Schrader says he has ‘walked the talk’

Rep. Kurt Schrader says he has fulfilled campaign promises

In the capital
U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-5th District) works in his Washington, D.C. office.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — While it might seem that the life of a U.S. congressman is filled with daily pomp and circumstance, Kurt Schrader has found that each day starts the same — with an eight-block walk in his cowboy boots.
 
“Some days that is great; middle of summer and middle of winter, not so good,” he said of the walk to his office on Capitol Hill. “It’s not bad.”
 
Every Sunday Schrader also walks five blocks to do his own laundry, something he sees as “humbling,” but he says he “is honored to serve and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
 
His office, like his commute and laundry service, is also modest. It’s surrounded by Republicans, around the corner from the fourth floor elevator of the LongGot a News Tip?worth House Office Building and across the street from the Capitol building. But despite the lack of glitz and glamour that some might think come with a seat in the halls of governance, Schrader said he feels he has made a positive difference for the people he represents in the 5th Congressional District.
 
Staying in touch
Washington, D.C. is worlds apart from Salem. It seems every corner of the nation’s capital comes with history, commutes are easily two hours long and the weather closes in on 90 degrees — with 90 percent humidity — in early May.
 
It’s a far cry from Schrader’s 16 years on the Canby Planning Commission, his dozen years in the Oregon Legislature, and the warm spring that doesn’t seem to start until after July 4 in Oregon.
 
Salem, and even Portland, seem quaint when compared with D.C., but Schrader said he’s been able to stay grounded and connected with Oregon, even while the flat-screen televisions in his office buzz with the 24-hour news cycle.
 
Schrader’s daily schedule starts at 7:30 a.m. and can go well into the night, filled with caucus meetings, committee meetings and staff meetings, not to mention House votes. But one of the things that has made his job easier, he said, is being able to meet with Oregonians on an almost daily basis.
 
“I’ve been very pleasantly surprised at the number of Oregonians that come out,” he said. “During the course of the day I am seeing a lot of Oregon people so it’s not like I have really left Oregon, which is kind of nice.”
 
One of his weekly meetings in D.C. is a time for new members of the House of Representatives to talk with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
 
“She takes an interest in the new members to, I guess, find out what is going on back home,” Schrader said. “I am not sure she pays attention to all that, to be very honest with you. She gives us an opportunity, which is good.”
 
Re-election and local issues
Last Thursday, before he voted for the “Cash for Caulkers” bill — which will provide funding to homeowners willing to retrofit their home to be more energy efficient — Schrader said he wasn’t concerned about the current Republican primary campaign that seems to be focused more on Washington, D.C. than on the Republican candidates.
 
“Someone has to do the job,” Schrader said, wearing slacks instead of his typical jeans — he was, after all, going to be on the House floor that day.
 
“It’s easy to campaign and not do the job. I am actually working, right now, for the people of the 5th Congressional District. As you know we have been more successful than most new members of Congress. That has been my priority.”
 
Schrader listed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration center on the coast, the industrial base in Salem and working for the Woodburn interchange and other projects as proof he is doing a good job for Oregon — even without years of seniority.

“I am already a sub-committee chairman. That is a little unusual … to be frank,” he said.
 
Schrader says he also tries to make it home each weekend, depending on what’s going on. While in Oregon he meets with small business owners, inquiring about the issues that are important to people in his district.
 
His visits span the 5th District, from the coast to Warm Springs, from Wilsonville to South Salem.
 
“I stay in touch in a lot of ways that I think, frankly, are more congressional and more appropriate than my opponent,” he said. “I am not running on platitudes and slogans, I am running on things that make Oregon first again.”
 
Schrader said he has kept all his campaign promises of health care reform, energy reform and getting the economy headed in the right direction.
 
“Maybe not perfect in some eyes, but I think as people get past talk radio and talk TV they will realize that, ‘Hey, that guy actually delivered on what he said he was going to do, how many politicians do that?’” he said. “I have been able to walk the talk.”
 
Before his campaign fires up this fall, Schrader said he is spending time supporting small and large employers. That includes monitoring the funding for the Woodburn interchange, trying to bring common sense practices to immigration reform and continuing his round-table discussions with Wilsonville Mayor Tim Knapp, which is linked to Oregon Institute of Technology’s (OIT) proposed move to Wilsonville.
 
Schrader said he is monitoring the OIT situation, doing what he can to make the move to Wilsonville happen. OIT announced last month it is considering moving into the former InFocus building, although financial issues could stall the plan.
 
Schrader said it’s a great move for not only Wilsonville, but also Clackamas County and the state.
 
“We have to give people who go to college the opportunity to get good paying jobs when they get out,” he said. “Having OIT there in Wilsonville would be a great way to have people right there who are needed.”
 
Regional transportation is also a high priority for Schrader right now, as he said the Woodburn Interstate-5 interchange is a “top priority.”
 
“Our office is focused, transportation-wise, on Woodburn right now,” he said.
 
He’s working to keep federal dollars accumulated for the Woodburn project from being siphoned off for other projects. He believes the interchange can be designated as a priority in the next Surface Transportation Act.
 
Regarding immigration, Schrader said, all Oregon groups he’s met with believe there needs to be comprehensive reform.
 
From the nursery industry to the restaurant associations to even Hispanic groups, Schrader said they all have contacted his office requesting he consider the different immigration reform proposals floating around Capitol Hill.
 
“What is nice, at least in my district, is that there seems to be an almost unanimous feeling that we need to do some comprehensive immigration reform,” he said.
 
Schrader said any proposal for him would have to include strict enforcement of the borders, improving the legal immigration system and making people who are in the U.S. illegally pay penalties when they apply for citizenship.
 
“They supply a critical part to our infrastructure, like my great-grandparents did many years ago when they came to this country,” Schrader said.

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R.W. from Canby
5/11/2010 9:37:24 PM

Can anyone say "puff piece?"
 
L.L. from Canby
5/11/2010 11:10:46 PM

I tried to contact Congressman Schrader with a problem, and needed his assistance and left messages at his Salem office, and even his home, and also left a message for one of his assistance that I was transfer to. But never got bad to me, and with the hoops I had to jump through just to leave him a message was silly, and still no courtesy of a return call from anyone. I know who I am not voting for in next election. I know he is busy, but I also know a person is suppose to be able to go to his/her congress person for problems for assistance on government matters.




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