Chuck on the Issues

Oregonians face many challenges and they want strong leaders who will put the communities interests before wealthy special interests.  I have heard from many people at their doorsteps about the challenges they face in their daily lives, and I have heard  your suggestions for solutions. Here are some ideas to move Oregon forward.

Education

Challenge: Oregon still has the second largest elementary school class sizes in the country.  In Forest Grove, many students are not even allowed to take text books home for homework because they have to share them with other students.  Moreover, we have one of the shortest school years in the nation and our spending per pupil has dropped to 30^th among the 50 states. 

Solutions: We need to reinvest in our kids and our future.  As your state representative, I will work to:

• Build upon the investment of lottery dollars in the classroom to provide more textbooks for our kids.
• Help lower the cost of health insurance for teachers by implementing the statewide purchasing pool
• Expand vocational training, mentorship programs and school to work partnerships ensuring that all Oregonians have the ability to earn a family wage.

• Partner school districts with community colleges and apprentice programs to give our kids more options for careers.  This will give those who don't see college as an option some hope and keep them engaged, thereby dropping the dropout rate.

• Work to make sports affordable and to get the arts back in school.  Another motivator to lower dropout.

Cutting Government Waste

Challenge:  Our state bureaucracies need to get serious about spending money wisely. Efficiencies are critical to curbing government waste.  Oregon should prioritize resources and end wasteful giveaways that favor wealthy special interests at the expense of working families.

Solutions: There are many ways we can make state government more efficient and ensure we have the funds needed to build roads, provide for public safety and invest in a strong education system.  Among them, I aim to:

• Rein in state spending by giving state agencies incentives to cut waste and promote efficiency.  The savings can go to funding things like additional state troopers and improving the state’s transportation system.
• Work with the Committee on Performance Excellence, of which I am a member, to oversee efficiency and use of taxpayer resources in state agencies.
• Evaluate special interest tax loopholes, and repeal those that do not help the public good.
• Suspend the corporate kicker, which could export over $200 million in Oregon tax dollars out of state and away from our kids education.

Health Care

Challenge: Sky rocketing health care costs are crippling our families and our small businesses.  80% of Oregonians without health insurance have a full time worker in their household.  Many Oregonians are one illness away from bankruptcy.  Meanwhile, big insurers and drug companies are making record-breaking profits.  This is unsustainable and has got to stop.

Solution:  Oregonians deserve quality, affordable and accessible health care.  They also deserve someone who will hold insurers and drug companies accountable for price gouging.  I will fight to enact the following:

• Require accountability by making big insurers go before a commission to get approval and justify why they are raising our rates. 
• Expand Oregon’s prescription drug purchasing pool to save families and small businesses money on vital medications.  This program is already saving some low-income families over 30% on drug costs.  Many more Oregonians were added to the drug pool in 2007, but still more work is needed.
• Provide health insurance coverage for all of Oregon's children.  It is morally imperative that all of our kids have access to affordable health care.
• Require transparency in hospital billing.  There is no reason why one surgery should cost more depending what kind of insurance you have.
• I will continue to fight for access to affordable health care for all Oregonians.

Crime and Consumer Protection

Challenge: We have about half the state troopers we had 25 years ago.  That means less police to deal with the growing problem of identity theft, meth, sexual predators and other threats to public safety.  Meth and Identity theft are quickly becoming “sister” crimes.

Solution:  We must do more to protect our citizens from identity thieves, meth dealers and sexual predators.  Here are some proposals I will work to make law:

• Require prompt notification to Oregonians when their personal information is, or is believed to have been, accessed by identity thieves.  Increase penalties for meth-related identity theft.
• Hire more state troopers.  In 2007, after over 14 years of cutting troopers, we added 100 trooper positions to the State Police.  In the 2008 Special session we added enough troopers to give the State Police the ability to provide 24-7 coverage. 
• Enhance Oregon's efforts to break the cycle of meth addiction through treatment, counseling and monitoring recovering addicts.
• Strengthen protections against exposing kids to online pornography.
• Require repeat sex offenders to wear tracking bracelets.

 Jobs and the Economy 

Challenge: Oregon Families are feeling the strain of failed economic policies, such as unproductive tax breaks that don’t create jobs, but instead benefit the bottom line of wealthy special interests.  Too many Oregonians are so busy making a living that they are not enjoying life. 

Solution:  We need to be innovative about creating family wage jobs with benefits.  Oregon should reinvest in our economy by supporting things that attract businesses from out of state and spur the growth of small homegrown business.  As your state representative, I will:

• Examine tax loopholes to make sure they are creating jobs- not simply benefiting wealthy special interests.  We must continuously look for new and effective incentives for job creation.
• Lower the cost of health care for small businesses so they can expand and create new jobs.   
• Expand vocational training, mentorship and school to work partnerships.  As the Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Workforce and Economic Development, this is one of my high priority issues. 
• Creating more research and development tax incentives to attract good paying jobs to Oregon.  We must build upon the success of targeted tax credits here in Washington County that have attracted businesses like SolarWorld and others.
• Invest in our kids education.  An educated workforce is an invaluable asset to expanding Oregon's economy.