A clipping of a Corvallis Gazette-Times op-ed article titled "Quit making tritium, redirect spending" by US Congressman Les AuCoin, published on December 30, 1991. In the article, Congressman AuCoin criticizes the Department of Energy's then recent decision to restart the Savannah River K reactor to produce tritium for nuclear weapons, and instead calls for arms control in the context of the fall of the Soviet Union four days earlier on December 26, 1991.
An essay by former US Congressman Les AuCoin titled "Don't Get Hosed by Political Firefighters: How Political Framing Influences Fire Policy," likely written sometime during the second term of the George W. Bush Administration. The abstract for the essay states "The Bush White House carefully chose the phrase 'healthy forests' to characterize its effort to increase logging in the public's national forests. It was a masterpiece of political 'framing' -- the art of creating a central organizing idea or context for an issue through use of selection, emphasis, exclusion, and elaboration. 'Healthy forests' evokes a sense of environmental protection and personal safety at a time of deep fear of wildland fire." Former Congressman AuCoin's essay also centers around the Yellowstone fires of 1988.
A lecture by US Congressman Les AuCoin titled "Who Sends America to War?" delivered to the "Leadership and Public Policy" class at Pacific University on February 4, 1991. The class was designed to have Congressman AuCoin meet with the students for one and a half hours each month to "try to see how America works-- examining the distinctions between democratic governance in theory and as it is practiced by real people with real passions, feares, prejudices, principles, cynicism, and idealism." Discussing the Persian Gulf War, Congressman AuCoin states "The United States has unleashed the most powerful air campaign in military history and is posed for the largest tank and infantry battles in history. I find disturbing flaws in our policy. But I [sic] what I find more disturbing is President Bush's view that he, alone, has the power to wage this war-- notwithstanding the terms of the War Powers Resolution or Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution....What we have here is a President who refused to follow the law. His Administration went to ridiculous length to define 'hositilies' so as to avoid sending a report to Congress that would have triggered the War Powers Act and required an affirmative vote by Congress in order to maintain the troop development."
A statement by Oregon House Majority Leader Les AuCoin regarding his previous affiliation and employment with The Oregonian newspaper. AuCoin states that he had worked during for The Oregonian for a short time in 1960 during a strike, "having no comprehension of the real meaning of a strike," before being employed again by the newspaper after the strike had ended in November 1965. A handwritten note on the front page, which was presumbly written years later, states: "During first primary, Demo [sic] opponents used my Oregonian employment against me."
A memorandum from Oregon House Majority Leader Les AuCoin to news media executives regarding Oregon's then recently passed subdivision law, the Land Development Consumer Protection Act (HB 2607), which was due to go into affect on January 1, 1974. A news release statement by State Representative AuCoin stated that "Specifically, the Land Development Consumer Protection Act: (1) insures that prospective purchasers of land development interests have all pertinent information concerning conditions on and in the vicinity of the property; (2) places the buyer and seller on an equal footing regarding the transaction; and (3) registers land developments, particularly promotional land sales."
A statement and accompanying receipts provided by US Congressman Les AuCoin and his office in response to the 1992 House banking scandal. In 1992, an investigation discovered that hundreds of members of Congress had overdrafted their House bank accounts numerous times, although it was found that the vast majority did so unintentionally -- as the House bank system did not properly alert members of their overdrafts and delayed processing deposits -- and did not break any laws. AuCoin himself was later cleared of any wrongdoing by the US Department of Justice. The receipts provided by Congressman AuCoin in this document include an official account statement from the Sergeant at Arms, a sample check, a list of checks identified as "overdraft" by the House bank, a list of ending balances from monthly statements received from the Sergeant at Arms, a letter from Merrill Lynch Consumer Markets, a Washington Post article titled "House Bank Records Hampered Probe" by Guy Gugliotta, a letter regarding information on withdrawals from the Congressional Federal Credit Union, and a letter from the Bank of Astoria.
An AuCoin Report letter titled "Update: Social Security" published by the office of US Congressman Les AuCoin on August 18, 1982. In the letter, Congressman AuCoin advocated for protecting Social Security benefits from cuts by the Ronald Reagan Administration. Attached to the letter is a copy of a speech by Congressman AuCoin found in the Congressional Record titled "An All-Out Campaign to Cut Entitlements," delivered on the same day.
An AuCoin Report letter titled "Update: Salmon Seasons" published by the office of US Congressman Les AuCoin in August 1982. In the letter, Congressman AuCoin advocating for more fisheries research on salmon seasons in Oregon -- the limiting of commercial and recreational fishing for coho salmon when quotas allowed by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Pacific Fisheries Management Council were exceeded -- and the Oregon Production Index (OPI). Attached to the letter is a copy a speech by Congressman AuCoin found in the Congressional Record titled "Gao Asked to Study Fisheries Quotas," delivered on August 13, 1982.
Extension of Remarks of US Congressman Les AuCoin containing letters regarding the Ronald Reagan Administration's proposal to sell off "surplus" Oregon public lands, published on September 14, 1982. The Extension of Remarks statement includes a copy of a letter which was sent to Congressman AuCoin by one of his constituents, Joe Reinhart of Portland, Oregon. Both Reinhart and Congressman AuCoin criticized the Reagan Administration's plan.
Extension of Remarks by US Congressman Les AuCoin containing an insert of Oregon Business magazine article "The Threat of Waterway User Charges" by Dan Poush. In his Extension of Remarks statement published on September 15, 1981, Congressman AuCoin stated: "I am seriously concerned that [the "user charges"] proposals now being considered will cripple shipping commerce and international trade on the West Coast and in my own state of Oregon."
An AuCoin Report letter titled "Update: Nuclear Power," published by the office of US Congressman Les AuCoin on August 1, 1982. In the letter, Congressman AuCoin criticized the Clinch River Breeder Reactor nuclear project and its $252 million budget proposed by the Ronald Reagan Administration. He also attached an excerpt from the Congressional Record containing his statement that he gave regarding the Clinch River Breeder Reactor nuclear project on July 29, 1982.
Address of US Congressman Les AuCoin delivered before the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) convention in Oregon in 1982. In his address, Congressman AuCoin discussed President Reagan vetoing an anti-recession housing bill, unemployment, and the 1982 midterm elections, stating "This, my friends, is a fight, a fight over who is going to run America. Is it going to be rich men who have never stood in unemployment lines and have no understanding of what it means to be a construction boiler maker, the ranks of whom today are 90 per cent unemployed? Is this country going to be run by rich men and ultraconservatives who have no conception of what Reaganomics are doing to devastate the communities and families across this state and across this country? Or instead, is this great country going to be run by you, and your neighbors, and by workers everywhere...?"
Testimony of US Congressman Les AuCoin before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Public Assistance and Unemployment Compensation advocating for HR7327 - A bill to increase the number of weeks for which Federal supplemental unemployment compensation is payable. In his testimony delivered on December 8, 1982, Congressman AuCoin described how 11 million Americans were out of work, with the unemployment being higher in Oregon than the national average (11.5% versus 10.8%, respectively). He described how 12,500 Oregonians were expected to lose their unemployment benefits unless further legislation, specifically HR7327, was passed.
Testimony of US Congressman Les AuCoin regarding legislation to resolve the issues of RARE (Roadless Area Review and Evalutions) II in Oregon, delivered before the House Interior Subcommittee on Public Lands and National Parks on December 6, 1982.
US Congressman Les AuCoin's remarks delivered at a luncheon hosted by the Izaak Walton League in Portland, Oregon on October 29, 1982. The League was an environmental conservation organization with a special focus on clean water. In his speech, Congressman AuCoin discussed the state of the timber based economy, his then recent experiences as a member of the Appropriations Committee in Congress, and an upcoming vote for the National Forest Service Budget.
A House floor statement by US Congressman Les AuCoin advocating in support of H.R. 4374, the Shipping Act of 1982. In his speech, Congressman AuCoin described how the bill would address issues pertaining to the high costs of transporting goods from the United States by ensuring competitive rates.
US Congressman Les AuCoin's remarks before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Monopolies and Commercial Law on September 9, 1982. In his speech, US Congressman AuCoin described the struggling Oregon economy, which suffered from high unemployment, a floundering timber industry, and the economic policies of the Ronald Reagan Administration. AuCoin expressed his opposition towards the Antitrust Equal Enforcement Act, which he deemed to be a bailout for -- and organized by -- timber companies.
US Congressman Les AuCoin's House floor remarks on September 16, 1982 advocating for H.R. 562, which would have provided urgent supplemental appropriation to help aid unemployed Americans, and Oregonians especially, in getting back to work. Critical of Ronald Reagan's economic policies, AuCoin asserted that the Reagan Administration had "cleaned the economy of jobs and businesses faster than any administration since Herbert Hoover's."
The House floor remarks of US Congressman Les AuCoin advocating for H.R. 6863, the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1982, on August 18, 1982. In his speech, Congressman AuCoin expresses his support of the bill's inclusion of additional appropriations for federally supported education programs, and describes how the bill was criticized by the Reagan Administration for decreasing defense, military, and foreign aid spending.
An Extension of Remarks statement by US Congressman Les AuCoin condemning Reaganomics and its impact on Oregonians, on the occasion of what Congressman AuCoin calls the first anniversary of Reaganomics on August 4, 1982.
A copy of a congressional record statement titled "Swan Song for Clinch River," in reference to costly failure of the nuclear Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project in Tennessee, delivered by US Congressman Les AuCoin. A copy of the statement was sent to Congresman AuCoin, who seemingly wrote notes in the margins additionally criticizing the project, stating "It's too bad for America, too, that Mr. Howard Baker's pet project wasn't solar or renewable energy; why is it that political back-scratching never seems to benefit the causes that will do the nation the most good?" A draft letter by AuCoin to the Reagan Administration is attached to the end of the statement copy, calling the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project "expensive, dangerous, and unnecessary."
A statement for special order regarding the refusenik situation in the Soviet Union, delivered on the US House floor by US Congressman Les AuCoin on July 20, 1982. In his speech, Congressman AuCoin advocated for the thousands of "refuseniks," or Soviet Jews of the late twentieth century who were denied visas to emigrate by the Soviet government. He specifically mentions the story of Ida Nudel, a refusenik who had been trying to leave the Soviet Union for 11 years and had "been subjected to government harassment, social ostracism, KGB arrest, and finally, imprisonment in Siberia under the harshest conditions."
A speech delivered by US Congressman Les AuCoin at a labor convention in Coos Bay, Oregon on June 29, 1982. In his speech, Congressman AuCoin advocated for the "tax-paying, middle-American person" who he argued was ignored by the Ronald Reagan Administration, further criticizing Reaganomics and how Raegan had then recently vetoed an anti-recession housing bill.
A brief speech delivered by US Congressman Les AuCoin introducing colleagues at a hearing on the question of a nuclear weapons freeze in Portland, Oregon in the early 1980s. In his speech, Congressman AuCoin specifically mentions by name Congressman Jim Weaver, though states that "each one of the members of the Congress who are participating in this hearing has fought against the arms race throughout his career in the House of Representatives and each of us has been committed from the beginning, to the question of a Nuclear Weapons Freeze.
