Senate candidates on their way

Two of six candidates Democratic U.S. Senate nomination face off for role as policy-changing legislator

By: Gail Cole

Posted: 5/20/08

John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have received the most attention during this primary election season, but Oregon's Democratic U.S. Senate candidates prove to be just as important in handling the issues that face college students.

Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick are both running for the Democratic nomination in the race for the U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Gordon Smith.

According to their respective websites, Merkley is currently the Oregon speaker of the House of Representatives, and Novick is Senior Project Manager for the consulting firm Pyramid Communications and has previously worked for federal offices and state level campaigns.

Both candidates have similar views on several issues. For example, both want an end to U.S. intervention in Iraq, additional federal funding for post-secondary education and exploring new energy resources as a way to stimulate the economy and help the environment.

"I'm running for the U.S. Senate as a matter of preemptive guilt," Novick said, referring to the issues of global warming, federal debt and health care.

"Maybe I can help prevent all this by having the guts to run against Gordon Smith," Novick said.

"Our nation is dramatically off track, and it's up to us as citizens to make things right," Merkley said. "We have to restore the integrity of the United States."

Novick believes he separates himself from other candidates by deeply investigating issues.

"My campaign is committed to the idea that we have to explain in some detail what we have to do on a wide variety of issues," Novick said.

"Most people don't know that 50 percent of electricity comes from coal," Novick said. "Every time you flip a switch, you contribute to global warming."

Merkley believes that other candidates, particularly Smith, do not have the interest of families in mind.

"Smith promoted [a piece of legislation] that rewards companies for shipping jobs overseas," Merkley said. "It hurts our families; it hurts our economy."

Both candidates see the need for changes in the funding of higher education.

"We have seriously under funded loans [and] Pell grants," Merkley said of the federal government.

Merkley plans to make this possible by expanding Pell grants and providing tax credits. "I propose that every family have a tax credit equal to $4,000 a year to help finance their children's college education."

"If we're going to have a knowledge based economy, we need to make it affordable to go to college," Merkley said.

Merkley elaborated on a bill he helped pass in the Oregon Legislature that allows for full tuition coverage for public universities and trade schools for the children of fallen service men and women who have fallen in the line of duty. He wants to take this bill to the national level.

Regarding education and the job market, Merkley wants to help create a "knowledge based economy," which promotes the medical, digital and communication industries. He also wants to promote "Green Collar" jobs, which are a part of the renewable energy industry in the U.S.

"We need to develop them and sell them to the world," he said of the green technology industry. "It's much better for us to be out front."

Merkley and Novick support an updated version of the GI Bill, which was passed in 1944 as a way to give military veterans access to education, health care and home ownership.

"Part of the way we built the great American middle class was through the GI Bill," Novick said. "It should be restored; I think it's outrageous for veterans returning home to limited access to health care and limited economic prospects."

Novick believes that the federal government should restore its administering of financial aid to the percentage it was in 1981, when he graduated from college debt-free.

He believes research and investing in renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, will provide quality jobs to Americas of all ages.

"We need to hire some of the best and brightest people" to research and implement renewable energy, Novick said.

Both candidates have similar and different strategies regarding exiting Iraq.

Merkley promotes a five-point plan for ending U.S. intervention in Iraq and creating a stable environment in the Middle East, including removing soldiers from combat within six to 12 months, using Iraqi defense contractors and using diplomacy to work with Iraq's neighbors.

Merkley also stated that it is important that the U.S. provide "support as the Iraqis desire."

He mentioned the cultural struggles that U.S. soldiers face when working with Iraqi civilians, particularly the negative feelings held by Iraqis who may feel that the U.S. is an occupying force in their country.

"That's an impossible position to put our sons and daughters in," Merkley said.

"The most powerful tool in national security is the partnerships we form around the world," Merkley said of promoting national security. "We have so badly damaged those relationships under this administration."

Novick specifically spoke about the need to implement the recommendations from the Baker-Hamilton report, which also include diplomacy with Iraq's neighbors, but he understands there would be major difficulties in ending the war.

"Unfortunately, the fact that you caused a problem doesn't mean that you can fix it," Novick said. "Our staying [in Iraq] indefinitely doesn't fix the problems of that country."

"I am still very frustrated with every member of Congress who voted for the war [and] who didn't have the guts to stand up and say, 'what does Iraq have to do with 9/11?'" Novick said.

Novick believes in a firm but peaceful stance toward Iran, a neighbor of Iraq.

"We should make it clear to Iran that we are not dedicated to overthrowing their government," Novick said. "It's easier for the extremists in Iran to hold power if they say that they are under attack by the United States."

The candidates specified issues that are particularly important to them.

An important issue to Merkley is keeping credit card and mortgage lending companies from "stripping wealth from working families."

"I feel that there are a series of financial scams that are damaging the success of families," he said.

Merkley wants to regulate these industries on a national level.

Novick is a supporter of the Internet neutrality issue. According to his website, he is working to keep broadband providers from creating a two-tiered system of access to information, in which content providers who have money would have an advantage over those that don't.

"We're used to the Internet being a very democratic place," Novick said. "It shouldn't become a prisoner to private interest."

Undoubtedly, both candidates have made it a priority to make changes in Washington; we will find out Tuesday which one will lead the Democrats in the fight for the Senate.

Gail Cole, senior reporter

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