While preparing to head to Fossil for a town hall, I
got word that Speaker Pelosi was calling the House
back into session to approve a $26 billion bailout
for state governments. The House didn’t even try to
pass a budget this year and is borrowing 43 cents of
every dollar Congress spends. This out-of-control
spending has to stop or those in charge in
Washington are going to bury us so deeply in debt we
may never recover.
By-the-way, the $26 billion
bailout violates the so-called “Pay Go” rule in the
House by not being truly offset by spending
reductions. And the tax increases they chose are
similar (if not identical) to the same “pay-for”
used two weeks ago to allegedly “pay for” repeal of
the onerous new tax reporting requirement placed on
all businesses as part of the health care law. This
provision requires business to file a “1099” form
with the IRS whenever a business purchases products
or services worth more than $600 a year. This
regulation will quintuple tax form filings,
according to the IRS.
Having been owner of a small Oregon business for
nearly 22 years, I know you can’t force hire taxes
and onerous regulations on employers on the one hand
and expect them to hire more people on the other
hand.
Now, back to Fossil.
I enjoyed the town meeting discussion about
issues of concern to folks in Wheeler County,
including federal deficit spending, the complexity
of the new health care law, the phasing out of
county payments and some local land management
issues. Like other places in our district, there is
deep frustration with the loss of resources-based
jobs and lack of active management of our forests.
From Fossil, I went to Prineville and met with
local community and business leaders to discuss jobs
and the economy in Crook County. Facebook recently
announced it was substantially increasing its
footprint in the county, which will generate and
sustain more private sector construction jobs than
originally anticipated.
In Bend, I met with the Deschutes Economic
Alliance, a newly formed group with a mission to
bring in economic experts to give an outsider’s look
at economic opportunities and challenges in Central
Oregon. It’s not the first time leaders in
Deschutes County have come together to plot a new
economic course for the area. After the collapse of
the timber economy in the early 80s, the communities
developed a new economic strategy that capitalized
on the lifestyle and recreational opportunities in
Central Oregon.
Friday night, I spoke to the American Forest
Resources Council conference in Bend about the
challenges facing our forests and the communities
that are surrounded by them. Timber industry
leaders told me that even in the down economy of
this recession they cannot get enough wood off of
the federal forests to sustain operations. The
federal government controls about 60 percent of the
forest land in the state but only produces about 7
percent of the timber. In contrast, the state and
local governments control about 6 percent of the
forested lands in Oregon, but produce about 8
percent of timber. As we discussed these matters,
about 1,000 firefighters were frantically battling
to contain the Rooster Rock fire that was consuming
about 6,100 acres of timber on federal ground
outside of Sisters. About half of the U.S. Forest
Service budget is now spent fighting fire. I’m
continuing to work on bipartisan legislation to give
our professional foresters more opportunity to
better manage the forests, reducing the threat of
wildfire and creating more private sector
wood-products and biomass jobs.
Unfortunately, the House under Speaker Pelosi’s
leadership has refused to even allow a hearing on
the bipartisan legislation that would help improve
forest health and reduce catastrophic wildfire.
They can pass 2,000 page bills in less than 72 hours
that cost trillions of dollars and give the
government unprecedented new powers, but can’t find
time for hearings on thoughtful measures that would
cut costs, grow jobs and improve the environment.
OK, so I’m a little frustrated.
I spent Saturday in southern Oregon, flying over
marijuana grows on federal forest lands and then
meeting with southern Oregon sheriffs and search and
rescue volunteers who were gathered for a training
session in Gold Beach. Sophisticated drug cartels
have introduced advanced farming techniques with
miles of plastic pipe, illegal water diversions and
a host of chemicals and fertilizers to forest
hillsides. Armed foreigners tend and protect these
marijuana plantations, many of whom have gang
affiliations. They’ve brought violence and
environmental havoc to our federal forests and
easily replaced lawful timber harvest with marijuana
as a billion dollar industry.
In response to the concerns of the sheriffs, I’ve
written to the secretaries of Agriculture and
Interior, as well as Governor Kulongoski, asking for
their focus on this criminal activity. I’ve also
cosponsored legislation calling on the Office of
National Drug Control Policy to develop a strategy
for dealing with illegal drug production on federal
lands.
And if you think marijuana grows are spreading
rapidly across the forest landscape, it’s stunning
to see from the air the backyard marijuana
plantations all across southern Oregon. In fact, a
garden without a dozen or more big marijuana shrubs
was the exception. And I’m not talking about little
seedlings, these plants are big shrubs worth
thousands of dollars each.
You can see some photos from that day here.
I came away with a much more somber view of the
challenges facing our law enforcement officials.
This is about much more than marijuana for sick
people, it’s about Oregon’s number one cash crop
funding drug trafficking organizations with deep
roots in Mexican violence and a source of cash to
fund production and distribution of methamphetamine,
cocaine and heroin. And the gangs that have spread
their street wars across California are moving
north, according to the sheriffs.
As I conclude this newsletter, the all-night
flight to DC via Chicago is coming to an end. I’ll
vote later today against the bailout for states and
for a resolution opposed to a post-election, “lame
duck” session of Congress. Then get back on a plane
this afternoon headed for Boise on my way to the
Oregon National Guard armory dedication in Ontario
Wednesday morning. The Governor and I will speak at
the event before I head on to meetings in five other
eastern Oregon counties this week.
Remember, make your voice heard by participating
in the discussions about national priorities on the
America Speaking Outwebsite. And keep up with
the effort to help cut wasteful Washington spending
at
YouCut.
That’s it for now. Representing Oregonians in
Congress is a responsibility I take very seriously.
I welcome your comments and suggestions, and let me
know how I can be of assistance to you.
Best regards,
Greg Walden
Oregon’s U.S. Representative
Second District
