Low Carbon Fuels Standard to reduce the intensity of car- bon in fuel in 2015 and for a statewide plan to gradually abandon coal-generated elec- tricity in 2016. Public Employees Retirement System Buehler says he would move the pension program’s $25 billion in unfunded obli- gations to retirees to the top of his agenda. “I won’t sign any new spending bills until I have a PERS reform bill on my desk,” he said. Reforms he would like to see would: cap annual payouts to future re- tirees at $100,000 per year; require public employees to contribute to their retirement fund; and transition the pen- sion plan to a 401(k) retire- ment plan. MCLEOD- SKINNER Continued from Page A1 and Kosovo and an environ- mental planner for the Santa Clara Valley Water District for five years. In response to submitted questions, McLeod-Skinner promised to hold annual town halls across the district as well as using Skype to hold debates with students. She said she wants to keep youths informed but also restore confidence in government. For too long, Democrats have focused on issues orig- inating in urban areas while Republicans focused on helping big business, she said. To achieve results in Washington, D.C., repre- sentatives needed to devel- op consensus about an is- sue, talk to experts and then get legislation passed. She said Congress should push back on the Trump adminis- tration’s tariffs, which were hurting agriculture. McLeod-Skinner em- phasized the importance of bringing broadband internet to rural counties to provide Eagle photos/Richard Hanners Grant Union High School senior Tanner Elliott speaks to Jamie McLeod-Skinner, the Democratic candidate for Oregon’s Second Congressional District, during a Sept. 26 town hall meeting in Canyon City. educational opportunities and promote economic de- velopment. Large data cen- ters have been established S ’ D Y O Twice Upon L L A Time Everyday Quality Used Furniture Refurbished Mattresses Jewelry Home Accessories & Kitchen Antiques & Collectables in Prineville, she said, add- ing that she has maintained her connections with people in Silicon Valley. Eastern Oregon can boast about its quality of life, but it lacks good housing and internet access, she said. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United case, which changed cam- paign finance regulations for corporations, has had a ma- jor impact on the U.S., Mc- Leod-Skinner said. One rea- son so many people distrust government is the belief that money is influencing gov- ernment decisions, she said. Her campaign is not as well funded as Walden’s, which will become evident soon, she noted. Grant County Judge Scott Myers speaks to Jamie McLeod-Skinner at a town hall meeting Sept. 26. McLeod-Skinner said health care, education and economic development are top priorities. McLeod-Skinner sup- ports proactive steps to ad- dress climate change. Her focus has been on promot- ing renewable energy, but other creative opportunities exist to lessen human im- pacts, she said. Even if other nations won’t step up and take steps to address climate change, the U.S. should at least address its own impacts, she said. When asked about for- est management, Mc- Leod-Skinner said she supports the collaborative stewardship work of the Blue Mountains Forest Part- ners and the formal review process that federal land agencies follow. Recognizing public frus- tration and divisiveness over issues, McLeod-Skin- ner said officials in Wash- ington, D.C., should not micromanage the nation’s natural resources. Listen- ing to each other’s opinions and agreeing to disagree is better than shouting at each other and not working to- gether, she said. McLeod-Skinner and Walden will debate at 7 p.m. Oct. 5, along with In- dependent candidate Mark Roberts. Eastern Oregon residents can stream the debate on ktvz.com and can submit questions to the candidates on the station’s website at ktvz.com/share. The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. 406.214.9176 www.eomediagroup.com Need a Venue? We have the place for you! Parties, Reunions, Receptions and everything in-between. 109 S. Main St. Prairie City, OR. 97869 Open Tues-Sat 9:30-5:30 Owned & Operated by a Veteran 79534 Kitchen and dining room facilities available Call the John Day Golf Course @ 541.575.0170
