Dear Friend,

This finishes up another week of legislative business in Washington, D.C. Below you will find some of the interesting things that happened this week. If you would like to see daily updates on my work in Washington D.C. and Oregon's Second District, please follow us on Facebook HERE!

Social Security Fairness Act

As you may know, the House has passed legislation that would provide full Social Security benefits to 2.8 million current and retired public employees, effectively restoring "windfall benefits" to workers who did not pay into Social Security for much or all of their careers.

H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which were designed to "level the playing field" for workers who don't pay into Social Security. Along with 71 of my Republican colleagues, I voted against this bill due to its significant financial implications and lack of a sustainable, bipartisan approach.

H.R. 82 would completely repeal the WEP and GPO, which sounds appealing on the surface. However, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates this would cost $195.65 billion over the next decade—a huge expense for a system that is already under financial strain.

If H.R. 82 was enacted, the balance of the combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust funds would be exhausted roughly half a year earlier than it would be under current law. Without addressing broader funding challenges, this spending could accelerate Social Security's path to insolvency, potentially putting all beneficiaries' future benefits at risk.

We must carefully consider solutions that resolve current issues without creating more significant problems in the future.

If you have questions or concerns about your Social Security benefits, my office is here to help. Please call us at (202) 225-6730 for assistance.

ICYMI: Response to Governor Kotek's Request for a National Monument Designation of Owyhee Canyonlands

I released a statement in response to Governor Tina Kotek's letter to President Biden, which requests a national monument designation for the Owyhee Canyonlands. 

"The Governor’s letter is a classic example of crying wolf. She should answer these questions: How many millions of acres in size is this monument she supports?  What is the purpose of this monument? How many additional thousands of visitors from the immediately adjacent Boise Valley, home of about 900,000, would be attracted to this fragile area by a Monument designation? What are these “devastating consequences” she references? Why does she want to obstruct and stop the transfer of a cultural icon (Castle Rock) and 23,000 acres of grazing land to the Burns Paiute Tribe? Why does she falsely say that there is “broad support” for this monument from “local interests” when 90% of the voters in the county in which it would be located voted against such a designation? Why does she object to land management that will actually improve the condition of this land while protecting the people (including the tribes) who have lived on it for generations? And finally, why is she talking about impending “devastation” when she, of all people, knows that it takes literally decades to do anything in Oregon, including on federal land, that requires a permit?"

Congressman Bentz added,“I have been on a first name basis with now Governor Kotek for 17 years. She has my cell phone number. She knows I have lived in Malheur County for much of my life. Yet not a peep from her since she became Governor.  No effort by her or by her staff to inquire regarding the locally based efforts to find agreement regarding management of the Owyhee that we have been working on for at least seven years. Sadly, whether it’s forest land, range land, farmland, the ocean, or the Oregon coast, the predictable Portland centric approach is to ignore the people trying to make a living in harmony with these resources, and instead impose management techniques guaranteed to make things worse. The devastation the Governor should be talking about is what which has happened and is happening to the timber industry, the wastelands created by intense wildfires, the economically ravaged small communities, and the flow of business and people out of our state."

To read Governor Tina Kotek, click here. 

Books I Am Reading

The Wealth of Nation by Geoffrey M. Hodgson

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian

A People's History of the Supreme Court by Peter Irons

Meetings in D.C.

Northwest River Partners

Congressman Bentz Meet with Northwest River Partners to Discuss Protecting Lower Snake River Dams under Trump Administration

Klamath Irrigation District (K.I.D)

Congressman Bentz Met with Klamath Irrigation District to Raise Awareness for the Klamath Waterways under the Trump Administration

Legislation and Votes

H.R. 9598 – Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2024
This bill reauthorizes the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and maintains critical grant programs working to keep drugs out of communities across the country. Specifically this legislation: reauthorizes the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program and the Drug-Free Communities program at FY 2024 enacted funding levels through FY 2031; incorporates key aspects of the HIDTA Reauthorization Act, which to bolster local law enforcement resources to combat fentanyl and temporarily reassign prosecutorial resources; and codifies the Caribbean Counter Narcotics Strategy Act (H.R. 920), to ensure ONDCP continues to deliver strategies to address drug trafficking in the Caribbean. 

I voted YES with 399 Yes and 1 No

H.R. 7198, the Prove It Act of 2024
This legislation requires greater transparency from agencies on regulatory decisions that affect small businesses and empowers small businesses to petition the SBA to review proposed regulations and their economic impact by amending the Regulatory Flexibility Act, strengthening American innovation and putting small businesses before burdensome regulations

I voted Yes with 208 Yes and 196 No

In Case you Missed It

Bentz: Owyhee Request “Crying Wolf”. (Pacific Nothwest AG Network)

Protections for the Owyhee Canyonlands in Oregon remains in limbo. (KIVITV)

In Wake of November Election, Kotek Urges Biden to Designate Owyhee Canyonlands a National Monument. (Williamette Week)

Oregon lawmakers reacting to possibility of Medford casino. (KOBI5)

Potential for protecting Owyhee Canyonlands takes urgency in final months of Biden administration (OPB)

Hearing to tackle contentious wilderness bill (E&E)