On February 25th, all 11 Republican Senators in Oregon walked out to “protest” Governor Brown’s COVID-19 restrictions on schools, which prevent students from attending school in-person for the duration of the pandemic.

As if that’s not bad enough, this is also the GOP’s second walkout within the span of 3 months, and their fifth in the last three years. Never once have they been held accountable.

The Republican senators cited so-called “science” and the well-being of children to justify their opposition to Governor Brown’s school precautions. We know that if the GOP really listened to science and cared about the wellbeing of their young constituents, they’d pass equitable climate justice policy to ensure a liveable future instead of fleeing from their job.

As Senators hid away from their responsibilities at a resort in Arizona, they continued to collect paychecks of taxpayer dollars: a slap in the face to millions of Oregonians struggling in this rescission to pay bills and feed their families.

The missing-in-action GOP is also preventing the passing of legislation which penalizes absences of lawmakers and asks voters to amend the state Constitution to lower the quorum requirement. As of now, Democrats need at least 2 senators from outside their party to meet the two-thirds quorum requirement of the Oregon Senate otherwise they cannot conduct business.

Can we count on you to write a letter to your elected officials, calling for the Oregon GOP to be held accountable for walking out on their constituents?