Op-Eds
August 15, 2016
Op-Eds
Across Oregon, I’ve talked with many families who are struggling with mental illness and drug addiction. These touch every segment of our communities, no matter where you live or what you look like. Tragically, they often carry with them a major stigma in society, and help is hard to find. Fortunately, Congress is working in a bipartisan way to help solve these problems and offer relief to those who need help.
Issues:
August 3, 2016
Op-Eds
As I listen to people during meetings throughout our state (I recently held my 51st town hall since the beginning of last year), Oregonians too often voice the same concerns: an overreaching federal government that ignores our pleas, overregulates our lives and depresses job growth in our communities. That’s why I put forward legislation that positively addresses the problems we face.
June 10, 2016
Op-Eds
As a lifelong Gorge resident, I’ve seen my share of train derailments, fires and highway accidents over the years. Last week we dodged a bullet when on a hot, calm day an oil train derailed just west of Mosier. Suddenly, the hypothetical accident which our first responders had only recently gotten trained for, became reality.
May 5, 2016
Op-Eds
The Kelsey Smith Act and Kari's Law are two proposals in Congress that would give law enforcement the tools they need to help victims in an emergency.
January 12, 2016
Op-Eds
It’s important to understand what is driving this anger and what steps we can take to improve the situation.
November 3, 2015
Op-Eds
We don’t need a presidential declaration locking up more of our public lands and choking our local ranch economy.
August 31, 2015
Op-Eds
Several times a year, I have the privilege of greeting World War II veterans who travel to Washington, D.C. to see their memorial on the National Mall as part of the “Honor Flight” program. These brave men and women fought to protect our freedom and defeat tyranny. In the words of General John Pershing, the commander of American forces in World War I, “time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”
August 18, 2015
Op-Eds
All of us have known someone affected by deadly diseases. In my own family, I’ve had loved ones suffer from ovarian and brain cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, and more. At roundtables in Bend and Medford this month, I met with patients and families impacted by ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, lupus, and diabetes—diseases for which we have no known cure. According to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, there are 10,000 known diseases in the world (7,000 of which are considered rare) but treatments for only 500 of them.
August 10, 2015
Op-Eds
Around Oregon and throughout the West, another fire season is well underway. Overstocked, diseased, and bug-infested forests are at risk of the massive and catastrophic wildfire that clog our air with smoke and threaten our streams. All this while our mills are starving for a reliable supply of timber and people need jobs. It’s clear the status quo isn’t working for our forests, our communities, or our environment. We can do better.
May 29, 2015
Op-Eds
All across Oregon and the rural West, farmers, ranchers, and other property owners have been wondering: what will Washington, D.C. try to unnecessarily regulate next? Where will a federal agency again attempt to curtail private property rights? How will this uncertainty affect already struggling rural economies?