Sen. Wyden, in Bend, talks about firefighting funding, other issues

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sat down Wednesday with NewsChannel 21’s Dani Fried to talk about his views on gun control, national security, the election and his bipartisan bill regarding firefighting borrowing.

Wyden, who earlier had attended a bend briefing with the Forest Service on the wildfire outlook, said he and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, have drafted a bipartisan bill to fix a system they call broken. They want to ensure our firefighters have enough funds to do their job and protect property and people.

“It gets hot and dry on the ground,” he said. “You might have a lightning strike, and all of a sudden you have an inferno on your hands. And what happens then is the government has to borrow to put the fire out, and they borrow from the prevention funds — and the problem just gets worse and worse.”

With more than 250 forestry groups, the two senators are making this a top priority when the House and Senate reconvene in September.

Wyden also spoke about gun control in light of the recent protests and officer-involved violence.

He said he wants practical policies to be enacted. For instance, if someone is on a terrorist watch list or has been convicted of domestic violence, Wyden thinks it shouldn’t be easy to access a gun.

“Each of these measures, it seems to me, do not run afoul of the Second Amendment,” the senator said. “They’re all common-sense, practical solutions that have overwhelming public support, and I’m going to do anything I can to see them enacted.”

Wyden expressed his concern for our well-being, but said moving forward, there are ways we can ensure the safety of our country.

“Making sure that at a time when the intelligence works for us again, we get more talented young people in intelligence work, because good intelligence is how we prevent tragedies and we ought to have better intelligence and work with our allies on it.”

Opioid addiction has also be plaguing our nation. The senator gave his perspective.

“The bill that Congress passed is just a half measure,” he said. “And in particular, the challenge is to put in place an approach that has enforcement, but also treatment and prevention, because if all you do is restrict access, that doesn’t make the addiction magically disappear.”

Wyden also said he has a positive message for Oregonians.

“The idea is to get out and listen and work with people,” he said. “You heard about collaboration. I think that’s what helps to gradually bring back the trust and lost confidence.”