NEWS
Wednesday, august 11, 2021
HeRMIstOnHeRaLd.COM • A9
Bentz says ‘get
vaccinated’
2nd district rep also talks
infrastructure at in-
person town hall
By ANTONIO SIERRA
staFF WRIteR
In the span of an hour
Monday, Aug. 9, at the
Pendleton Convention Cen-
ter, U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz
spoke about the COVID-19
pandemic, unemployment,
energy and the economy
during an in-person town
hall meeting.
The Ontario Republi-
can didn’t have too much
more time beyond the hour:
He was in the process of an
11-county tour of his dis-
trict, which encompasses
the entire state east of the
Cascades plus a significant
chunk of southern Oregon.
Elected to replace longtime
Rep. Greg Walden in 2020,
Bentz said he plans to hold
at least one town hall in
each county in his district
per year.
Right off the bat, Bentz
was asked what he would
do to promote the vac-
cine in Umatilla County.
A recent surge in COVID-
19 cases has pushed Uma-
tilla County beyond 10,000
total cases, and during the
first week of August, Uma-
tilla County had the highest
test positivity rate of any
county in the state. While
the share of county resi-
dents who have received at
least one dose of the vac-
cination has risen to about
45%, Umatilla County
remains one of the least
vaccinated counties in the
state.
Bentz said one of his
close, personal friends was
battling COVID-19 from
the hospital before mention-
ing state Sen. Bill Hansell,
who was in the audience,
adding he recently recov-
ered from the virus despite
getting vaccinated.
“I will say it clearly: I
recommend you get vacci-
nated,” he said, crediting
former President Donald
Trump for Operation Warp
Speed, a White House effort
to accelerate the develop-
ment of the COVID-19
vaccine. “I’ve said it over
and over again. I recom-
mend it, I don’t demand it.
Don’t mandate it, but I sug-
gest you do it.”
Bentz took a more
guarded stance on infra-
structure, as the Senate
is on the verge of pass-
ing a bipartisan $1.1 tril-
lion infrastructure bill. The
bill’s future is complicated
by Speaker Nancy Pelosi
insisting the Senate also
pass a complimentary $3.5
trillion infrastructure bill
before the House holds a
vote. Bentz said he would
need to hold more con-
versations with his caucus
before supporting the bipar-
tisan bill, but he would not
be able to support the pas-
sage of both, adding the
increase in federal spend-
ing could result in inflation
that would hurt constitu-
ents’ pocketbooks.
“No one’s going to count
that as the cost that each of
you are going to pay, which
you’re already paying 5%
off each one of your dollars
in savings,” he said.
Bentz said he shared
concern with one town hall
attendee about the national
debt and would try to elim-
inate pork barrel spending,
the practice of tying local
projects to federal legis-
lation to get a bill passed,
but cutting bigger pro-
grams, such as Medicare
and Social Security, were
harder to do.
“You want to go to a
bunch of doctors and say
guess what, we’re going
to cut what you’re getting
paid for Medicare?” he
said. “Better be close to the
door, because they’re going
to try to hurt you.”
With the exception of
a stint as a member of the
Ontario School Board,
Bentz said he’s been in the
minority during his entire
political career, dating back
to his time in the Oregon
Legislature.
“I found it very easy
to throw rocks,” he said.
“When you’re in the
minority, by the way, that’s
what you do most of the
time.”
But Bentz said he still
wanted to find solutions to
the country’s problems and
wanted to work on water
issues, should Republi-
cans retake the House in
2022. A water attorney by
trade, Bentz pointed to the
drought in the Klamath
Basin, which is heightening
tensions between irrigators,
the government and local
American Indian tribes.
But he also said other areas
in his district are facing dire
circumstances, including
the Deschutes Basin and
the Owyhee Basin, which
he said was going to dry out
in the imminent future.
Nick Clemens/Contributed Photo
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, speaks to a crowd of more than 30 at a town hall meeting
Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, at the Pendleton Convention Center.
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