Walden Highlights Key Legislative Accomplishments for Oregon During the 115th Congress [VIDEO]

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River) issued a video statement highlighting key legislative accomplishments for Oregon during the 115th Congress. Walden outlined his priorities for the upcoming session of Congress that will begin on January 3, 2019.

Throughout 2017 and 2018, Walden continued his efforts to find bipartisan solutions to the challenges facing communities in Oregon’s Second District, from combating the opioid crisis to expanding broadband in rural Oregon.

Walden said today that he remains committed to improving federal forest policy to reduce catastrophic wildfires, increasing transparency and patient control in America’s health care system, and cracking down on the bad actors contributing to the spread of the opioid crisis.

A full transcript of Walden’s video statement is included below:

“As the 115th Congress comes to an end, it is important to reflect on the progress we made for Oregon’s Second District over the last two years.

“We made historic strides in the fight against the opioid crisis, which now takes the lives of more Oregonians than traffic accidents. Throughout our district, I heard from victims, families, and those on the front lines of combating opioid abuse in Oregon. My bipartisan legislation -- the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act -- that was signed into law in October, provides new tools and resources to help stem the tide of opioid addiction and save lives.

“We also passed into law the most significant reforms to forest management in more than a decade. That includes fixing the way we pay to fight wildfires, so that we aren’t robbing forest management funds to pay for firefighting costs. Beginning in 2020, we will finally treat wildfires like the natural disasters that they are. There is more to be done to protect our communities from smoke, but this is important progress towards that goal.

“I am also proud of the work we did to strengthen public health programs upon which patients in Oregon rely. I worked hard to pass into law historic extensions of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and boost funding for community health centers. Both provide crucial health care to people and families in our district, and the resources Congress provided will ensure these programs can continue serving our communities.

“And bipartisan measures I helped pass into law will help boost hydropower production in Oregon, connect rural areas of our district with high speed broadband, and give communities resources to put old industrial sites back into economic use through the Brownfields program, which is being used from Grants Pass, to Bend, to Pendleton.

“Most importantly, we provided our veterans with unprecedented resources so they can get the care and support they deserve at the VA. That includes my legislation to bring medical scribes into the VA, so that doctors are not burdened by paperwork, and can spend more time caring for veterans. And we boosted funding for our military to give them the tools they need to safely carry out their missions to defend freedom around the world.

“I look forward to continuing this bipartisan progress in the next session of Congress.

“There is much more to be done to improve forest management to reduce catastrophic wildfires that choke our communities with smoke. After another devastating wildfire season across our state, we need to redouble our efforts to save our forests and communities from fire and destruction.

“We should be using the proven management tools that work in eastern Oregon forests in all of Oregon’s forests. When we’re losing towns, and people, and firefighters, and our communities are choked with smoke, we need to do a better job in the way that we manage our forests.

“We also must continue our efforts to increase transparency and patient control in our health care system, which will help bring down drug costs. And I will continue to look for solutions to help connect rural communities with the 21st Century economy and crack down on the bad actors contributing to the spread of the opioid crisis.

"None of this is possible without the feedback of people on the ground in our district. Through roundtable meetings, in person and telephone town halls, and more than 168,000 messages responded to, I added a lot to my 'to-do' list over the last two years.

“I am committed to adding more to that to-do-list in the upcoming session of Congress as I continue to reach across the aisle to solve problems and get results for the people of the Second District.

“Thank you, and God Bless.”

Press release provided from Office of Greg Walden, US Representative of Oregon.