Press Releases

Salem Republicans’ Agenda Mirrors U.S. Congress' Failed Approaches

Jan 18, 2012


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Erik Dorey  |  Communications Director  |  press [at] dpo [dot] org  |  (503) 239-8624

Portland, Ore. (January 18, 2012) – 

Today, Oregon House Republicans announced their agenda for the upcoming legislative session: give more tax breaks to the wealthy and overturn the will of Oregon voters. The proposal, by their own math, would cost nearly $4 billion over five years, forcing cuts to vital services for students, seniors and middle-class families. In every way, their approach reflects the same priorities of the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, whose gridlock-first agenda has hurt our economy and done nothing to create jobs.

When Oregonians vote, they expect their elected leaders to listen — a concept clearly lost on House Republicans. Once again they're pushing to overturn Measure 67, which Oregon voters passed in 2010.  They also continue to attack Oregon’s unique land-use planning system, which is insulting to voters who overwhelmingly passed Measure 49 in 2007.

“Salem Republicans seem to think that repackaging the failed policies of their counterparts in Washington, DC will somehow create jobs in Oregon — they’re wrong,” said Meredith Wood Smith, Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon. “Just like in Washington, DC, House Republicans in Oregon are more interested in playing politics than coming up with real solutions that help middle-class families recover from this recession.”

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