BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- Governor Ted Kulongoski and Attorney General John Kroger announced Wednesday their intentions to proceed with legal action supporting the recently passed federal health care reform.

“Oregon has been a leader in expanding access to health care while containing costs, and the bill passed by Congress and signed by the President is essential for states like Oregon to advance this goal,” said Gov. Kulongoski.

Kroger is the first Attorney General to announce that he will be taking legal action to support the legislation. The Oregon Department of Justice now will proceed with working to create a coalition of states to file an amicus brief.

“Opponents of the bill seek to turn back the Constitutional clock 100 years, returning to a time when the United States Supreme Court routinely struck down legislation designed to protect the health, safety and well-being of the American people,” Kroger added. “As an Attorney General and law professor, I think it is critical that the courts hear not just from the opponents of the health care legislation, but from those states that believe it is constitutional.”

The Communications Director for the Department of Justice, Tony Green, stated that the Department is looking into ways of paying for this action that will not take money away from the State’s other agencies, but instead will pay for it internally.

BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- Oregon’s Attorney General John Kroger announced Thursday that not only would he not be joining the growing fight against the federal health care bill, but that the Oregon Department of Justice is considering filing an amicus brief to the court in support of the law.

In a press release Kroger said, “Historically, opponents of reform have turned to the courts when they have failed to muster the votes to block major legislation. The Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were all challenged on constitutional grounds and all three of these monumental pieces of legislation were upheld by the courts.”

“Because of the importance of the health care reform legislation, the Oregon Department of Justice is exploring the possibility of filing an amicus brief in support of the law,” he added.

Saying the bill is constitutional and that challenges to the legislation are without merit, Kroger said he would not “waste taxpayer dollars on filing meritless litigation.”

This news comes after Washington’s Attorney General Rob McKenna announced that he would be joining a number of Republican attorneys general to fight the federal legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality.

The Communications Director of the Oregon Republican Party, Greg Leo, expressed his concerns with the announcement that Kroger may be filing an amicus brief to support the bill.

“This is another example of a pattern of partisan decisions that have been made by Democrat John Kroger,” said Leo. “We think this is a big mistake and the decision has more to do with his party affiliation than it does with the best interest of Oregonians.”

BY SARAH ROSS

WASHINGTON- Oregon’s delegation followed the near party line vote on Sunday’s passage of the health care reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, with all of its Democrat Representatives voting for the bill and its sole Republican voting against it.

“In 50 years, we’re going to look back on the health care battles of today and wonder what was so hard about making these necessary changes,” said Rep. David Wu, representing Oregon’s 1^st Congressional district. “When we look back, health care reform will stand beside Social Security, the GI Bill, and Medicare as a pillar of American progress and humane values.”

Several of the delegation’s votes were kept very quiet and said to be undecided until Medicare reimbursement language was secured for the package on Saturday. Previously, Canby’s Rep. Kurt Schrader said he was undecided and Eugene’s Rep. Peter DeFazio said he would vote no.

“This agreement begins to change the culture of healthcare delivery. States like Oregon should not be penalized for providing high quality care for less,” stated Rep. Schrader in a press release following the announcement that the delegation had secured Medicare reimbursement language. “ I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the delegation to make sure the promises made by House leaders and the Administration come to fruition so we can finally address this problem once and for all.”

The bill which originated in the Senate was passed in the House with a vote of 219-212, with 34 Democrats and all Republicans voting against it. It required just 216 votes to pass the House and is now on its way to being signed by President Obama.

Along with the passage of the health care bill, the House passed the reconciliation bill, which includes the language desired by the House members to “fix” the Senate bill. This passed 220-211 and will now proceed to the Senate for debate and voting.

BY SARAH ROSS

WASHINGTON- Rep. Kurt Schrader, Democrat Congressman from Canby representing Oregon’s 5^th Congressional District, failed to vote on any of the reconciliation amendments presented in Monday’s House markup of the reconciliation of the health care bill.

While other Congressmen on the Budget Committee did not vote on certain aspects of the reconciliation bill, Schrader was the only member not to vote on any aspect of the bill.

This came after Schrader did not vote on all but one bill brought to vote on the House floor since Monday.

Late last week, it was reported that the Senate Parliamentarian, advisor to the Senate on standing rules of the body, ruled that in order for reconciliation to occur on the Senate bill, it first must be signed in its original form by the President.

Budget reconciliation is a process to allow one or more committees to bring legislation changing existing law to make spending, revenues, or the debt-limit consistent with the budget resolution.

The House is expected to vote on the Senate’s health care bill this coming week. If passed and signed into law, the bill will return to the Senate to continue the reconciliation process, potentially incorporating those aspects of the bill desired by the House and passed by the House Budget Committee Monday.

After multiple calls and e-mails to Rep. Schrader’s office, a spokesman for the representative was not available for comment.

As of Wednesday, Schrader is still listed as undecided in The Hill’s latest Whip Count.

Schrader is expected to face a tough reelection fight and is being targeted by Republican campaign groups. He also has drawn much controversy at his town halls.

BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- An amendment to guarantee health care to all Oregonians narrowly failed in a House floor vote Friday morning.

The amendment proposed by Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, would have put forth a constitutional amendment to be voted on by the Senate and then brought to the ballot for a statewide vote from the citizens. The legislation offered an amendment creating a state obligation ensuring that every legal resident of the state has access to “effective, medically appropriate and affordable health care.”

Thirty legislators, all Democrats, voted in favor of the bill. 28 legislators opposed it, including all Republican representatives and five Democrat representatives. The bill required just 31 votes to pass the House.

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BY SARAH ROSS

OREGON CITY- Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) drew major criticism and little praise from constituents Thursday night at the Willamette Falls Medical Center for his health care vote last summer.

During the ninety-minute town hall gathering, almost every question Schrader fielded was about the subject of health care. While there were a few appreciative remarks for his vote last summer, the majority of the audience spoke out against that vote and urged the Congressman to vote “no” on coming legislation.

Many of the comments and questions from the audience questioned the legality of Congress’s ability to force people to buy health insurance coverage. Schrader responded to these remarks by stating that the health, safety, and welfare clause in the Constitution afforded Congress this option. He also added that no matter the outcome, because this legislation is so controversial, it likely will be brought before the United States Supreme Court for a ruling on constitutionality.

Other complaints came from those saying the health care legislation would increase the national debt. Schrader referenced the Congressional Budget Office, stating that the legislation would not increase the debt and would be paid for through increased taxes and fees.

Additionally, the Congressman added that if certain aspects of the original House bill, including reform on Medicare reimbursement, are not included in the final bill, he would not be voting in favor of it.

He stated that while he believed a public option was the way to go, since Oregon has had semi-public options for years, that element is not necessary for him to vote in favor of the final bill.

“This isn’t the final product, guys. We have a long way to go,” said Schrader. “This is a lot of work to fill in the blanks: what’s in the basic benefits package, what’s preventative medicine? And those are discussions, hopefully, you and I, providers, and other advocates will have going forward.”

Besides the questions on health care, other points of contention included immigration and climate change. Concerning immigration reform, Schrader stated that he supported a strong border patrol, mandatory legal worker verification software, and requiring illegal immigrants already in the country to pay a fine and then go through the standard immigration process.

On the issue of climate change, the Congressman did not claim to know the science of climate change well but believed that the cap-and-trade bill on which he voted earlier this session would be helpful in achieving energy independence for the U.S.

Despite the rowdy nature of the town hall, Rep. Schrader noted that this event had been one of his better town halls.

BY SARAH ROSS

MOLALLA- Despite the passage of health care legislation in the Senate over a week ago, controversy on the matter took center stage at Sen. Ron Wyden’s (D-OR) town hall in Molalla on Tuesday.

Numerous questions about the bill were presented to the Senator, including how the legislation would affect Veteran’s benefits, how it would be paid for, if it could get bipartisan support, if it includes abortion and illegal aliens, and if it would include a public option.

The Senator responded to these questions, making sure to refer back to the health care bill he crafted, which was not put before a Senate vote.

“I wrote a bill,” Wyden stated. “I really put 5 years into a different approach and I had multiple Democrats and Republicans with valid points. I went to see 85 Senators in their offices, both parties, just to listen to them….

“I think that [my] bill which guaranteed, in effect, better coverage for less money, and that’s what the Congressional Budget Office said, was the way to go. Now, my view didn’t prevail but we have to try to export as much of that approach with competition, choice, and markets as we can. We’ll try and get as much of that at the next stage as we can.”

The Senator said there is enough money in health care to pay for his plan, but that with the path this new bill is taking, money likely will have to be cut from other places in the budget.

He assured his constituents that the bill presented to the Senate, however, would not affect current veteran or military health care benefits. Additionally, he guaranteed that he did not vote to cover illegal aliens or public funding of abortion in this bill.

As for the public option, Wyden strongly supported and voted for such measures but made clear that a public option was not in the final Senate bill.

He did say that while he will try everything in his power to get bipartisan support, because of the party-line vote on the Senate bill, support from across the aisle is unlikely.

“I’m going to do everything I can to get bipartisan support at every level. Now, I’m not going to kid you or anybody else. This bill came out of the United States Senate on a 60-40 vote. That’s a fact.”

Even though health care legislation is in its final stages, town hall attendees in Clackamas County demonstrated that citizens are still concerned about the affects it will have.