Thank you Congressman Walden for
coming to Merrill today

KBC News
October 18, 2003

In this time of false science, false bureaucrats, well-funded, tax-exempt groups with an agenda to end agriculture and our local economy, and government agencies that are diminishing agriculture in America, we are blessed with a special  bright spot in our lives. His name is Congressman Greg Walden, and he came to visit us today.

In the O'Keeffe barn, just North of Merrill, the locals had an ice cream social with the Old Time Fiddlers playing and the neighbors congregating, to greet our representative.   He comes to visit us, and asks what he can do for us.  Today he told us what he has been doing for us lately.

From Oregon's Second Congressional district, Walden represents 20 counties, and 70,000 square miles.  Flying to and from D.C. weekly, he has made 160 round trips. 

While spending most of the time chatting with each of us, Walden did take time to give a speech:

He told us how he has been working on an energy bill  to come up with renewable energy, like wind, to "wean us off foreign oil, and do a little more work on our domestic energy sources." "It will be the first time in decades that we've really moved forward in a positive direction on energy policy that's balanced and good for our country."

Also he has been working on a bill for Medicare recipients, to provide prescription benefits for our seniors.

We hope to pass legislation on our healthy forests.  We're trying to cut out unnecessary appeals and delays that prevent our foresters from thinning:  I was in Bend on the B+B fire that burned this summer.  "It is so obvious when you go back out in one of these forest burns, to see on the ground where work  had been done in the forest.  Even the fir trees are doing fine, let alone the pines."

"Where we haven't thinned, the fire gets catastrophic in nature. totally destructive.  It burns way up in the watershed and causes great harm." Next week the Senate will be working on this legislation.

Walden just returned from Iraq. The troops "believe in the mission....we did the right thing....They thought 90-95% of the people of Iraq want to have us there. They also believe and told us that the Iraqis were pleased and thankful for what we did to liberate them from brutal, brutal, decades after decades of a dictator who repressed them, who murdered them, over 300,000 Iraqis were murdered by this dictator Saddam Hussein....there are hundreds of mass graves..."

"He took about 75% of the revenues of the country for him and his sons...one palace is 22 square miles"...Saddam spent about all his money on procuring weapons. He had a cache of 1083 weapons, "the largest is 32 square kilometers of weapons.  "The people in Iraq still live in fear that we will leave and Saddam will come back."

Regarding talks between the irrigators and the Tribes, the biggest land transfer in history to the tribes, according to Walden, had been 30,000 acres, not 600,000 plus.... "Whatever agreement is reached has to go through this resource committee.." Also it "allows great flexibility to study proposals like Long Lake....."ultimately storage is a key issue to solving this problem, more water not less."

"The 3rd issue is removal of Chiloquin Dam...the group, composed of irrigators, tribes and government agencies, decided that dam removal is the best alternative (since the dam, according to USFWS studies, blocks up to 95% of sucker fish habitat).

Tuesday the NAS report comes out, "We've still got a lot of work to do."

Greg, thank you for giving us hope for our country and for our community.  Thank you for representing the Klamath Basin.