Hansell is philosophical about session
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, June 30th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
ATHENA – Oregon Sen. Bill Hansell (R-Athena) is glad to be home after the 2021 session. In reflection he said on a scale of one to 10, he would give the session a seven. He said Republicans were able to add moderation to some bills the Democrat majority wanted, which was important.
“We still weren’t in a place where we could vote for them – or at least I could – it was still better than what they were introduced as,” Hansell said.
In addition, he saw all of his priority bills pass both houses as well as a long list of projects in Eastern Oregon make it onto the budget. Hansell said that’s doing well, considering the fact that Republicans are a distinct minority in Salem.
“There are 30 senators,” he said. “Eighteen of them are Democrats. We don’t have the votes to stop anything or even get anything passed. You need to work across the aisle and work for the good of Oregon.”
