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The congresswoman told reporters Tuesday that she won’t back a stopgap funding bill in Congress unless it includes health care subsidies. She also weighed in on other issues.
U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, the Democrat who represents Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, said on Tuesday, Sept. 23, that she will fight to keep health care provisions in the stopgap government funding bill, even if it risks a government shutdown.
Republican majorities in Congress have rejected Democrats’ demands to extend enhanced health insurance subsidies and reverse some Medicaid cuts in the stopgap funding bill. Most Democratic lawmakers won’t support the GOP’s version, which needs seven Democrat votes to pass before the Sept. 30 deadline.
If the parties don’t reach a deal, the government will shut down Oct. 1, which will cause closures of most federal agencies and furloughs for federal employees considered nonessential.
In a press conference with reporters on Tuesday in Eugene, Hoyle said she will “hold out” for the health care provisions, arguing that it is “what’s right” for her constituents across rural and urban communities.
The congresswoman is visiting her district before flying back to Washington on Monday. House Republicans don’t plan to return to the chamber until October, pressuring senators to approve the GOP-led House bill or force a shutdown.
Hoyle said Republicans are at fault for any shutdown, given that they aren’t willing to come to the table to negotiate health care subsidies — which she said are popular among voters. Republicans are blaming Democrats for the impasse.
“That’s some ace-level gaslighting right there,” Hoyle said.
She said Republican members privately tell her that they and their constituents want the health care protections, but they are afraid to speak out publicly against party leadership or President Donald Trump.
Responding to a question about employers’ reactions to social media posts critical of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, whose assassination was a national lightning rod for free speech, she said she denounces all political violence.
Hoyle was wearing a Jimmy Kimmel shirt in a physical show of support for the late-night talk-show host, whose program was temporarily pulled from TV last week over his comments on Kirk’s killing. He will return to the air on Tuesday.
“Fundamentally, what people do in their private time can have impacts with employers,” she said. “But my bigger concern as a member of Congress is that we protect the free speech that is provided for in the First Amendment of our Constitution.”
Local issues
Hoyle fielded questions on a number of other issues.
In response to the possible disruption of health care coverage for the more than 90,000 Lane County residents enrolled in Medicaid-funded Oregon Health Plan through PacificSource, Hoyle said she spoke to Gov. Tina Kotek in the morning Tuesday and talked with county commissioners and legislators Monday.
“It is very, very bad,” she said, adding: “I will continue to work on this today, because we cannot let this happen. We cannot let (PacificSource) just leave right now.”
On concerns regarding the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in Oregon, she said there has been a “shortage” of the vaccine, but that it is becoming more available.
She added that she is “very, very proud” that Oregon is a member of the Western Health Alliance, a partnership with California and Washington to preserve vaccine access launched earlier this month.
On the possibility of congressional actions to preserve roadless rule protections, Hoyle said she’s talked to the chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources and contacted the Trump administration to extend the public comment period for repealing the rules.
The administration in June announced plans to throw out protections banning road construction on 58 million acres of national forest, including 2 million acres in Oregon.
“If there are changes that need to be made, they should be done with input from the public, based on science,” Hoyle said. “Changes made with a scalpel when the science determines that’s the path that we should take, as opposed to just eliminating any protections.”
On the Environmental Protection Agency naming J.H. Baxter a Superfund site in July, she said she has “great concerns” about whether the federal government will follow through to provide the money needed for the cleanup.
The former wood treatment plant in west Eugene is contaminated with dangerous chemicals. Cleanup work, with the help of federal resources, is set to begin in early fall.
“We’re working with the administration. We’re working with the local community,” Hoyle said, adding: “I do actually feel pretty positive about it.”
On residents’ outcry against the cities of Eugene and Springfield for using license-plate reader technology to fight crime, Hoyle said she had concerns about how the information could be used at the federal level, especially by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
She said she’s had “many conversations” with the mayor of Springfield and Eugene city councilors on the subject.
“Whether it’s the ACLU or members of our immigrant or trans community, they’re justifiable in their right to be concerned about how this information is being used,” she said.
Democratic Party leaders
Asked to name who she views as a leader of the Democratic Party, given her critiques of Republicans’ leadership, she said there are “a lot of them.”
In Congress, she listed Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Outside of Congress, she highlighted Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
She also gave a shoutout to Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans and the co-chair of Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign, for his weekly Substack called the Working Class Project.
But who should the party look to most for guidance, given the midterms are about a year away? Hoyle’s answer: Unions.
“What we saw over the last election was that people don’t trust politicians or their political leaders, but they trust their union,” she said.
She took a dig at current Democratic congressional leadership: “Until the leadership in the Democratic Party focuses on [the working class], I think it’s going to be hard for people to say … I mean, I don’t want to vote for Republicans, but we’ve got to give them something to vote for.”
