Current Issues

Read Senator Jeff Kruse's Newsletters "Working Hard For You". Be informed on Health Care, Energy, Veterans' Affairs, the Republican Plan to Put Oregonians Back To Work and More.

Senator Jeff Kruse
R-Roseburg, District 1

Phone: 503-986-1701 900 Court St. NE, S-211 Salem Oregon 97301
Email: sen.jeffkruse@state.or.us Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/kruse

E-Newsletter Number 1, Volume 1

Working Hard For You - August Newsletter

HEALTH CARE REFORM?

OR JUST MORE GOVERNMENT CONTROL

Before I get into this issue I would like to respond to those who have asked about where they can find petitions for the tax increase referrals. As this is a mostly grass roots effort there is not necessarily a specific place in every community where one can go, which makes it hard for me to specifically direct people in any one direction. The best I can do at this time is to direct you to a web site where the petitions can be downloaded along with all of the rules that need to be complied with. The web site is www.stopjobkillingtaxes.com and I want to thank you all for your interest. Now on to health care.

I have been involved in the health care reform debate in the Oregon Legislature for over a decade. Often we tend to get so wrapped up in the details we miss the big picture, and I think we are at one of those points now. While the focus now is on the national level and the "Obama Plan" (which nobody has seen), we need to understand how all of this would fit with what is happening in Oregon . At this point in time the only plan we can use as a template on the federal level is the bill passed by the House. Supposedly there are four versions in the Senate, but as they are still in committee we don't know what is included in them. I personally have real concerns about over 50 specific provisions in this 1,100 page bill, but I will avoid getting trapped in the details at this point in time.

The real question should be what the objective of health care reform is. If the objective is to give everyone all of the health care they want at no or low cost the objective is not achievable. There is no health care system in the world where this is happening, and we need to fully understand this point. It doesn't matter if we are talking about a government run system, a private run system or a mixture of the two; it is not possible to find a system where health care is not rationed.

Once we have fully come to terms with the fact we cannot do everything for everyone, the question becomes who should be making the decisions about what services will be available and who is qualified to receive them. Should these issues be dealt with by medical professionals or by government agencies? I would hope most people would prefer their doctor rather than someone from some agency making these decisions.

I should point out the fact that the direction President Obama and Speaker Pelosi want to take health care on the national level is very similar to the legislation passed by Oregon 's 2009 Legislative Assembly and signed by the Governor. The language in the Oregon legislation and the statements made during the debate make it very clear the democrat leadership in our state wants complete government takeover of our health care system; which is called the single payer system. The same can be said (and was said by President Obama during the campaign) for the leadership at the national level. Speaker Pelosi actually said "we need to pass this now and we will worry about the details later". Excuse me Madam Speaker, but the details are the whole plan, maybe you should read your own bill.

Some of the methods single payer countries are using to control costs should be very informative. While you might be able to get into primary care rather quickly, if you have something requiring treatment or a procedure you will go on a waiting list (the system might only be able to afford so many bi-pass operations a year for example). One of the newer cost cutting measures is to deny people services based on behavior. For example, if you smoke or are obese you will not be able to get services related to those conditions. However the one that troubles me the most is the cost-benefit analysis that is done on your life. How this works is they will set a value on how many years of life you have left and measure it against the cost of whatever medical procedure you require. If the value of your life is less than the cost of the procedure you will not get it. Example, I doubt if an 80 year old would get a pacemaker.

All of these are in the House bill, and more. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is supposed to advocate for seniors, yet they are supporting the Obama Plan which impacts seniors more than any other group. This is pure politics and a political agenda that is clearly not in the best interest of the American people. The bottom line here is the government wants to use the health care system to control people's behavior. If this passes I fear we will see a rather rapid erosion of our freedoms. While I will agree things like smoking are bad, I don't believe the government should have the right to tell any of us how to live or try to restrict us from engaging in legal activities.

In spite of what you may be hearing, the best health care in the world is here in the United States . You don't see Americans going to Cuba or France for their health care, but you do see many people from other parts of the world coming here. President Obama is now trying to change the tone by calling it insurance reform. You need to know insurance companies are already heavily regulated but the regulation is at the state level rather than the national level. In Oregon an insurance company has to actuarially prove the need for a rate increase to the Oregon Department of Business and Consumer Services before there can be a rate increase. Nothing is done arbitrarily or capriciously.

We are in some very dangerous times. Both the federal and the state health care reform plans will accomplish two things; a loss of freedom and an increase in taxes. Neither one will lead to any real long term improvement in health care, in fact they will lead to just the opposite. Please let your voices be heard, this is too important for us to remain silent.

Sincerely,

Senator Jeff Kruse

If you are interested in reading my past newsletters please click on my webpage link below:

http://www.leg.state.or.us/kruse/

Working Hard For You - June Newsletter

AMERICAN OIL

We continue to be driven by an agenda focused in part by alternative energy. We are told the purpose is two fold, to be more environmentally friendly and to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I have written in past newsletters about the environmental side of this debate. For example how ethanol actually takes more energy to create than we save by using it and about how it makes no sense to take land out of food production for this purpose. We even had acknowledgement on the Senate floor about how corn based ethanol will never work. Unfortunately that statement was followed up with the claim that cellulosic ethanol, which has even less sugar than corn, might be the answer. We seem to be chasing the next, greatest, unproven solution. The fact is oil is more environmentally friendly than this alternative and will be for the foreseeable future.

This brings us to the issue of our dependence on foreign oil. I received an e-mail on the subject, complete with links to the USGS for verification. These are not my words, but I do agree with the points being made. I thought I would share this e-mail with you verbatim to hopefully give you a look into potential solutions to this problem that differ greatly from current US energy policy.

Sincerely,

Senator Jeff Kruse

WILL AN AMERICAN PUSH FOR IT!!!

The U. S. Geological Service issued a report in April ('08) that only scientists and oil men knew was coming, but man was it big. It was a revised report (hadn't been updated since '95) on how much oil was in this area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota ; western South Dakota ; and extreme eastern Montana ..... check THIS out:

The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska 's Prudhoe Bay , and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels.. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable... at $107 a barrel, we're looking at a resource base worth more than $5.3 trillion.

'When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their jaws hit the floor. They had no idea.' says Terry Johnson, the Montana Legislature's financial analyst.

'This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in the past 56 years.' reports, The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. It's a formation known as the Williston Basin , but is more commonly referred to as the 'Bakken.' And it stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into Canada . For years, U. S.oil exploration has been considered a dead end. Even the 'Big Oil' companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago. However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken's massive reserves....and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL!

That's enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 41 years straight.

2. And if THAT didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one should - because it's from TWO YEARS AGO!

U. S. Oil Discovery- Largest Reserve in the World!
Stansberry Report Online - 4/20/2006

Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil reserve in the world. It is more than 2 TRILLION barrels. On August 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction. In three and a half years of high oil prices none has been extracted. With this motherload of oil why are we still fighting over off-shore drilling?

They reported this stunning news: We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on earth. Here are the official estimates:

- 8-times as much oil as Saudi Arabia
- 18-times as much oil as Iraq
- 21-times as much oil as Kuwait
- 22-times as much oil as Iran
- 500-times as much oil as Yemen
- and it's all right here in the Western United States ...

HOW can this BE? HOW can we NOT BE extracting this? Because the environmentalists and others have blocked all efforts to help America become independent of foreign oil! Again, we are letting a small group of people dictate our lives and our economy......WHY?

James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says we've got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East-more than 2 TRILLION barrels untapped. That's more than all the proven oil reserves of crude oil in the world today, reports The Denver Post.

Don't think 'OPEC' will drop its price - even with this find? Think again! It's all about the competitive marketplace, - it has to. Think OPEC just might be funding the environmentalists?
Got your attention/ire up yet? Hope so! Now, while you're thinking about it ......and hopefully P.O'd, do this:

3.. Pass this along. If you don't take a little time to do this, then you should stifle yourself the next time you want to complain about gas prices .. because by doing NOTHING, you've forfeited your right to complain.
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Now I just wonder what would happen in this country if every one of you sent this to every one in your address book.
By the way...this is all true.. Check it out at the link below!!!
GOOGLE it or follow this link. It will blow your mind..

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911

If you are interested in reading my past newsletters please click on my webpage link below:

http://www.leg.state.or.us/kruse/

Working Hard For You - May Newsletter

A UNANIMOUS AGENDA

Over the last few weeks my newsletters have not been of a very positive nature simply because a lot of the bills we have been dealing with I can't support. However, I do not want to give the impression all things we do are bad. While this is shaping up to be a very partisan session, there are still many areas of agreement. I thought I would take this opportunity; the Friday after Memorial Day to give you a list of the bills we have passed dealing with our veterans and active service men and women. As the vice chair of the Senate Health Care and Veterans' Affairs Committee I had the privilege of supporting these bills in committee before they passed on the Senate floor. It should also be noted every one of these bills had unanimous votes in both the House and Senate. First I will give you a list of Oregon specific bills.

HB 2176: Brings the membership of the Veterans' Advisory Committee up to date.

HB 2177: Permits the Department of Veterans' Affairs to receive gifts and either sell or redistribute them as best fits the needs of veterans.

HB 2178: Puts a Veterans' Service Officer on every college campus.

HB 2510: Eliminates time restraints for veterans' preference in public employment.

HB 2571: Creates discounted college tuition for veterans.

HB 2718: Creates a task force on veteran women's health care issues.

HB 3020: Makes taking advantage of a disabled veteran an unlawful trade practice.

HB 3470: Brings the definition of veteran up to date (type and length of service) if HJR 7 is approved by the voters.

SB 96: Revises statutes so all veterans from all eras are treated the same.

SB 97: Allows Department of Veterans' Affairs to procure loan cancellation life insurance for veterans.

SB 98: Creates a task force on veterans' transportation.

SB 400: Gives disabled veterans a free shell fish license (we had already done all of the others).

SB 449: Names highway 97 World War 11 Veterans' Highway (it is a fascinating story about all of the military activities that went on in that region and well worth looking into).

SB 595: Expands the waiver of tuition at colleges for children and spouses of service members who died on active duty.

SB 700: Creates a task force on veterans' reintegration.

There are still a few bills still in the system so they aren't mentioned here, but I think this gives you an idea of the scope of the issues we have been dealing with. I mentioned HJR 7 earlier and I want to tell you why it is important. Normally I am reluctant to change the Constitution of Oregon, but there are times it is necessary and this is one of those times. We have a fund for veteran's imbedded in our Constitution; it is called the Oregon War Veterans Fund. It is a very valuable tool and can help veterans in many ways. Unfortunately the way it is currently constructed it can only be used for veterans who have served in war. The change we will be asking the people to make is to remove the word "war" so it can help all veterans who have served. I think this is a good change and I hope the voters will agree.

There is one more set of bills I want to list and they are all resolutions to Congress. We do a number of these each session on a wide variety of subjects and normally they accomplish nothing. This list I hope will be different. For the potential difference with these I want to give credit to the Governor and his Task Force on Veterans Issues. The Governor did something very wise with these resolutions; he engaged our Congressional delegation to champion them in Congress. So rather than the Legislature just sending paper to Washington , we are sending resolutions to people committed to working on getting them enacted. This is probably something we should emulate in other subject areas. This is a very aggressive agenda, but they are all areas identified by the task force and I think it is only right to ask the federal government to live up to their obligations.

HJM 2: Urges Congress to expand the Department of Labor Local Veterans' Employment Representatives Program and the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program.

HJM 3: Urges Congress to increase funding and eligibility for fee basis payments to veterans.

HJM 4: Urges Congress to pass legislation for transition of National Guard and Reservists to civilian life after active service.

HJM 12: Urges Congress to enact legislation to increase veterans' access to health care (they should be covered for services at their local hospital and not have to travel to a VA facility for normal services).

HJM 21: Urges Congress to change funding of veterans health care from discretionary to permanent and direct.

SJM 1: Urges Congress to allow Oregon veterans to obtain state home loans at any time after separation from service.

SJM 2: Urges Congress to create a state wide transportation system to get veterans to medical facilities.

SJM 3: Urges Congress to enact legislation providing complete health care for veterans and their dependents.

As I stated earlier, all of these bills passed with a unanimous vote. We have been dealing with veterans' issues in a very real way for about the last eight years and I am very proud of the work we have done. I am also very proud of the men and women who have served and it is only fitting we show them the respect they deserve. I think with these bills we have done just that. I hope you agree.

Sincerely,

Senator Jeff Kruse

**Town Halls**

Friday, June 5^th, Senator Jeff Kruse & Representative Tim Freeman will hold a town hall meeting at 6 pm, at the Roseburg City Hall .

If you are interested in reading my past newsletters please click on my webpage link below:

http://www.leg.state.or.us/kruse/

Working Hard For You - April Newsletter

HEALTH CARE REFORM

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

We have been talking for many years both nationally and in Oregon about the need for health care reform. There is a growing segment of our society who think every American should be able to get all of the health care services they need whenever they want them, in fact there could be a ballot measure some time soon to make health care a Constitutionally guaranteed right. Many groups have been blamed for the system failure; from hospitals to insurance companies to doctors to government. I submit to fully understand the issue one needs to be able to understand the baseline data.

INSURANCE COMPANIES

The charge is insurance costs too much and the insurance companies make too much money. The latest figures I have show for health insurance 90% of premiums are paid out in claims. There are very few government agencies operating on a 10% administrative margin, in fact most tend to be more in the range of 15%. But claims rates are only part of the story.

In Oregon there are over thirty mandated services that have to be covered. What this means is we are all required to pay for coverage of some things we may not want or need. A good comparison is auto insurance. The reason you insure your car is to cover the expenses if you get into an accident. Imagine how much more expensive the policy would be if it also covered oil changes, new tires, gas fill ups, etc. This is what we have done to health insurance through mandates.

Additionally utilization has increased exponentially. With all of the new diagnostic tools available we are seeing a dramatic increase in tests. Add in the fact about 60% of people presenting in doctor's offices are there for self correcting conditions, the cost of defensive medicine and the cost shift from both the uninsured and government funded programs the reasons for the increases become clearer.

HOSPITAL COSTS

I will keep this section short and just give you some numbers based on the 2008 calendar year and including all hospitals in the state.

Total charges: $14,479,506,550

Total uncompensated care; $982,357,254

Uncompensated care as % of gross charges: 6.68%

Operating margin: 3.72%

The percentages vary from hospital to hospital but it is clear as a group they are not huge profit centers. It should also be noted these figures do not include the underpayment for Medicaid and Medicare clients. It should also be noted these figures do not include the community outreach done by hospitals in areas such as diabetes education.

PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES

Drug costs are roughly 17% of health care expenditures. As many drugs now prevent hospitalization and the need for other types of medical procedures it is difficult to estimate the true costs or savings to the system. Additionally many of the new generation drugs, such as mental health drugs, can allow people to lead normal lives and not be a burden on other parts of the government system.

FEDERAL PROGRAMS

Clearly the two key programs in this area are Medicaid and Medicare. I think it is safe to say when President Johnson created them in 1965 he had no idea how big and how expensive they would become. When they were started they were based on an efficiency formula that is still in place. Unfortunately for Oregon we had a very efficient system at that time and we therefore have a re-imbursement rate less than half of some other states. Because of this our hospitals and providers receive far less than true cost re-imbursement for these services leading to even more cost shift.

THE UNINSURED

As this seems to be the target population for many of the plans under consideration we should examine their makeup. Let us use the generally accepted figure of 45 million uninsured and break them down into components.

9 million (20%) make over $75,000 a year

17 million (35%) make over $50,000 a year

18 million (40%) are between the ages of 18 and 34 and spend four times as much on entertainment as their insurance would cost

14 million (31%) are eligible for Medicaid or Medicare but don't enroll

12 million (26%) are in the country illegally

8 million (18%) are truly uninsured with no real options.

This is a partial view of the base line data we need to consider in crafting any system changes. I don't want it to be construed in any way I am defending the status quo, because I do believe changes need to be made. It is, however, important for us not to fall victim to the "flavor of the month" approach and make sure the reasons behind what we do are based on something more than politics or some other social agenda. In the next letter I will get into a more deliberative discussion of what is proposed for Oregon and the relative merits of those proposals.

Sincerely,

Senator Jeff Kruse

If you are interested in reading my past newsletters please click on my webpage link below:

http://www.leg.state.or.us/kruse/

Working Hard For You - March Newsletter

The Republican Plan

Putting Oregonians Back to Work

Over the last three months we have been communicating with the majority party and offering suggestions to help get Oregon 's economy going again. None of this has been about political positioning; we just want to see some positive things happen. To date all of our suggestions have fallen on deaf ears as leadership can't seem to shift their focus from protecting government. Out of frustration we have decided to take our message to the people in whatever venues we have available. Therefore this newsletter will lay out our collectively developed plan.

Problem: Oregon 's economic troubles are hard to miss. In some counties official unemployment is approaching 20% and these numbers do not include the families whose unemployment benefits have run out or those with members working fewer hours than they need.

Oregon 's tax system is heavily reliant on the income tax so when families are out of work, the state of Oregon is out of money to provide vital state services. For every dollar the state loses in revenue, Oregon families have lost $10 in wages, earnings and dividends. If projections for the 2009-11 budget cycle hold and state revenues are down $2 billion, Oregon families will have lost $20 billion in income used to pay for rent, clothes, meat and heat.

Solution: It does not have to be this way. We can put Oregonians back to work and we can help create the revenue our state needs to provide vital services. It all starts with jobs. The jobs that will support Oregon families; the jobs that will help the state take care of its most vulnerable; and the jobs that will help the state protect its citizens and educate its children.

Republicans in the Oregon Legislature are proud to offer the following solutions to Oregon 's economic troubles:

Ø Reduce income tax withholding table, giving Oregonians more of their tax return now rather than later (SB 704). A 4.2% reduction will put $100 million a year into the economy and create or retain 2,500 jobs.

§ Cost: $0.00

§ State Income Tax Revenue: $9,785,000 per biennium[1]

Ø Implement the "Main Street Incentive Program" (HB 3095) to encourage home and business owners to engage in immediate capital improvement projects, creating jobs and growing local tax bases. Would create 6,024 jobs

§ Cost: $228.3 million over five years ($45 million per year)

§ State Income Tax Revenue: $23,347,010 per biennium

· Home portion: cost is $54.5 million over five years, creates 1,099 jobs, increases property values by $58.1 million which adds $900,000 in property tax revenues.

· Business portion: cost is $173.8 million over five years, creates 4,925 jobs, increases property values by $195.7 million which adds $3.1 million in property tax revenues.

Ø Provide matching funds for airports (not just state owned) to improve facilities. The improved facilities will create economic development opportunities for local communities. By providing $7.7 million we can leverage more than $128 million. The funds will create immediate construction jobs while encouraging job growth in all parts of the state. Will create 2,214 jobs.

§ Cost: $7.7 million

§ State Income Tax Revenue: $8,665,596 per biennium

Ø Reconnect Oregon 's Tax Code to the Federal Code so unemployed families will not face additional taxes on their benefits. We do not believe it is right to balance the budget on the backs of unemployed Oregonians.

Ø Put Oregon 's natural resources back to work for the people of the state. We have a choice, we can follow California with $40 billion budget shortfalls or we can follow Alaska with $40 billion in reserve funds. The difference in these two states is that Alaska relies on its natural resources while California relies on ever increasing taxes on its citizens. By utilizing the same amount of Columbia River water the states of Washington and Idaho currently use, we can irrigate thousands more acres of productive farm land or we could sell the water to cities and counties which need it.

§ Cost: Depends on the project

§ State Revenue: Could be in the billions depending on the projects

Ø Immediately implement the Bureau of Land Management's Western Oregon Plan Revision (SJR 24). By increasing the harvest on federal lands we can put rural Oregonians back to work as well as reduce the fire danger. Numbers from the Oregon Forest Resources Institute show the timber industry has lost more than 15,000 jobs since 2000. According to the American Forest Resources Council this Western Oregon Plan Revision will create 5,000 jobs.

§ Cost: $0.00

§ State Income Tax Revenue: $19,570,000 per biennium

Ø Create a bond package for Oregon cities to help them meet Department of Environmental Quality Standards. These projects, presented by the League of Oregon Cities, would create jobs all over the state and improve local infrastructure.

§ Cost: Depends on projects selected

§ State Income Tax Revenue: Depends on projects selected

Ø Stabilize Oregon 's banking system to free up working capital for employers. By selling bonds and creating a revolving fund, administered by banks and credit unions, we can help Oregon 's small businesses struggling with cash flow problems.

Ø Protect Oregon employers from overreaching state regulation. Roll back regulations imposed by the state to match those imposed by the federal government.

§ Cost: $0

§ State Income Tax Revenue: Depends on which regulations are rolled back

Ø We will oppose environmental agendas that increase the cost of creating jobs and take income away from struggling families. These agendas are irresponsible at a time like this.

Republicans stand ready to help Oregon 's employers create the jobs on which families rely. The newspapers have been filled with headlines about the shortfalls in the state budget. What the headlines fail to mention are the families struggling with billions in lost income.

We can, and we must, get Oregon 's economy back on track for Oregon families.

[1] Based on numbers from the Legislative Revenue Office that show the average wage in Oregon is $43,000 per year and the income tax on that wage is $1,957.

If you are interested in reading my past newsletters please click on my webpage link below:

http://www.leg.state.or.us/kruse/