Oregon GOP Senate & House on governor’s 2016 agenda

Oregon Senate Republican Office
Oregon House Republican Office

Salem, Ore. – Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day) released the following statement in response to Governor Kate Brown’s 2016 policy agenda:

“We’ve had enough of Governor Brown saying one thing and doing another. She pledged to pass a transportation package in 2015, and then abandoned that pledge when California billionaire and Democrat megadonor Tom Steyer pushed back. She pledged openness and transparency, but has continued to hamstring public records requests and keep agency business in the shadows. Today, she told us she wants to get government out of the way of small business, but just proposed the highest minimum wage in the nation – guaranteed to kill small businesses already struggling to stay afloat.

Oregon can’t afford an all-talk Governor. Her education plan goes no further than “studying” Oregon’s problems and never proposing a real plan to fix them. She supports mandates that force small businesses to lay off employees, then is puzzled by why businesses are cutting jobs. Oregon cannot afford another failed Governor. We need less talk and more action from Governor Brown on the issues that matter to Oregonians: fixing our broken education system, restoring a strong economy statewide and passing a transportation package now, not in 2017.”

Salem, OR – House Republican Leader Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte) issued the following statement regarding Governor Brown’s 2016 Policy Agenda:

“I’m disappointed in the Governor’s proposed 2016 agenda. A ‘healthy, vibrant’ Oregon will only be achieved when our state leaders show the political courage necessary to tackle our most pressing issues. We’re facing a massive PERS shortfall, our roads and infrastructure are in need of repair now, our rural communities are in crisis, and our education system ranks as one of the worst in the nation.

“New bureaucratic appointments and executive orders won’t solve these problems. One-party rule has left our state with yesterday’s ideas and status quo policies. House Republicans look forward to presenting meaningful alternatives to Democrats’ stale agenda in the 2016 session.”