Oregon Senate Republicans held their first boycott of the Capitol at the legislative session on Thursday, in what has become an increasingly common tactic of the party that holds a minority of seats in both chambers of the legislature.
Unlike 2019 and 2020, when Senate and House Republicans abandoned proposals to limit greenhouse gas emissions and other Democratic proposals, Senate Republicans decided not to appear this time to protest against COVID-19 restrictions from Governor Kate Brown. They described their reasoning in a letter to the governor.
All 11 Republicans in the chamber were absent on Thursday morning, as was Senator Brian Boquist of Dallas, who recently changed his party registration to the Oregon Independent Party. Sen. Tim Knopp of Bend, who remained during some of the previous Republican strikes, joined his party this time. Both the Oregon House and the Oregon Senate are required, according to the state constitution, to have a two-thirds quorum present to conduct business, which in the Senate means that Democrats need at least two outside senators. of your party.
It was not immediately clear how many of the absent legislators could have been dismissed ahead of time, as Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, said that one or two of them had said before that they would not be in the face-to-face session market. But all 11 members of the Republican bench signed a letter to the governor in which they insisted that she “reopen schools immediately because science says it is safe” and increase the amount of COVID-19 vaccines available to Oregon residents, especially in areas rural areas.
“Our past efforts to bring these issues to your attention have not been recognized,” wrote the 11 Republicans in their letter. “So, we are protesting against today’s session. In this show of solidarity with Oregon residents who are being disapproved of the current direction of their policies, we hope that this action will convey the importance of these issues. “
Although researchers have found that schools can be reopened safely, this requires significant modifications and an immediate reopening of schools “for full in-person instruction” that Senate Republicans demanded would not be safe. At a minimum, educators and students need to wear masks and maintain a social distance of almost two meters, which forced schools that return to face-to-face teaching to bring students back to the classroom only part of the week.
Republicans also cited the fact that, five days ago, Oregon was the nation’s last third in vaccinating the elderly, among 31 states with data on the subject, according to a report by The Oregonian / OregonLive.
Nationally and in Washington, DC, Republicans are making the hesitant return to face-to-face education an important issue as they seek to attract parents concerned about their children’s academic progress and socio-emotional well-being and frustrated after a year of juggling and work. virtual learning. Oregon Senate Republicans have a mixed record of supporting widespread vaccination and COVID-19 security. In 2019, one of the bills they successfully killed through a strike would have closed a gap in the state’s vaccine mandate for schoolchildren.
During a special legislative session on Dec. 21, Senator Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg, took off his mask in the Senate floor and delivered a speech against Democratic leaders’ demand that lawmakers wear masks to protect against the deadly virus. Heard, who referred to his fellow legislators as “fools” while participating in a January 6 protest against the results of the 2020 presidential election and Governor COVID’s restrictions outside the state capitol, was recently elected president of the Republican Party of the United States. Oregon.
This is breaking news and will be updated.