March 11, 2021
In what has been labeled an “unprecedented” move, the Chairpersons of five of the seven Democratic Central Committees in Congressional District 5 this week sent a letter to Congressman Kurt Schrader sharing their concerns, disappointment and sense of betrayal caused by Schrader being one of only two Democrats to vote against H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan of 2021. I was among those who signed the letter.
The five Central Committee chairs met in the days immediately following Schrader’s nay vote, at which time no word had been issued by the Congressman, or his staff, regarding his vote. The letter, which is included in its entirety at the end of this column, spelled out many of most critical benefits of H.R. 1319, and, in particular, those that would be of greatest impact to the residents and constituents in Schrader’s district.
I am proud that my fellow Democratic leaders took this critical moment in our nation’s efforts to help those in most need of assistance to overcome the physical, emotional, and economic impacts of the Covid 19 pandemic to assert our concerns and strongly urge Mr. Schrader to meet with us to explain his vote.
Since signing and sending our letter to the Congressman, several interviews have been conducted with Mr. Schrader and his responses have been that the bill, as it was presented in Congress was too “un-targeted,” that it included a $15-per-hour minimum wage package, which he claimed was untimely during the pandemic, and that it was presented as a take-it-or-leave-it, all-inclusive package, and that he and his fellow legislators weren’t given enough time to study it.
Of course, we all know that H.R. 1319 passed despite his vote and then went to the Senate where it passed, with amendments, along party lines. On Wednesday morning, March 10, the revised bill with the Senate’s amendments went back to the House where it passed, with Schrader voting yes. I saw one interview in which Rep. Schrader said that the changes made by the Senate made the bill more palatable for him.
In this whole process, Democrats, particularly those whose leanings are most progressive, have called for the Congressman’s head. Unfortunately for Mr. Schrader, his nay vote on H.R. 1319 came shortly after he, in an “unprecedented” (there’s that word again) case of foot-in-mouth disease compared the impeachment hearings of D.J. Trump to lynchings, a statement for which he has abjectly apologized.
However, no apology has come for his nay vote, or even an explanation as to what the Senate did to the bill that made it more palatable - less “un-targeted,” less all inclusive. Maybe it was simply that the time following the House’s first passage of H.R. 1319 and the Senate’s relatively quick passage was enough for Schrader to understand that this bill is really good for the people in his district.
So, yes, Democrats from urban Clackamas and Marion Counties, and in the rural parts of those counties as well as in Polk, Lincoln and Tillamook Counties are upset.
But, before we throw the baby out with the bath water, let’s consider our alternatives. Schrader’s District 5 seat is one we Democrats have hung on to for 23 years. Not because it is a hotbed of progressive liberals, but because the two Democratic candidates that have held this seat for all these years - Kurt Schrader and Darlene Hooley - recognized that to continue to win elections in what Schrader rightly calls a “Purple” district, the candidate must do what American democracy demands - compromise. Makes me wonder how much this was on the Congressman’s mind when he voted “no” instead of his list of issues with the bill.
Although Kurt Schrader has more times than I can count caused me to slap myself in the forehead and say, “Yikes, doesn’t he know he’s a Democrat,” he has managed to reach across the aisle and work to pass bills that have benefitted his constituents. Not just his Democratic constituents, but all of his constituents in Congressional District 5.
While he was dancing to the tune of his unfortunate nay vote on H.R. 1319 this week, his opponent in the 2020 election - Amy Courser - was dancing in the streets of Orlando, FL celebrating the fact that D.J. Trump was going to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference C.P.A.C. she was attending. If we think we’re going to get anything close to constituent representation from Courser, who is already campaigning for 2022 and who lost to Schrader in 2020 by less than 7 percentage points, we’d better think again.
Fred Bassett
Chair, Tillamook County Democrats
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The Honorable Congressman Kurt Schrader
United States House of Representative
2431 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C 20515
Congressman Schrader,
We write to you not only as elected leaders of our local county Democratic Parties, but also as your constituents. On February 27th, you were one of only two Democrats in the House of Representatives to vote against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, H.R. 1319. As of March 3rd, you have yet to issue a press release or adequately address your highly controversial vote.
Congressman, the American Rescue Plan is the centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s agenda to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic and rescue our economy. For you to vote against this critical legislation without consulting the communities in this district, or providing a clear explanation, is a betrayal of your duty to best serve your constituents. We urge you to support this critically important plan as the measure returns for House consideration this week."
The American Rescue Plan has broad, bipartisan support among the American public, including among a majority of Republicans in several national polls. Here are some of the provisions that you voted against:
• $1400 relief checks to all adults earning $75,000 or $150,000 per couple. Direct payments during the pandemic have been a lifeline to millions of Americans, allowing them to catch up from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, a February 3rd Quinnipiac University poll shows that 90% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans support these direct payments to Americans.
• Refundable Child Tax Credits: This bill increased the Child Tax Credit to $3,000 per child ($3,600 per child under 6) and made them refundable. This means that working families across America will be able to receive the benefit regardless of how much taxes they pay. This will make a massive impact on working families just trying to make ends meet.
• Extends and expands unemployment benefits for tens of thousands of your constituents who are out of work through no fault of their own. This bill extends key unemployment programs which are set to expire March 14th through August 29th. In addition to the extension of benefits for gig workers and others not traditionally eligible for unemployment benefits, it increases enhanced Federal payments from an extra $300 to $400.
• Essential funding for vaccine distribution and testing. The COVID-19 Pandemic has lasted over a year now, and will continue until we get most Americans vaccinated. Without this funding, this already complex nationwide vaccination effort will suffer even longer delays, costing more American lives and further negatively impacting our economy.
• A $15/hour Federal minimum wage. You listed this as your main reason that you voted against H.B. 1319, falsely claiming that no small business owners support this provision, and disingenuously leaving out that the increase would be phased in over four years. Oregon is already on the path to a $15 minimum wage, and your repeated votes against raising the Federal minimum wage puts Oregon’s businesses and industries at a competitive disadvantage to other states who are at the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. Low wages keep millions of hard working Americans on SNAP and other taxpayer funded programs that act as corporate subsidies. There are countless studies that not only refute the false narrative that an increase in the minimum wage kills jobs, but it actually creates them because of increased demand.
• Emergency Rental Relief. Nearly 100,000 Oregonians are behind on their rent due to the pandemic. A PSU report indicates that if more relief is not passed, we could see a wave of evictions of unimaginable scale.
Congressman Schrader, we are profoundly disappointed in your votes against the needs of your constituents directly impacted by the pandemic and earnestly request the opportunity to meet with you. It is important to us that we hear your explanation of this vote, and for you to hear from us on the need to support legislation that helps your constituents. You have a solemn responsibility to represent and to fight for your constituents. Joe Biden won OR CD-5 by a 10 point margin, while you carried the district by only 7 points, your narrowest margin in several cycles.
Your decision to reject the President’s immensely popular agenda indicates to us how out of touch with your constituents you have become. It’s time for you to start listening to the people you serve.
We look forward to meeting with you soon,
Charles Gallia, Chair, Clackamas County Democrats
Carina Perez-Europa, Chair, Marion County Democrats
Beth Vaughn, Chair, Polk County Democrats
Michael Gaskill, Chair, Lincoln County Democrats
Fred Bassett, Chair, Tillamook County Democrats