Oregon governor Kate Brown has put together her budget for the 2019-2021 biennium.
While she whines about the need to “raise revenue” to the extent of hiring a ministry of tax raises propagandist at a salary of $97,000, she has budgeted $4 Million dollars for the purposes of suing Trump and putting together a defense fund to help illegal aliens facing deportation.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports:
Gov. Kate Brown unveiled a $23.6 billion budget proposal Wednesday that plugs holes in state health funding, seeks to gain ground in an ongoing housing crisis, expands access to voting and sets aside millions for challenging the policies of President Donald Trump.
Making the case that this is Oregon’s “best chance in a generation to address persistent, structural changes,” Brown’s proposed spending plan also includes a $2 billion challenge to state legislators, listing a host of improvements she’d like to see in the state’s flagging education system — if lawmakers can agree on a way to fund them.
The article, written by former Portland Mercury reporter and far left apologist Dirk Vanderhart, goes on to mention that the budget includes:
$4 million to fight the Trump administration in court. Half of that money would go into an “Oregon Defense Fund” and pay for ongoing and forthcoming lawsuits filed by the state against the federal government. The other half would pay for the defense of immigrants who are in deportation proceedings.
Brown has repeatedly talked about defending the state from the federal administration and has labeled the money proposed for current and future lawsuits as the “Oregon Defense Fund.”
“The federal government is receding from its role as a strong partner in navigating this moment,” Brown told reporters Wednesday.
Funding the lawsuits over the past two years has been difficult, said Misha Isaak, one of Brown’s policy advisors. The Justice Department is largely funded by fees charged to other state agencies for legal services, much as a law firm would bill its clients. The agency had to cobble together resources to join the lawsuits, Isaak said.
Rosenblum requested the $2 million purse for continuing the legal fights.
“I think as we move through the biennium, if that proves to be insufficient we probably would support an ask to the emergency board,” Isaak said.
Isaak said the state could partner with attorneys working as volunteers or retain outside lawyers who specialize in such lawsuits.
Isaak said the $2 million will fund pending lawsuits and allow the Justice Department to respond to new actions by Trump. Isaak said Brown is specifically worried about Trump shrinking the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, reducing funding for reproductive health services and rolling back protection for discrimination against transgender people.
Brown has also taken to combatting Trump on other fronts. In her budget, she asks for $2 million to provide legal services for immigrants facing federal deportation proceedings.
“They may not be able to provide soup-to-nuts representation of everyone in removal proceedings, but at least they would make sure that everybody would have some access to communicating with a lawyer,” Isaak said.
Brown said that Oregon has “been a place that is considered to be welcoming and inclusive to all who call Oregon home. And I want to make sure that our immigrant and refugee communities feel safe and welcomed in the great state of Oregon.”
The state would work in partnership with the Innovation Law Lab to identify the recipients of legal help. The state didn’t do an independent analysis to determine the funding, but instead agreed to the nonprofit’s request for $2 million.
Video of Kate Brown’s recent press conference on the budget, courtesy of Dick Hughes:
You may recall that Oregon attorney general Ellen Rosenblum recently filed her 18th lawsuit against President Trump, which, as of this past June, as has cost taxpayers over $100,000.
You may also recall that the city of Portland and Multnomah County have recently allocated $1 Million to legal defense funds for criminal aliens.
This comes at a time when Portland is experiencing a massive homeless crisis, with thousands of people sleeping on the streets every night, including many disabled veterans. Kate Brown and the democrats would rather spend money on helping illegal aliens and pursuing frivolous lawsuits against Trump than help the homeless.
