Sep 23, 2011
Will Rob Cornilles Stand Up for Oregon Clean Energy Jobs?
Voters in Oregon’s first district deserve to know where their congressional candidates stand, especially on an issue as important as job creation. Republican congressional candidate Rob Cornilles should admit whether he would side with Republican House Leaders, who voted to cut green jobs this week at a time when Oregon is losing clean energy jobs to China. Cornilles supports trade policies that outsource jobs to China.
“Oregon voters deserve to know if Rob Cornilles will protect the hard-working people of Oregon or will he stand with Republican leaders in Washington and play politics with peoples’ jobs,” said Amber Moon, Western Regional Press Secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Rob Cornilles has already made it clear he supports outsourcing jobs to China. Would he also have voted to cut jobs here at home?”
Background:
Republican Funding Bill Cut Green Jobs. In 2011, the House passed a proposal by Republican Speaker Boehner to cut $100 million from a green energy loan guarantee program. Portland’s 27,489 clean economy jobs made up 2.7 percent of all jobs in the region. [The Hill, 9/23/11; Brookings, Metropolitan Policy Program, accessed 9/23/11]
Oregon Lost 47,900 Jobs to China. In 2011, the Economic Policy Institute calculated that Oregon lost 47,900 jobs since China was admitted to the World Trade Organization in 2001. In Oregon’s first district alone 19,659 jobs were displaced due to trade deficits with China. Oregon experienced more job losses to China than all but three other states. Oregon’s Silicon Forest, the Washington County technology belt between Beaverton and Hillsboro, has been among the hardest-hit areas in the nation. The report notes that similar Chinese policies are helping that nation dominate clean-energy industries such as solar and wind, which Oregon is banking to supply future jobs. [Portland Tribune, 9/20/11; Economic Policy Institute, 9/20/11]
Wanted to “Wheel-and-Deal” with China. The Forest Grove News-Times wondered why “voters should elect someone who wants to wheel-and-deal with the People’s Republic.” The paper reported that Cornilles argued that his support from prominent employers showed that he would work with job creators to sort out their issues with China and help them grow economic output. [Editorial, Forest Grove News-Times, 10/13/10]
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