Another GOP Walkout

Portland Ore – Oregon Senate Republicans left the capitol Monday morning, part of a boycott of an upcoming floor vote on a cap-and-trade bill after it passed out of a joint committee.

After the Joint Ways and Means Committee committee adjourned, the Senate convened with virtually all Republicans already absent.

The Governor accuses them of taking a “taxpayer funded vacation.”

Loggers say the rising cost of fuel prices, utility bills and a feared drop in timber production are the reason for their opposition to the Cap and Trade Bill.

Senate President Peter Courtney says Senate Bill 1530 has “more than enough votes on this floor to pass … and that is not going to change.”