Tonight we heard President Trump give his first speech to lawmakers and the nation. He soke of ending DEI, closing the border, remove race and ‘wokeness’ theories out of schools and military, banned men from playing in women’s sports, opened up pipelines, and rid wasteful spending and will balance the federal budget.

Oregonians should ask Governor Tina Kotek and Attorney General Dan Rayfield to explain why they are not complying so Oregonians can benefit. Why aren’t they cutting taxes, why are they putting Oregon at risk of losing $39 billion in federal funds for the biennial budget and another $38 billion in Medicaid and direct federal aid for homeless and road repairs. That’s 55% of the state budget, all because they have some grand connection to 7.8% of Oregon's population that is LGBTQ+, which is less than the national average of 9.3%, and 4.98% that are noncitizens.

Kotek and Rayfield are gambling with the state putting it on the verge of bankruptcy for their ideologies of DEI, solar farms, sheltering as a sanctuary state, which translates into protecting criminals, abusing children, raising energy costs and welcoming noncitizens with full benefits. As they hold fast on climate change, it is freezing nearly $200 million DEQ federal funds.

Where was Kotek and Rayfield during President Trump’s first term? Did they not learn that what he says, he does?

How is Oregon Legislature preparing for the demise that is sure to come if Kotek keeps up her losing power play? Representative Paul Evans (D-Monmouth) is Co-Chair of the Public Safety Subcommittee for the Joint Committee on Ways & Means with Co-Chair Senator Anthony Broadman (D-Bend), are responsible to provide a budget with a 10% cut. Evans states, “a reality where federal funding is dramatically cut (e.g. 50% of past levels) … that could demand as much as a 25% cut in our total funds budget; and … where we receive less than 50% federal support because of the devastation of the federal workforce to deliver funding, even if it is appropriated by the Congress.” He says that roughly translates into approximately $500,000,000.

Now that transparency is more apparent, Evans can't coverup by blaming federal workforce cuts to minimize the effect of Democrat policies, says a lot about how the truth has been concealed pointing the opposite direction. Kotek’s power play will ultimately lead to more drastic cuts to meet the requirements of a balanced budget.

The legislature continues to hear agency budget presentations as part of the informational Phase I hearings. One of Evans’ recommendations is to bully against the Greater Idaho Movement. He states: “For the counties asking for assistance in capital construction funding for repair, rehabilitation, or replacement of county courthouses and justice facilities, I have suggested that we must prioritize funding for counties that intend to remain a part of Oregon for the duration.”

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

To counter Kotek’s resistance to federal requirements and help with the budget, Evans has sponsored HB 2892 “ensuring that counties wishing secession would receive lowest priority funding for services they apparently want to be delivered by another state or territory.” The bill summary says the state may not give money to a county for capital construction unless the county attests that it will not secede. It has yet to receive a hearing.

President Trump asked Democrats to work together in strengthening the country. Kotek and Rayfield’s response was no departure from their partners in congress – resistance. That leaves this state in a financial alert over federal funding cuts as a consequence.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2025-03-09 13:52:17

Last Update: 2025-03-09 23:57:08