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Senators get an earful Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Oregon senators Ron Wyden, left, and Gordon Smith said in Medford Wednesday that a bipartisan approach will be crucial in the coming session of Congress because the Senate is split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats. The approach was also the key to success for a bill last year to increase payments to timber-dependent counties, Wyden said. Hundreds pack chamber to hear Smith, Wyden By Dani Dodge Oregon senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith fielded tough questions from a Medford crowd of nearly 250 Wednesday but also won big points for their bipartisan approach to representing Oregon. "We are pleased they are working together in a bipartisan manner here and all over Oregon," said Medford Mayor Lindsay Berryman. "I want to say many thanks to both of you for helping us." Wyden, a Democrat from Portland, and Smith, a Republican from Pendleton, fielded questions from people in a packed Medford City Hall council chambers. People asked questions and made statements on issues ranging from national monuments to political integrity to President-elect George W. Bush�s Cabinet choices. Medford�s meeting was the sixth of seven forums Wyden and Smith are holding across the state. The final one was planned for Bend. Berryman said Smith and Wyden are the nation�s only two senators making joint appearances � a fact made more remarkable by their different party affiliations. This is the third series of joint town hall meetings the senators have held since 1997. Wyden and Smith said a bipartisan approach will be especially important in the coming session because the Senate is split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats. The approach was also the key to success for a bill last year to increase payments to timber-dependent counties, Wyden said. The bill, which requires the federal government to replace a portion of counties� lost timber revenues, will provide an additional $9 million a year to Jackson County. "It will be a real shot in the arm for Jackson County," Wyden said. Many who packed council chambers Wednesday were concerned with President Clinton�s environmental policies, including new roadless area designations and newly created national monuments. County Commissioner Jack Walker said he wanted the senators to know that contrary to news stories in Washington, D.C., the majority of rural Oregonians oppose national monument status designations here. Others repeated his message. Still others, though, voiced support for monuments. Smith and Wyden said they believe preserving multiple uses of land, as they did in the Steens Mountains in Eastern Oregon, is a better approach to protecting wilderness than creating monuments.They said people should have a voice in whether monuments are named in their areas. "Economic concerns and environmental protection can�t be mutually exclusive," Wyden said. "Multiple use ought to be the bedrock of our approach." Smith said Bush has vowed to review national monument designations. "There�s an opportunity to look at this again and it�s our hope to re-enfranchise local communities," Smith said. The senators assured a woman concerned about the cost of prescription drugs for senior citizens that the issue is at the top of their agenda. "Americans can�t afford not to cover prescription drugs," Wyden said. "I think we can get (legislation) enacted, but it will take both Democrats and Republicans to look at common ground." They also fielded questions about public officials� integrity. "At every level of public trust, federal to local, we owe you the best of examples of integrity and that is the challenge I struggle daily to meet," Smith said. "I hope my personal conduct is never an embarrassment to the people of this state. " One woman in the audience said she was concerned about Bush�s nomination of John Ashcroft to be the nation�s attorney general. But Smith said he�s voted for his share of liberals in the Cabinet while Clinton was in office and he doesn�t plan to vote against Ashcroft because he�s conservative. "I know John Ashcroft," Smith said. "And he�s an honorable and good man." Wyden said his support would depend on whether Ashcroft commits to enforcing the law. "You don�t vote against people just because you don�t agree with them," Wyden said. The two also addressed energy issues facing the state. They noted that hydroelectric power is a clean method of producing energy and that dams need to be preserved. "As a country we are about to get an education that you don�t get power by hitting a light switch," Smith said. "We are way too dependent on foreign oil, and we are getting ourselves into a position where we will ask your children if they want to drill for oil or die for oil." Wyden concluded by noting that deep divisions exist between the state�s urban and rural areas, but the senators hope they can overcome that divide by continuing to work together. "We want to listen," Wyden said. "And get beyond the urban-rural chasm." Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.