Important Issues for Rep. Huffman
If you would like me to respond to an issue not listed here, please drop me note.
- Education Advancement
- Healthcare
- Job Creation
- A Voice for Rural Oregon
- Work Force and Economic Development
- Agriculture and Water
- Crime
- Immigration
- Land Use
- Rural Small Schools
- Seniors
- Sportsman
- Tax Policy/Reform
Education Advancement:
The education system for K through 12 and higher has got to be an Oregon priority. Education is key to overcoming poverty and competing globally. We need to teach our kids to read and read well at an early age, keep them engaged through graduation and encourage continued learning in college or trade schools. These opportunities will not be available if we don’t develop a consistent funding mechanism that puts sufficient dollars in our classrooms.
John sees the need and is involved in work to come up with stable funding for our schools, making sure as much of the budget as possible makes it into the classroom. He is building a strong coalition to create more accountability and to reduce class size and while at the same time, rewarding our teachers and students for their hard work.
Healthcare:
John has been touring clinics, analyzing programs and talking to healthcare professionals to see what is working in a cost effective way, what isn’t and how he can be part of a successful future. John knows the costs are out of control and he is working with the healthcare industry to find new ways to limit healthcare cost. A successful plan will involve the cooperation of providers, patients, insurance companies and the state. At a minimum, John wants to make sure the people who can’t afford healthcare, especially kids have access. Finally, working to build a stronger economic climate makes it possible for employers to provide coverage.
Job Creation:
John has worked hard to understand the different interests that drive local economics such as farming and agriculture, small business and technology—one size does not fit all and John is working to ensure a diverse and successful job base. While in session, John strongly advocated for the reinstatement of funding for the Regional and Rural Investment Program. It takes a strong plan and John is busy putting one together that serves a broad constituency of employers to make job creation more real.
A Voice for Rural Oregon:
John understands how important it is to have a loud, strong voice for Rural Oregon in Salem, it takes persistence and focus. John has been working hard to identify needs and then go after solutions. The key to successful, stronger communities is relationships, and few people are better at building them than John Huffman.
Work Force and Economic Development:
Whether your desire is to lower your taxes, create higher paying jobs, have a stable economy or replace timber dollars to the county and schools, I firmly believe this will ultimately be done through the creation of a stable, high paid work force and the creation of a friendly business climate for economic development.
It is exciting for me to sit on the Work Force Investment Board and the House Work Force/Economic Development Committee and guide Oregon’s course to a successful, prosperous future. Success in Work Force and success in Economic Development means fewer Oregon families at poverty level. And it means Oregon children receiving appropriate food, clothes, shelter and medicine.
Oregon simply cannot afford to ignore the need to educate ourselves for today’s global demands and be a business friendly state for everybody to be able to do business in and with.
Agriculture and Water:
Miraculously, agriculture continues to thrive in Oregon. I say miraculously because farming and timber have been attacked at every level. And I say thank God for the fortitude of our farming community and all of the AG support groups and associations that are keeping this valuable Oregon industry strong.
But, agriculture can be stronger if we allow them. Allow the responsible use of farm and timber practices that have been successfully used for generations—practices that built Oregon! And we must stop creating barriers to doing business and doing it profitably in a global market place.
We must stop creating barriers to water rights, water use and water availability. For example, we have got to start drawing our fair share of water, from the Columbia for ground water storage and irrigation in north eastern Oregon.
Crime:
Adam Smith (1723-1790), a Scottish economist said that one of the few roles of government is to protect the people from those who seek to do harm. From rural communities to the interstate, we should all have the right to feel secure against the criminal element, whatever it may be that is perpetrated upon us. From meth labs and sexual abuse, to identity theft and property crimes, 24/7 Oregon state police protection is a minimum expectation of safety to everyone.
Immigration:
Though a lot of immigration issues will be decided at the federal level, I do have some opinions on the subject.
First, I firmly believe that we need to have a federal program that legally allows migrant laborers the opportunity to come into the US and work for a specified period of time and when that permit expires then they would need to go back home. If they wanted to become a citizen, then they would need to follow the system that we have in place to allow aliens to apply for citizenship.
Second, once they can prove legal presence in our country/state, they could apply for a driver’s license which would expire when their permit or visa expires. I feel that it makes no sense to issue an 8 year license to somebody that will be here for a period of months.
Third, I believe our services should be reserved for citizens. Now, having said that I feel we should create a program of payroll deduction whereby visiting workers would pay into a fund for services that they could access. These programs could include food, shelter and medicine, but US citizens would not pay for these services and likewise, guest workers would not be required to pay for the care of US citizens.
Land Use:
America has been an example to the world for private land ownership and protected property rights. In Oregon, we must be cautious as we (the people and legislature) approach the subject of land use. We need to have a balanced approach to deciding where farm land stops and urban growth begins. I am working hard to make sure we get the Big Look Task Force re-funded so they can finish the job put before them which was to identify what is right and what is wrong with Oregon land use and regulation and make recommendations to the ’09 Legislature on what needs to be done to update our land use policy. Paramount in the decision making process needs to be the constant reminder of our heritage, and our rights as individual property owners.
Rural Small Schools:
Another of my top priorities is adequate funding for our small schools in rural Oregon. Our children deserve the same shot at a quality education as their peers in the valley. Not only is it vital to our kids but it is critical for economic survival in rural Oregon. I preach and preach often in Salem about the crisis of our rural small schools. In many counties throughout Oregon, our school funding problem is only exacerbated by the withdrawal of federal forest payments, but I am committed to working for solutions for our rural communities.
Seniors:
So many of our seniors are struggling to survive only on social security; some are blessed enough to have a small pension besides. They are struggling to pay for medical care and prescription drugs. Seniors are a priority for me. I will be considered a senior in not too many years, although my grand kids already think I’m old. And, I already belong to AARP! Our seniors shouldn’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from, or how to pay the utilities and choosing between rent and medicine. It shouldn’t be an either/or situation. That’s why my colleagues and I, as House Republicans, support additional funding for programs like Meals-On-Wheels, housing services, respite care and Oregon Project Independence, just to name a few.
Sportsman:
Oregon is synonymous with the great outdoors; outdoor living, sports, hiking, fishing, hunting and on and on. And speaking of hunting, I love the common sense bumper sticker that reads, “Guns Don’t Kill People, People Kill People”. Enough said.
Tax Policy/Reform:
I am keeping a close ear to the Governor’s new task force that is reviewing our tax code and is planning to bring proposals of change to the legislature in our ’09 session. So, well before the ’09 session begins I want to know what the residents of District 59 think about the way we are taxed. Remember, District 59 includes Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Wheeler, Grant, Jefferson and part of north Deschutes Counties.
Thus far everybody I have talked to is of the opinion that the Oregon tax system is broken and our tax structure needs to be changed. Now, no matter how we structure a tax system I hear people saying that taxes need to be lower, particularly income and property taxes and whatever formula would be used, citizens must have constitutional guarantees that those taxes will not be raised.
The last thing we need is to change our tax structure and then allow the legislature to gradually ratchet all the rates back up to where we are paying more than we are now. I believe those guarantees can and should be built in to any reform that we adopt.
Also, at the same time we all need to stop the creation of new programs and asking the government to meet our every need! Every well meaning program has to be funded with tax dollars from you and me and at some point (and I think the point is now) we need to say enough.
