Merkley: "When It Comes to Global Warming, Oregon's Had Enough of Foot-Dragging Gordon Smith"

Press Release

Republican Gordon Smith has refused to support an important bipartisan bill, sponsored by Independent Senator Joe Lieberman and Republican Senator John Warner, which would control the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Speaker Jeff Merkley, who has taken on big oil companies in Oregon by championing new production of renewable energy, criticized Gordon Smith for serving special interests and ignoring science.

To learn more about Jeff's ambitious plans to combat global warming, go to
www.jeffmerkley.com.

"Gordon Smith has been AWOL on climate change," said Jeff Merkley. "He takes loads of cash from big oil companies and then ignores the threat of global warming and the interests of regular Oregonians. Smith refuses to address climate change and protect our environment, and then tries to tell Oregon voters otherwise."

Gordon Smith has taken over $270,000 from the oil and gas industry for his campaign.

In an editorial today The Register-Guard admonishes Smith for his inaction, saying, "Just as the world needs American leadership on climate change, Oregonians need leadership from those they send to Washington, D.C." [The Register-Guard, 2/28/08]

This month a group of hunters, fisherman, and wildlife enthusiasts from Oregon went to lobby Senator Smith on the Lieberman-Warner bill. In his account of the meeting Pat Wray, a former Marine helicopter pilot in Corvallis and an avid hunter describes Smith's enthusiasm for the bill:

"Sen. Smith's smile was bright and his manner friendly. But it was clear to us that he would not co-sponsor the bill and would probably not even vote for it. All he would do is vote against letting it die by filibuster. The members of some 700 hunting, fishing and sporting groups who care about wildlife and the West are still looking for people to lead us." [High Country News, 2/25/08]

Jeff Merkley spent his early years in Roseburg, Oregon, a community where the children of loggers and mill workers learned the value of honest work, good neighbors, and strong families. Jeff earned scholarships and became the first in his family to go to college. He went on to serve as a national security analyst, first for the Pentagon and then for Congress. After returning to Oregon with his wife Mary, Jeff led Habitat for Humanity and worked with low-income families to rebuild neighborhoods and purchase their first home.

Ten years ago, Jeff was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives and led the Democrats to take back the majority for the first time in sixteen years. The Register-Guard called Jeff's session as speaker "one of the most productive in decades." He fought special interests to make health care more affordable; clamped down on pay day loan scams, and created thousands of family-supporting jobs in Oregon.

Today, Speaker Merkley lives in SE Portland with Mary and their two children, Jonathan age eleven and Brynne age nine.

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