Op-Eds
Guest column: Striking back against the opioid crisis
BY GREG WALDEN
June 23, 2018
CONNECTION TO CONGRESS: Combating the opioid crisis
Rep. Greg Walden
CONNECTION TO CONGRESS: Precisely the change Oregon needed out of Washington
Pro-growth tax reform is on its way to hardworking, middle-class Americans. And it’s about time.
Another fire season, and another summer in Central Oregon choked with smoke, and homes threatened by wildfires on federal land. A similar situation has played out across our great state this summer. Dense fuel loads from a lack of management leave a tinderbox in our forests waiting to ignite, which happened yet again this year and filled Central Oregon’s air with smoke.
Driving along Interstate 84 through the Columbia River Gorge, it's hard not to notice the ongoing construction and cooling towers on the riverside property as you enter the west side of The Dalles. The cooling towers belong to Google's growing data center facilities built in part on former industrial lands at the Port of The Dalles.
The President’s nomination of Ryan Bounds to serve on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is welcome news for rural Oregon. Born and raised in Hermiston, Ryan has never lost touch with his roots and understands well the way of life in our communities. He knows firsthand the dominant role federal decisions can make in our region where a majority of land is managed by the federal government.
Veterans in Oregon and across the country deserve quality care in a timely manner when they go to the VA. Unfortunately, long wait times at many facilities have resulted in delayed access to essential health services, especially in rural and underserved areas in Oregon. We can and must solve this problem, and I’ve sponsored legislation to help.
All of us in Oregon and across the country deserve access to safe, clean drinking water. That’s why the Energy and Commerce Committee — where I serve as Chairman — just passed bipartisan legislation to modernize the nation’s drinking water infrastructure.