MEDFORD, Ore. — Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley held town halls in both Jackson and Josephine Counties Saturday.
He updated constituents on his work in Washington, D.C., and answered questions about tackling the challenges facing Oregon and America.
“A number of my bills have flowed from ideas that were raised from town halls,” Merkley said.
“There’s also a concern about some of the national issues, the corruption of our Constitution, what we saw in this last election season was a lot of gerrymandering, a lot of voter suppression, a lot of dark money set free by the Citizens United decision,” Merkley said.
With wildfire season just around the corner, wildfires were one of the biggest topics that were brought up by residents. He said wildfire preparation is one of his top priorities.
“My Wildfire Resilient Communities Act is designed to say ‘Let’s get funds in, let’s thin these forests, let’s get the fuels off the bottom,’” Merkley said. “We can provide the soils, the mill and make the forests far more resilient at the same time. I’m trying to get the funding to do that.”
Senator Merkley said another big issue is the fundamental of families.
“Good paying jobs, health care, housing, education–on those foundations, families can thrive.”
Since joining the Senate in 2009, Merkley has held a town hall in each of Oregon 36 counties every year.
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