Senator Jeff Merkley appeared Saturday night in Eugene for his Lane County town hall meeting. There was good attendance. Based on my work with managing adult education seminars, I estimate the crowd to have been right around 200 people, maybe a few more or less. It was largely older adults, 35+ with quite a few seniors.
He started with thanking Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis for her participation and support. He also acknowledged Dr. Gustavos Balderas, head of the local 4J school system, who just last week was named National Superintendent of the Year. And to round out the introductory acknowledgements, he recognized Emily Reiman, CEO of DevNW.
Their mission is
To grow vibrant Northwest communities by empowering the region’s individuals, families, small businesses, and neighborhoods. To open doors to progress and equity and opportunity — and keep them open. To stand beside our neighbors — beside you — and walk through whichever door you choose, together.
Part of what they do is help both families and business find funding for real estate purchases, though that is just a part of it.
The floor was then opened to questions. He started by stating that this was a non-partisan event, and that given the state of things these days, it was quite possible that someone might say something with which you strongly disagree. And that he requested that we please respect them and their right to speak, and act with courtesy, and that that same courtesy would be given you as well. Thus hopefully everyone can speak from the heart and express their concerns.
The event started and ended with questions from students, I believe from the high school, (Churchill) where the event was held. The first question was what was being done by the senate to strengthen K-12 education. His response was essentially that funding is the answer at the federal level. And that to adequately fund education was going to require a reevaluation of priorities. Considering how much is spent supporting foreign wars, and the upgrade of the nuclear weapons force being contemplated, there are sources of budgetary prioritizing that can be tapped.
TO this end he mentioned his For the People Act.
Entire Senate Democratic caucus co-sponsors companion legislation to H.R. 1 Udall & Merkley’s landmark bill would help repair our broken politics, restore the promise of American democracy, and make government work for the people Sweeping package of pro-democracy and anti-corruption reforms makes it easier — not harder — to vote, ends the dominance of big money in politics, and ensures public officials work for the public interest.
The next several questions were made by attendees on the basis of a simple lottery. If you wanted to ask a question then you got a 50-50 drawing style paired ticket stub with a number, mine was 590191. (So if they started at 590001, then there were likely closer to 220 people there based on when we showed up. No idea if that i true though.)
The first audience question came from a lady who was attending her first town hall. She said this was partly because they had previously lived in Kentucky, and that town halls were a fairly rare occurrence there — this drew some laughs from the crowd. She said that they had also lived in Canada for a number of years and had experienced the health care system there, and wanted to acknowledge how much better things had been for them under socialized health care. Her question eventually came out, which is “What are you doing to reduce pharmaceutical costs?” Her husband is on insulin, and it is costing them $300 a month.
Senator Merkley then brought up his End Price Gouging for Medications Act
The End Price Gouging for Medications Act would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure Americans do not pay more for prescription drugs than the median price per drug in 11 other countries—Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden—that represent developed countries with similar economies. In each of these countries, pharmaceutical companies sell many of the same prescription drugs Americans take for a fraction of the cost charged here in America.
He also specifically addressed insulin with his End Price Gouging for Insulin Act
The End Price Gouging for Insulin Act would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure Americans do not pay more for insulin products than a “reference price” established by the median price per drug in eleven countries: Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden.
This legislation would require drug companies to offer insulin products at the established reference price to all individuals in the U.S. market. That includes individuals who are uninsured, individuals who are covered under a group health plan, or individuals who have purchased their own individual health insurance coverage.
He then told a short anecdote about Trump mentioning last year that he thought that Americans pay too much for prescription drugs and shouldn’t pay more than other countries. AHA! So he quickly had his staff put together a presentation on his End Price Gouging for Medications Act for the president’s staff. About a week later, after Trump had a chance to be “briefed” by Big Pharma, he dropped his interest in the idea.
Senator Merkley’s Nondorsement — When the lady asked a followup about what she and her husband could do short of moving back to Canada, he told her that they should pick a candidate who is out there strongly pushing their position.
The next question asked what the senate was doing to help ward off climate change. He mentioned his efforts which include the “100 by ‘50” Act which calls for 100% renewable energy sources by 2050.
Sen. Jeff Merkley unveiled new legislation Thursday intended to end the combustion of fossil fuels in the U.S. by 2050, saying global climate change poses a threat akin to an asteroid hitting the planet.
The "100 by '50 Act" lays out a roadmap for a transition to 100 percent clean and renewable energy by 2050. It is the first bill introduced in Congress that calls for a complete transition off of fossil fuels for the United States.
If you believe that global climate change poses a real threat, then nothing short of a 100 switch to renewable power is acceptable, Merkley said.
"We are the generation that must address this," he said. "It cannot wait 30 years."
He then acknowledged Mayor Vinis for Eugene adopting this plan for the city, though I’ve not been able to find a citation for this. He made it clear that the senate is owned by the fossil fuel industry, and that the only way to get things to change was by fixing the problems of money in elections.
One of the next questions covered gun violence and the need for background checks. He mentioned that while the Second Amendment says what it says, it doesn’t mean that anything goes in terms of armaments, you can’t legally own hand grenades and bazookas. So the question as a society is tricky — where do you draw the line? He added that one area he has pursued is limiting magazine size to ten rounds. This got a little bit of push back, including the older gentleman in front of us who suggested ONE round.
Then the questions started getting a little more serious. I thought I was about to be chosen a few times as they picked numbers 19 …. 5 and 19 …. 8. The next question was mostly an acknowledgement of Senator Merkley for his initial trip to the internment camps which helped make the caged children a national story. He related his experience as it unfolded.
One lady asked about the situation with William Barr and the DOJ, saying that things were being described as a “Break Glass in case of Fire” situation. He was asked if they were ready to subpoena Barr and have the Sergeant at Arms drag his ass in to testify. At this point, Merkley told another short anecdote about former Oregon senator Bob Packwood being carried into the Senate feet first by the Sergeant at Arms and their officers.
Guigni led six Capitol police officers in a post-midnight search of members’ hideaway offices and Senate office building suites. As Sen. Robert Packwood (R-Ore.) recalled, they found him “through no fault of my own by going into my reception room and [by] asking the cleaning lady if she had seen Sen. Packwood. And she said, ‘Oh, he’s down in his office’.” The New York Times reported that the senator tried to thwart their entry by wedging a heavy chair against one door. He then bolted another, but the police had a pass key. When they pushed it open, “It was their mass against my mass,” the senator noted after being apprehended.
At 1:17 a.m., the police and Packwood entered the Senate chamber. Under a pre-arranged scenario, the officers let Packwood fall into their arms, to be carried feet-first to his seat. After becoming vertical again, Packwood announced, “I did not come fully voluntarily.”
While he did not suggest that they were ready to do this, he pointed back to the need for the For the People Act. He was then asked if Trump could be impeached again. He responded that according to the constitution he could, but that as a practical matter it wasn’t going to happen between now and November. AND that hopefully there wouldn’t be any further need to do so in the future — as in he would be no longer president.
Then the next set of three questioners were chosen as they noted that time was running out. The first was a hairy old hippie looking guy who tossed a bomb out there, asking about Michael Cohen’s warning that Trump would not leave office if he loses an election, and the concern that if he is significantly behind in October he may try to prevent the election from happening — at least that’s what I remember asking, I was somewhat emotional by this point, and had shifted questions since my question about Barr had been addressed. There was a reasonable amount of applause after the question, so that was reassuring.
Senator Merkley responded that he wasn’t there yet, and that his biggest concern at this point was something akin to Florida 2000 with a hanging chads type controversy. He also again brought up the importance of the For the People Act, at which point I interjected that it would be no help between now and November. He acknowledged this and countered that the alternative was to win big enough that there was no question. I applauded his answer … vigorously.
The next couple of questions followed a similar vein in terms of recognizing that we are in precarious times and that our democracy is on the line. My hope is that we expressed enough of a degree of alarm to make it clear just how worried we are for the country.
The final student question asked about the climate and the New Green Day, and asked what people in his generation could be doing to help. The senator recommended getting involved with organizations that are in the fight. He specifically mentioned the Sunrise Movement, and a vision of a future where that giant fusion reactor in the sky is powering much of the planet.
The Sunrise Movement — Who We Are
We're building an army of young people to make climate change an urgent priority across America, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, and elect leaders who stand up for the health and wellbeing of all people.
We are ordinary young people who are scared about what the climate crisis means for the people and places we love. We are gathering in classrooms, living rooms, and worship halls across the country. Everyone has a role to play. Public opinion is already with us - if we unite by the millions we can turn this into political power and reclaim our democracy.
He closed the town hall by mentioning a topic which hadn’t arisen — war powers and the AUMF. He noted that they had bipartisan legislation to end the AUMF and restore Congress’ prerogatives regarding declarations of war. He also mentioned the likelihood of such legislation being vetoed. Despite the heaviness of the topics in the final minutes, it was an overall hopeful and inspiring evening. This was also my first town hall experience, and it was nice to see so many people come out. It was also reassuring that most of the crowd seemed to be on the same page with their responses and reactions. We have a very progressive community here. I also think we have one of the best senators in the country at this point in time, and if he had run for president this year I would have supported him. Thank you Senator Merkley for representing us well.
On my way out I recognized one of his staffers who had been managing logistics. I mentioned to her that something to consider passing along to the senator and his colleagues is the idea of knocking off the petitions for everything in the world that are really just fundraising appeals. Just ask for the money, skip the petitions that never do anything and are at this point pretty much an insult. I admit I still sign the online petitions from time to time when it is something I consider high priority. I keep hoping that for once I will sign and be thanked and NOT be dunned for a contribution in exchange for them essentially doing their job in the first place. I have yet to experience this. My pet peeve.
Disclaimer — This is the best of my recollection based on being there and participating. I took no notes, but did debrief with my friend who attended with me.