Walden: Reform plan ready

“I think it’s unprecedented on both sides and I think there is an enormous amount of energy among voters for change,” he said. “Everyone is fed up with a government they don’t feel is listening, an economy that they know is not strong and foreign policy that is putting us at risk.”

Walden, 59, does not agree with reports by political pundits that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, GOP front runners in the 2016 presidential campaign, are preferred by voters because they are “outsiders.”

“I think what you are seeing is not an ‘anti-incumbent’ wave but an ‘anti-administrative’ wave,” he said. “If members of Congress are doing their jobs in D.C., they’ll be fine.”

What the media does not commonly report, said Walden, is that Republicans have been turning out in record numbers to vote since 2014. He believes that bodes well for the outcome of the November presidential election.

“I think this is a natural reaction to a president that doesn’t follow the law, is known to exceed the law and has agencies that are exceeding it,” he said.

Walden is being challenged for his Second Congressional seat in the primary by Republican Paul Romero, an appliance repair technician from Prineville.

The winner of the May contest will face off with Democrat James Crary, a retired attorney from Ashland, in the fall election.

According to Walden, these are a few of the actions taken by Obama that exceed his constitutional authority:

• The U.S. House as a body is suing the administration over “improper payments” as part of Obamacare. For the first time in history, a court has granted the House “standing” to legally challenge the executive branch. The case center’s on Obama’s decisions to change or delay key aspects of the Affordable Care Act without consulting Congress.

• Obama unilaterally made the decision to allow children of undocumented immigrants to stay in the country, bypassing Congress, which is supposed to set policy.

• Obama unilaterally released Taliban prisoners from U.S. custody in exchange for Afghan war prisoner Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who is now facing a court martial for desertion.

• Closer to home, Walden said the Bureau of Land Management, under Obama’s oversight, is violating the law regarding protection of a cow-free wilderness area on Steens Mountain in southeast Oregon. Although the BLM is supposed to pay for fencing, the agency has been attempting in recent years to force local ranchers to absorb those costs.

• Eighty-five months after Congress mandated that the U.S. Forest Service should complete a land exchange on Mt. Hood that preserves resources and also accommodates commercial development, the deal is still pending.

The agency has not only been out of compliance, said the congressman, but administrators say they will need another year or two to complete the transfer that was approved in 2009.

Walden said it has been a battle to loosen red tape that is strangling jobs and hurting Oregon’s economy, which could change if voters elect enough GOP leaders to the Senate. “People get angry because they don’t see enough bills getting through but it takes a 60 percent majority in the Senate to get legislation approved and we haven’t had that,” he said.

Although people criticize Republicans in Congress for not accomplishing more, Walden said GOP leaders have faced an uphill challenge with Obama in the White House and not enough numbers in the Senate to overcome opposition.

“The House (Republican controlled) has put forward budgets that balance within 10 years and that is something that Democrats have never done,” he said.

It takes 60 percent of the Senate to get measures approved, said Walden, whereas in the House legislation can go through with a simple majority.

“If the voters give us a Republican president, a stronger majority in the Senate, and we hold the House as expected then you will see true reforms get done.

“Once we get the budget balanced, we can begin paying off the national debt and that’s something House Speaker Paul Ryan had been working on for years,” said Walden.

He said it has been exciting to work with Ryan, an economist who was elected by the GOP to replace John Boehner in October.

Walden has served in his current role since 1999 and is the only Republican in the Oregon delegation. His length of federal service is about middle of the pack, with that of Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., dating back to 1981 when his time as a representative is factored in. During an April 9 interview, Walden declined to endorse a current GOP contender for president.

He also said he was not in a position to address speculation that the Republican National Committee was going to use a brokered convention to ensure that Trump was not the party’s nominee.

“I’m not on the national committee, I chair the National Republican Congressional Committee and have to stay focused on making sure Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., doesn’t come back (as House Speaker),” he said.

His Second Congressional District encompasses two-thirds of Oregon and Walden spends almost every weekend on the road meeting with constituents.

“I just made my 541st round-trip from D.C. to Oregon,” he said during the interview that preceded a visit with government leaders and community members from The Dalles regarding a name change for the veterans’ clinic.

Walden said he is seeking re-election out of the belief that his experience in office, and knowledge of the district, enables him to help rural communities and food producers.

Topping his priority list is better management of national forests by harvesting diseased and overstocked stands of trees. Walden said that will reduce the potential for catastrophic wildfires, create jobs and provide schools and counties with a dependable revenue source.

Although the House has approved forestry legislation three times, those measures have not moved forward in the Senate.

The biggest challenge facing Congress, said Walden, is finding a way to take two-thirds of the federal budget off “auto pilot” when there are set expenditures, such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.

There will need to be changes in the law that allow Congress to adjust spending levels if true reform is going to take place, said Walden.

“Social Security and Medicare are earned benefits, they were promised,” he said. “So, we need to look at new ways to keep those programs sustainable.”

He said Republicans are also standing strong on foreign policy, making sure the military is funded and America is capable of dealing with the growing terrorism threat.

For more information visit walden.house.gov.