Smith talks economy, Senate race, immigration
Posted by bsherman September 19, 2008 17:07PM
Ross William HamiltonSmith says it's time to "modernize" federal regulation of Wall Street.
Sen. Gordon Smith, in a fight for his political life, summoned Oregon business leaders to an "economic roundtable" in Portland today to listen to their ideas on how to make things better and to let them in on what he was up to.

Smith didn't allow reporters to attend -- people tend to "freeze up" when the press is around and won't say what's really on their minds, he said later.

Instead, he offered a sit-down with The Oregonian after the roundtable to talk about his economic agenda. He discussed how he wants Congress to help the country get through this latest bubble-burst -- the home credit crisis. But the conversation also veered into his re-election race against Democrat Jeff Merkley and his views on immigration reform.

The immediate job for Congress is to "modernize" regulations on Wall Street and stabilize financial markets with an infusion of government cash, Smith said. A bill to do that will be taken up quickly when the Senate goes back into session.

Smith said the bill, of which he is a co-sponsor, also will take care of problems "on your street." It has provisions to extend unemployment benefits for 13 weeks in states where unemployment is 6 percent or higher (Oregon's is 6.5 percent); grant more energy aid to low income families; and increase federal spending on food stamps.

Asked why he and his Senate colleagues didn't do anything to head off the crisis, Smith said, essentially, that's a good question.

"I'm not on the banking committee, but I think there were warning signs," Smith said. "There were attempts at reform, but now is not the time to point fingers."

Smith's critics, including the Merkley campaign, weren't impressed.

"Federal bailouts may be necessary," Merkley said in statement e-mailed by his campaign, "but that doesn't change the fact that this situation should never have become the crisis it is today. Years of lax government oversight and deregulation directly contributed to the meltdown of financial markets."

Smith scoffed at the criticism, calling it part of the "Washington blame game."

Merkley stands tied with Smith in polls on the Senate race. Smith said the main reason is that this is simply a bad year to run as a Republican. But he said he will continue to point out big differences between him and Merkley, especially on taxes and leadership styles. Smith called Merkley a "partisan rubberstamper."

Merkley's campaign notes every chance it gets that Smith is the one who lines up squarely with President Bush on nearly every issue. The economy, the campaign says, is a classic example.

"From his perch on the powerful finance committee, Gordon Smith has rubberstamped the Bush policies that has led us to this point," Merkley said in the e-mail statement.

Smith has come under fire in recent weeks for hiring practices at his family's food processing plant in Eastern Oregon. Willamette Week talked to workers who said it's common to have illegal immigrants on the payroll at Smith Frozen Foods.

Smith, who denied the story, said he thinks the nation would be better off with a guest worker program that allowed temporary passes for people to cross the border, work for a set amount of time, then return to their homeland.

He said he voted against an earlier immigration reform package because "it amounted to amnesty." For $5,000, he said, immigrants could buy their way into citizenship. "A path to citizenship already exists. It's the same whether your from Ireland, Mexico, Poland or Japan."

-- Harry Esteve; harryesteve@news.oregonian.com

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