Vets, immigrants get attention in televised U.S. Senate debate
by Harry Esteve, The Oregonian Sunday April 27, 2008, 5:51 PM

FOREST GROVE - Treatment of military veterans and immigrants took center stage this afternoon in a debate on live TV among four Democrats running for the U.S. Senate.

One of the leading candidates, Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley, jumped out with a proposal to grant free college tuition for families of anyone in uniform who dies in the line of duty. The Oregon Legislature passed a similar bill, Merkley said, and he would push Congress to do the same.

"As a U.S. senator, I would continue to champion veterans," he said. "We need to adopt a new GI Bill for the 21st Century."

Merkley was joined in the debate by Portland political consultant Steve Novick, Eugene real estate broker Candy Neville and Salem Latino activist David Loera - all running to unseat Republican Sen. Gordon Smith. The debate was held at Pacific University and shown by KATU-TV(2).

Neville also weighed in heavily in favor of helping veterans of the Iraq war adjust when they come home. Neville said she decided to run, despite having no elective experience, because of the war.

"A friend of mine said his friend was back from Iraq, and he misses his legs," Neville said. "Now I can't get his legs back," she said, but she pledged to use the billions of dollars saved by ending the war to beef up health care and other benefits for veterans.

All four candidates have been campaigning for months and have met numerous times for debates or shared the stage at other events. Sunday's debate showed they have sharpened their themes and are spending less time going after each other and more time discussing the big issues of the day - war, immigration, health care and the economy.

The exception was Loera, who used much of his time to push Merkley and Novick on what he said is their "punitive" response to immigration issues, calling it "fear mongering." He was especially critical of Merkley for voting for stricter driver's license rules that make it all but impossible for an illegal immigrant to obtain one, and for his role in posting state troopers outside the Capitol during recent rallies for immigration rights.

"This country is strong enough that we can absorb these people whether they have documentation or not," Loera said.

"This is a difficult issue," Novick responded. "What we need to realize is there are a lot of arguments on all sides." He went on to talk about a Baker City contractor he talked to during a campaign visit who said he tries to pay his workers $20 an hour. The contractor has been losing bids recently to employers who hire illegal immigrants and pay them far less, Novick said.


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