In Oregon congressional reaction to State of the Union address, some talk of compromise

The Oregonian
By Jeff Mapes
January 29, 2014

The local congressional reaction to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address contained several strains of encouragement for working across party lines to get things done.

It remains to be seen if this is just a nod to bipartisanship -- something that's often popular with voters -- or signs of change in Washington. The recent budget deal and congressional agreement on a new Farm Bill has caused some optimism on the working-together front.

That was pretty much the reaction of Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, the Republican who represents a southwest Washington district across the Columbia River from Portland.

In a statement, she said:

The recent year-long spending bill and Farm Bill compromise give us a great starting point from which to work. Let's keep going. For instance, we all agree that our immigration and tax systems are broken. If the President is willing to find common ground, I'll work with him on solutions that will benefit the residents of Southwest Washington."

Rep. Kurt Schrader, an Oregon Democrat who represents a swing district that includes most of Clackamas County, has long talked up his work with such bipartisan groups as No Labels.

He said:

I also share the President's frustration with Congress's partisan gridlock, but I would point to a couple of recent legislative successes that could turn the tide. Congress passed a budget for the first time in several years and is on track to pass a Farm Bill, and I think these are victories that we can build on.

On the other hand, Rep. Greg Walden, a Republican who represents eastern Oregon, said he didn't like Obama's talk about going around the back of Congress if he couldn't get cooperation:

The President gave the kind of speech you would expect him to give tonight, but it’s troubling that he wants to use his pen to get around laws he doesn’t like through executive order, when he should be working with Congress to change the laws if he wants them not to be enforced.

Walden did add, however, that he had a chance to talk with the president before the speech on drought conditions across the West, saying there is a "need to find solutions from an emergency standpoint as we head into what could be a terrible water year and a terrible fire year.”

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., each lauded Obama for pushing to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. In his statement, Wyden described some of the major issues he sees as he prepares to take over the chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee:

Congress must also move beyond political brinksmanship to help unemployed workers and create jobs by rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, strengthening American manufacturing and overhauling the broken tax code. It’s also time to look at Medicare reforms that strengthen and protect the Medicare guarantee, improve care and hold down costs.

Merkley, who is up for re-election this year, picked up on the president's focus on helping the middle class -- always a politically popular tack to take:

The President is right to pinpoint the success of our middle class as the defining issue of our time. Our economy and our families will never reach their full potential if growth only comes from the top down, and not from the middle out. What our country needs most is a middle class agenda that prioritizes good jobs now and expanded opportunity for the next generation.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat who represents most of Multnomah County and part of Clackamas County, said he was particularly pleased that Obama called for passing a new highway bill to keep money flowing for transportation projects. And he also praised Obama's strong defense of the progress made in getting Iran to back away from developing nuclear weapons. He said:

We have an unparalleled opportunity for international cooperation to prevent a nuclear Iran. We should continue to work with the countries that got us this far, and Congress should not interfere while progress is being made.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, a Democrat who represents much of southern Oregon, had both praise and criticism for Obama. He praised the president's vow to dedicate more national monuments for areas worthy of preservation, something DeFazio has recently focused on as the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.

But he criticized Obama's push for a new trade agreement with Pacific Rim countries, calling it "yet another job-killing trade deal."