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Wyden vows to keep pushing Oregon issues By PETER WONG U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden told cheering Democrats Friday night he will continue to fight for Oregon's interests, whether it is defense of the state's physician-assisted suicide law or opposition to high gasoline prices. More than 150 people heard Wyden at the 49th annual Roosevelt-Kennedy Dinner of Jackson County Democrats at the Reston Hotel. Although Wyden opposed Oregon's 1994 ballot measure establishing the nation's first law for physician-assisted suicide, he also opposes congressional efforts to nullify it. The House last month passed a bill to do just that as it loosened restraints on doctors prescribing pain-killing medication. "This thumb is pretty sore for having put it in the dike in the past few months to keep Congress from trying to unravel it," Wyden said. "And it is going to stay there. "I am going to go out on the floor of the United States Senate for however long it takes until we have gotten the point across that this is a matter for Oregonians to decide." Oregon also leads the nation in statewide average gasoline prices, a distinction Wyden said the state could do without. He said the Federal Trade Commission has issued subpoenas in an effort to obtain more information about the practices of the major oil companies. "We are going to stay at it until we bring some competition back to the gasoline business in this state," he said. "The government ought to stand up for everybody, and particularly when powerful interests are trying to rip us off." Wyden also said he supports more money for programs to aid hungry and homeless people. Earlier Friday, Wyden announced the distribution of $1.85 million in Oregon, including $112,974 in Jackson County, for emergency food and shelter. "We ought to stand for the proposition that we do not leave anybody behind," he said. Wyden said the need for federal legislation against hate crimes is highlighted by the deaths of James Byrd, a black man in Texas, and Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Wyoming. The bill is stalled in the Senate. "We should draw a line and say we are not going to let our country tolerate any individual being stripped of dignity and worth because of the color of the person's skin, religion or sexual orientation," he said. Other speakers were state Attorney General Hardy Myers, Senate Democratic leader Kate Brown of Portland, House Democratic co-leader Dan Gardner of Portland and state Rep. Randall Edwards of Portland, a candidate for state treasurer. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA