Sen. Wyden hosts first-ever statewide virtual town hall

Answers questions ranging from COVID-19 testing to nationwide vote-by-mail

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has hosted nearly 1,000 town halls in his career, but the one he held on Friday was a first.

Wyden opened the virtual town hall on Facebook by letting everyone know they were making history, “This is Oregon’s first virtual statewide town meeting,” he said.

In collaboration with the Town Hall Project, the online meeting saw close to 1,000 attendees. About 500 questions from all over the state were submitted before the meeting.

One question that Wyden seemed to be the most passionate about is the state of small businesses in Oregon amid the COVID-19 struggles.

On Thursday morning the $300 billion emergency small business lending program ran out of money. The Treasury Department and Small Business Administration have also used all the money for the 'Paycheck Protection Program,' which offers forgivable loans to small business to help keep employees on the payroll.

According to Wyden, one that was supposed to deliver aid the fastest to small businesses but has now hit a roadblock. 

“The delay in the Economic Injury Program is completely unacceptable," Wyden said. "That was supposed to be the program that was going to deliver aid the fastest.”

According to a report done by Evercore ISI, Oregon ranked 45th in how much money has been distributed for small business loans. Oregon has received a little more than 29% of its eligible payroll for small businesses. Oregon's small businesses have received close to 10,000 loans, for a total of $2.4 billion.

Wyden also received questions on the difficulty of getting COVID-19 testing. He stressed the importance of testing front-line workers first before any mass testing is conducted.

Wyden offered to have his staff help some callers with their specific challenges in getting needed emergency funding they qualify for.

As for a proposal to go vote-by-mail nationwide, the senator said Oregon's experience has shown that claims it would favor one party or another are "not borne out by facts."

"If it's good enough for the president of the United States, who will be voting by mail this fall, it's good enough for the rest of America," Wyden said. "This is not about politics. This is about safety."

One caller was from Bend: Erik Fernandez, wilderness program manager for Oregon Wild, who noted that Oregon has permanently protected far less of a percentage of its land than all of its neighboring states.

Wyden talked about his recent, interrupted process of getting Oregonians' nominations for wild and scenic river protections.

"We are just getting started," he sad. "It is a big shot in the arm, economically."