The Register-Guard hammers Walden for "cynical attempt to salvage his reputation"
For Immediate Release Contact: Marc Siegel
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The Register-Guard hammers Walden for "cynical attempt to salvage his reputation"
Portland - Congressman Greg Walden, The Register-Guard isn't falling for it.
In a hard hitting editorial today, the Eugene newspaper lambasted the Republican U.S. House member and 2010 gubernatorial candidate for putting the interests of oil and gas companies above Oregon's 33 counties that rely on timber payments.
Key Excerpts:
"If Walden were serious about helping rural counties, he blew the last and best opportunity to renew payments by opposing DeFazio's county payments bill."
"Walden's cynical attempt to salvage his reputation in rural counties won't work.
As voters in those counties continue to reel from eviscerating budget cuts, they will remember Walden's decision to put oil and gas interests above those of struggling counties, and it is unlikely they will forget by the time Oregon elects a new governor two years from now."
"Now Walden has left no doubt where his loyalties lie. In a move intended to silence critics who say he has put oil and gas interests above those of rural counties, Walden has introduced a new bill that would lift restrictions on offshore exploration for oil and gas and use a portion of the revenue from lease sales to continue county payments."
Full Editorial:
Walden ploy won't work
He's still putting Big Oil's interests over counties'
August 5, 2008
The Register Guard
Congressman Greg Walden needs to repair his battered reputation in this state's timber counties, especially if he plans, as often rumored, to run for governor in two years. But the Oregon Republican's proposal to enable the federal government to renew federal payments to timber counties by opening the nation's coastlines to drilling isn't the way to do it.
Walden dismayed many rural Oregonians in June when he played a key role in defeating a bill sponsored by Oregon Democrat Peter DeFazio that would have continued timber payments for another four years. Even though the payments are vital to rural counties such as Lane and Douglas - and others such as Josephine and Curry face possible dissolution if the payments are not renewed - Walden voted against DeFazio's bill. Such a move might have been defensible if Walden were holding out for a better deal for the counties, but he was protecting oil and gas companies' profits by blocking a move to offset the cost of county payments by closing a loophole on royalties charged for offshore leases.
Now Walden has left no doubt where his loyalties lie. In a move intended to silence critics who say he has put oil and gas interests above those of rural counties, Walden has introduced a new bill that would lift restrictions on offshore exploration for oil and gas and use a portion of the revenue from lease sales to continue county payments.
Walden is one of many Republicans, including presidential candidate John McCain, who are eager to allow oil exploration in areas currently off limits, including the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. They are attempting to capitalize on Americans' frustration with $4.50-per-gallon gas prices, even though offshore crude would not reach the corner pump for at least a decade - and would have little impact on either gas prices or U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
But Walden's introduction of his Security and Energy for America Act is intended primarily to reassure his rural conservative base that he hasn't abandoned them. The congressman is well aware that his bill is unlikely to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi refuses to allow a floor vote on offshore drilling.
If Walden were serious about helping rural counties, he blew the last and best opportunity to renew payments by opposing DeFazio's county payments bill. It would have offset the estimated $1.9 billion cost of renewing payments for four years by requiring oil and gas offshore leaseholders to pay a fee to compensate the government for royalties that they should be paying in a time of record energy prices.
Walden sided with oil and gas interests then, and he is siding with them again by introducing a bill that holds rural counties hostage to offshore drilling. That would give the energy industry carte blanche access to this nation's coastal waters. That would expose coastal economies and environments to the ever-present risk of accidents from oil exploration, extraction and transport. That overlooks that three-fourths of the known U.S. oil and gas reserves are located in areas where drilling already is allowed and thousands of leases have yet to be tapped. That ignores the need to move away from fossil fuels and build an energy future based on efficiency, conservation, renewable resources and forward-looking technologies.
Walden's cynical attempt to salvage his reputation in rural counties won't work.
As voters in those counties continue to reel from eviscerating budget cuts, they will remember Walden's decision to put oil and gas interests above those of struggling counties, and it is unlikely they will forget by the time Oregon elects a new governor two years from now.
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